Upgrade StorageZotero AI Reader: read, discuss, and annotate papers in one window
Hi everyone,
I'm developing Zotero AI Reader, a lightweight plugin that puts an AI conversation beside the PDF you're reading. You can keep the paper open, ask about a difficult section, and follow up without copying passages into a browser chat or switching windows.
The interface uses Zotero's native controls. Install the XPI, connect your own OpenAI-compatible API, and open the sidebar. There is no separate app to run, and you can choose English or Chinese for the interface.
The part I'm focusing on now is connecting the discussion to the paper itself. In the preview version, you can ask:
"Highlight the experimental output length in green and explain what it means."
The assistant finds the passage and prepares a comment. You can jump to the sentence, review the proposed mark, and choose Save to PDF. The highlight or underline then appears on the original page, with an editable Zotero comment attached. An Undo this batch button stays in the conversation. You can also refer back to something you've just discussed, such as "Underline the passages for the points we just listed."
The README has English screenshots of that sequence, from the request to the saved highlight and undo control:
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader#ask-mark-and-return-to-the-paper--preview
For everyday reading, the plugin can read the current PDF, link answers back to source pages, and look up other papers in your library when a question needs them. Conversations have their own history page. The preview also accepts image questions, displays generated images with a compatible Images API, and exports conversations as Markdown, TXT, or PDF.
To try it, see the installation instructions:
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader#installation
Stable 1.3.2 covers paper Q&A, citations, library lookup, and history. PDF annotations and the image/export features described above are in the 1.4 preview; the README links to its installable CI builds. The plugin has been tested on macOS with Zotero 10.0.6. Reports from Windows and Linux would help.
This is an independent, MIT-licensed project. Conversations are stored locally; questions and enabled paper excerpts go to the API provider you configure, whose usage charges apply.
I'd especially like to hear where it gets in the way of reading, or where a passage match is wrong. Please open an issue with your Zotero/plugin versions, operating system, and steps to reproduce, leaving out API keys and private material:
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader/issues/new/choose
If you'd like to help with the code, documentation, or ongoing maintenance, the contributing guide is here. English and Chinese issues are both welcome.
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
I'm developing Zotero AI Reader, a lightweight plugin that puts an AI conversation beside the PDF you're reading. You can keep the paper open, ask about a difficult section, and follow up without copying passages into a browser chat or switching windows.
The interface uses Zotero's native controls. Install the XPI, connect your own OpenAI-compatible API, and open the sidebar. There is no separate app to run, and you can choose English or Chinese for the interface.
The part I'm focusing on now is connecting the discussion to the paper itself. In the preview version, you can ask:
"Highlight the experimental output length in green and explain what it means."
The assistant finds the passage and prepares a comment. You can jump to the sentence, review the proposed mark, and choose Save to PDF. The highlight or underline then appears on the original page, with an editable Zotero comment attached. An Undo this batch button stays in the conversation. You can also refer back to something you've just discussed, such as "Underline the passages for the points we just listed."
The README has English screenshots of that sequence, from the request to the saved highlight and undo control:
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader#ask-mark-and-return-to-the-paper--preview
For everyday reading, the plugin can read the current PDF, link answers back to source pages, and look up other papers in your library when a question needs them. Conversations have their own history page. The preview also accepts image questions, displays generated images with a compatible Images API, and exports conversations as Markdown, TXT, or PDF.
To try it, see the installation instructions:
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader#installation
Stable 1.3.2 covers paper Q&A, citations, library lookup, and history. PDF annotations and the image/export features described above are in the 1.4 preview; the README links to its installable CI builds. The plugin has been tested on macOS with Zotero 10.0.6. Reports from Windows and Linux would help.
This is an independent, MIT-licensed project. Conversations are stored locally; questions and enabled paper excerpts go to the API provider you configure, whose usage charges apply.
I'd especially like to hear where it gets in the way of reading, or where a passage match is wrong. Please open an issue with your Zotero/plugin versions, operating system, and steps to reproduce, leaving out API keys and private material:
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader/issues/new/choose
If you'd like to help with the code, documentation, or ongoing maintenance, the contributing guide is here. English and Chinese issues are both welcome.
https://github.com/kcodea516/zotero-ai-reader/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md