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How to open your Zotero library items as folded text with Textfold

Connect TextFold to the Zotero 7 app and read any library item in five levels.

  • Research
  • Intermediate
  • 30 minutes
  • From the README
  • Any agent

Who it is forA researcher who keeps papers in Zotero and wants to read them in levels without moving files around.

The problemPapers saved in Zotero are hard to skim, and exporting them to another tool breaks the link to the library.

The outcomeYour Zotero collections open in TextFold, and any item reads in levels with the title, authors, and citekey you entered in Zotero.

What you need first

  • Python 3.9 or newer, or the TextFold desktop app for macOS or Windows
  • A model you already have, such as Claude Code, Codex, a ChatGPT plan, an API key, or a free OpenRouter setup

Steps

  1. In Zotero 7, go to **Settings › Advanced** and turn on **Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero**.
  2. Open TextFold at http://localhost:3017, or open the desktop app.
  3. Click **Zotero library**, under the drop zone.
  4. Pick an item and click **Read**.

Prompt for your agent

Using the TextFold repo at github.com/chenxiachan/textfold, enable Zotero 7 communication under Settings › Advanced, then open the Zotero library in TextFold. Expected output: your Zotero collections listed, and the chosen item shown at its folded levels. Verify that the item's title and authors match what is in Zotero, and that nothing in the Zotero library has changed.

Caveat. The README says the Zotero connection works only while the Zotero app is running on the same computer, and items with only a DOI open from Europe PMC, which needs an open full text.

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