Is there any way to access ZFS directly?

alexbrown

Hi,

I'm looking for a way to connect directly to the zotero file storage server, by FTP or WebDAV or something similar. Is there any way to do this? The login info is hidden by zotero, so I've no idea what address to try to connect to. That way I'd be able to sync files with my ipad nicely (using goodreader).

Thoughts?

ajlyon

No, it is not accessible through any protocol apart from Zotero File Storage itself. Any individual file has a URL like http://www.zotero.org/groups/32562/items/FTC9C66D/file (an item in a private group, but the URLs are like this); that is, just append /file to the attachment URL. If you are logged into zotero.org, this will redirect to the item on Amazon's S3, which is the backend behind ZFS. The S3 URLs are not stable, at least in that they have a temporary key that will expire.

The easiest way to access the files may be to set up RSS feeds for relevant collections or groups, then open them in an RSS reader. I think the RSS feed provides item links, and I think it should eventually provide attachment links as well. See http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/server_api

A minimal iOS client for Zotero could be pretty easily developed using this API. I'd do it myself, for the small, small price of one iPad to test it on.

alexbrown

Sounds workable, with an RSS reader and a bit of fiddling.

Only thing is - how do I log in? I tried accessing my stuff using the API and I got a login box. I presumed this was my zotero password but that didn't work...

ajlyon

Make sure you set up an API key in the Feeds/API section of your account settings here at zotero.org.

dstillman

I think the RSS feed provides item links, and I think it should eventually provide attachment links as well.

It does already, as rel="enclosure" links for attachment items. But currently, at least, you'd have to append the API key to download them, which isn't particularly helpful for feed readers.