> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Zotero Integration

> Link your Zotero account, import a library into a .bib file, cite from it, refresh it and unlink.

Import a Zotero library into a project as a `.bib` file, then cite from it as usual. The file is a copy: it changes only when you click **Refresh**.

> [!NOTE]
>
> If you see no Zotero option in **Account settings**, ask your administrator to turn on [Zotero Integration](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/integrations/zotero-integration.md).

## Link your Zotero account

You do this once.

**1. Open your account settings**

Click **Account**, then **Account settings**. Under **Reference managers**, find **Zotero** and click **Link to Zotero**.

![The Zotero section of the account settings with a Link to Zotero button](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-link.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=bd8103eadfb8c79e5d2f58a83a5ac33e)

Zotero in the account settings

The **Zotero** card in the editor's **Integrations** panel takes you to the same place, in the same tab.

![The Integrations panel with the Zotero card](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-integrations.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=ee6c0da4ffd26db23956a92eebf60765)

The Integrations panel

**2. Authorize on Zotero**

Zotero opens. Sign in if you are asked to, then authorize the application. It only asks to read your library and your groups, so it cannot change anything in Zotero.

**3. Check the link**

You are back in the account settings. A green message says **Reference manager linked**, and the button now says **Unlink**.

![The Zotero section of the account settings with a green message and an Unlink button](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-linked.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=185a0e5c172d3a5f6a9e50a325f32cf3)

Your Zotero account is linked

If you do not allow access on Zotero, the same section says **Sorry, something went wrong**. Click **Link to Zotero** to try again.

## Create a file from your library

**1. Open the Add files dialog**

Open a project. In the file tree, click **New file**, then **From Zotero**. This entry is only there once your account is linked.

**2. Choose the file name and the library**

**File Name** starts as `zotero.bib`. Keep the `.bib` ending: without it you get no preview, and neither `\cite` nor `\bibliography` finds its entries.

**Library** starts as **My Library**, and also lists your group libraries. One file holds one library.

![The From Zotero tab of the Add files dialog with zotero.bib and My Library](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-new-file.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=707728eb955b49101ab3977d1b19baa6)

A file from your personal library

**3. Click Create**

The dialog closes and the file is in the file tree. Click it: it shows when it was imported, and its entries. You cannot edit it in the editor.

![The imported zotero.bib open in the editor with a Refresh button](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-file.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=b2d3560f942619fcc479ea875e7f7957)

The imported file

If **Create** seems to do nothing, a file with that name already exists. Choose another name.

### Import a group library

Do the same again, with a file name of its own, and choose the group under **Library**. A project can have several of these files.

![The From Zotero tab with the file name reading-group.bib and the library Reading group](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-group.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=a5cb43fdf5d97546eb1609160147aeee)

A file from a group library

## Cite from the file

**1. Start a citation**

In a `.tex` file, type `\cite{`. The list shows the entries of all the `.bib` files in the project. Click one to insert it.

![The editor listing citation keys under a citation](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-cite.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=394bda9a2a326e5d878fc16932ec0322)

The entries of the imported files

**2. Or search by title or author**

Click **Search** under the list, or press Ctrl+Space inside the braces. Type to filter, click one or more entries, then click **Insert**.

![The Search the .bib files in this project dialog with one entry selected](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-search.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=027a2212a2b3cb83b7017014fe40ce22)

The reference search

**3. Add the bibliography**

Add these lines before `\end{document}`, using the names of your files without `.bib`, separated by commas:

```latex theme={null}
\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{reading-group,zotero}
```

Click **Recompile**. The reference appears in the PDF.

![The editor with the citation and bibliography, and the compiled PDF with a reference](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-compiled.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=9c593d72f5d12495dc4ec2863dd0546d)

The compiled reference

Imported files are not offered in **Settings** under **References**, **Main bibliography file for this project**, so the list stays empty if the project has no other `.bib` file. You can still cite from them.

![The References tab of the project settings with an empty, disabled list](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-settings-references.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=48dad4818c2dac63afc46decea21790f)

The empty list is expected

## Refresh the file

Changes in your Zotero library do not reach the project on their own, and compiling does not fetch them.

**1. Open the file**

In the file tree, click the imported file.

**2. Click Refresh**

The whole file is imported again from the library you chose when you created it: new entries appear and removed ones disappear. The time at the top changes.

![The refreshed zotero.bib with a new entry and a new import time](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-refresh.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=aa095ac91264ef0e4517a860fb94b5c9)

The refreshed file

**3. Recompile**

New entries are in the `\cite{` list right away. Click **Recompile** to update the PDF.

Each file refreshes on its own: refresh your group's file separately. For who can refresh a file in a shared project, see the [notes for administrators](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/integrations/zotero-integration.md#notes).

## Unlink your Zotero account

In **Account settings**, under **Zotero**, click **Unlink**, then **Unlink** again in the dialog. The button says **Link to Zotero** again.

![The Unlink Zotero Account dialog](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-unlink.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=3783d8622dee66277c2420154294220e)

Unlink your account

The files you imported stay in your projects and still compile. **From Zotero** is gone from the **Add files** dialog, and **Refresh** shows an error until you link your account again.

![An imported file with the error Could not load references from Zotero, please re-link your account and try again](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-relink-error.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=d0c678b299fa6604d857398aad9bca18)

Refreshing without a linked account

After you link again, **Refresh** works on the same files.

## If something goes wrong

**Could not load references from Zotero, please re-link your account and try again**, or **There was an error accessing your Zotero data** in the **Add files** dialog: Overleaf can no longer read your library, for example because you removed its access on Zotero. In **Account settings**, click **Unlink**, then **Link to Zotero**. **Create** also fails until then, with the message **The project that contains this file is not shared with you**, even in your own project.

![The From Zotero tab with both error messages](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7/images/on-premises/zotero-access-error.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=Obqf0nQWnHIHMjO7\&q=85\&s=65bee2963ce16aec585fb55945e6554d)

Overleaf can no longer read your library

**The remote service produced an error** when you click **Refresh**: the request to Zotero failed. The file keeps its content. Click **Refresh** again later.


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