Zotero Library ID

JdeGeusMD
edited 3 days ago
Hi there members of this discussion forum. I have a problem. I want to write some code to automate some functions in my local Zotero library and I need to enter my personal Zotero library idea. This is supposed to be found in the advanced settings and to be recognizable by the title Zotero library idea and contain a long list of the ideas. However, I cannot find this library id in the advanced settings in my Mac computer and I wonder how I can find the personal library id? Thanks for your help in advance.
  • adamsmith
    See https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/web_api/v3/basics#user_and_group_library_urls

    There is no "Library ID" in Zotero. There's a user ID which is used in API calls -- you can find it in your forum profile URL (yours is 16675683 ) or listed under Applications on https://www.zotero.org/settings/security

    There is also a group ID -- also used in API calls -- which you can get from the Group's URL in a similar way or via API as per the linked documentation
  • dstillman
    Technically there is a libraryID, but it's an internal identifier. @JdeGeusMD, when you say "supposed to be found", I assume you're referring to something an AI chatbot told you? It's almost certainly making things up, but if you explain what exactly you're trying to do, we may be able to help further.
  • JdeGeusMD
    I’m trying to build a python script that will run locally on my computer and allow me to automatically store a PDF article that I’m reading in the Zotero library if I give another app (VoiceInk) that I have the order to do so. A script that will find the DOI by scanning the PDF text, or if there’s no DOI finds the author, magazine and other credentials for upload, and that will also immediately load the PDF itself to my Zotero library. I need the API key for that and I found that., but apparently I also need the identification of my personal library. And my personal identification number.I wonder if there’s another way to do it if there is no such thing as the library ID.. thanks for your help.
  • dstillman
    edited 5 days ago
    You're still not saying what instructions you're following. If you're using AI, you should say so. If you're referring to some other instructions, you should quote or link to them.

    But if you're talking about the web API, adamsmith answered you above.
  • JdeGeusMD
    Dear Forum Members,

    Thank you for your previous responses. I'm unsure how to proceed and would really appreciate your insights.

    I've indeed been exploring various AI tools, including Cursor, ChatGPT, and Mistral, which all suggested identifying a personal library-ID as an essential part of my project. This approach made sense to me as I think would it ensure that my program-endeavors remain confined to local operations, avoiding any possible interference with others' experiences.

    The main challenge I face and what I would like to solve is efficiently managing my workflow. Currently, I aim to maintain a seamless process where I can verbally instruct my voice app VoiceInk to add articles to my library, eliminating the need for manual input into the Zotero library, which can be quite time-consuming.

    If anyone has suggestions or alternative methods to achieve this goal using voice control, I'm all ears. I'm open to any advice or solutions you might have.

    Thank you in advance for your help!
  • JdeGeusMD
    edited 3 days ago
    Would you appreciate I copy the preliminary script that was made by the AI that I was trying to work? I have not yet tested it through my script editor, since I figured it would get stuck on that input anyway.
  • adamsmith
    Sorry, there is just no way we can troubleshoot AI generated scripts, which are frequently completely bogus for Zotero given the scarcity of relevant public code using the Zotero API. But for any API access,.my initial post applies. Also see the relevant documentation, which you could try providing to the LLM
  • JdeGeusMD
    Dear Adam,

    Thanks for your honest advise. I will try to find another solution to my challenge.

  • adamsmith
    I'm really confused -- I've literally told you the relevant ID for you for API use?
  • JdeGeusMD
    I am very sorry if I did not make myself clear enough. I am not a professional coder, so I probably use some words wrong, and miss some hints. I do have the API key, that is not the problem. I can enter documents in my library fine with it. Zotero has a great a magic link that automatically files the articles upon giving it the DOI for example. But I still need to then go ahead and seperately load the PDF, en sometimes if there is no DOI also the name of the author, journal, year, pages, etc etc..I need to go fill in manually. A lot of tedious precise and boring repetitive work. I would like to automate that process, and activate it with a voice prompt. I would also like to keep the whole action local on my computer so I can also use it when I am travelling (and are offline) So the program on my computer that can do that is a program called VoicInk. That program runs LLM'is locally through Ollama and in theory will allow me to also use it as an AI assistant and prompt it with for example the sentence "file this article I am reading now in my zotero library, in folder such and such" and have it running a script that will go find the DOI in the PDF I am reading, and using my API key will find my personal Zotero library, and put the credentials and also the PDF in my (Local) library.
    Thats what I would love to be able to do. So you answered my question by poiting out the API key, but this is just the beginning of my journey towards being able to voice prompt my computer to go file the article for me in the Zotero library.
  • dstillman
    adamsmith didn’t say anything about the API key. He explained exactly what you need.
  • JdeGeusMD
    Thanks
Sign In or Register to comment.