format=bib returns 404 for valid items uploaded via API

daniel.odonnell

Hi Zotero team,

We're encountering a persistent issue using the Zotero Web API (`v3`) to retrieve formatted citations for items uploaded via API.

Specifically:

> Requests of the form `https://api.zotero.org/users/{userID}/items/{itemKey}?format=bib&style=chicago-author-date` return **404 Not Found**, even though the items:
> - Are visible in the public web interface
> - Exist in the `format=json` output
> - Were uploaded successfully via the standard `POST /users/{userID}/items` API

### Example

Item visible at:
https://www.zotero.org/daniel.odonnell/items/J323WCMY

But `format=bib` fails:

```
GET https://api.zotero.org/users/632779/items/J323WCMY?format=bib&style=chicago-author-date
Accept: text/html
```

Returns:
```
404 Not Found
```

This occurs consistently across multiple book entries uploaded via the API.

We’ve confirmed:
- The user ID (`632779`) is correct
- The item key is valid
- The same request pattern works for some other entries in different libraries
- This occurs even days after upload (not a propagation issue)

### Question

Is this an expected limitation (e.g., CSL rendering is only supported for certain upload types or sources), or is this a bug? If it’s a bug, is there a workaround or remediation path?

Happy to provide reproducible test uploads or sample payloads if needed.

Thanks for your help!

—
Daniel Paul O'Donnell
Zotero user ID: 632779

daniel.odonnell

I did find this: https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/comment/485021#Comment_485021

I'm wondering whether it would be possible to get a different error message rather than just 404? The item exists, it is just not-public.

AbeJellinek

It's considered good security practice for APIs to respond as if inaccessible items are nonexistent, so I don't think this will change.