5.9 KiB
Zotero Better Notes
Everything about note management. All in Zotero.
Better Notes Handbook(中文 Chinese, provide translation)
Out-dated docs: User Guide(EN) | 用户指引(中文)
Install
- Download the latest release (.xpi file) from the Releases PageNote If you're using Firefox as your browser, right-click the
.xpiand select "Save As.." - In Zotero click
Toolsin the top menu bar and then clickAddons - Go to the Extensions page and then click the gear icon in the top right.
- Select
Install Add-on from file. - Browse to where you downloaded the
.xpifile and select it. - Restart Zotero, by clicking
restart nowin the extensions list where the plugin is now listed.
Easy to Use
See Handbook:Quick Start for more details.
New to note-taking? Install and start now!
Already an Obsidian/Logseq/... user? Archive annotations with double chain and export with just one click!
It works out of the box. No complicated and annoying configuration!
Note Workspace
See Handbook:Workspace for more details.
The workspace allows you to focus on the note, as shown in the teaser on top of the README.
- Note outline(tree view, mindmap, and bubble map)
- Note links Preview
Bi-directional Link Support
See Handbook:Bi-directional Link for more details.
The bi-directional link note(双链笔记) is supported. Link your notes inside Zotero with just one click.
Export with its' linked sub-notes to Obsidian:

Note Templates
See Handbook:Note Templates for more details.
Use customized templates to import data from items/notes!

See what templates can do and find templates contributed by the community here: Note Templates from Community
Export
See Handbook:Export for more details.
- To new note in Zotero
- To MarkDown file(embed or link, with images)
- To MS Word document(.docx)
- To PDF document(.pdf)
- To FreeMind file(.mm)
Syncing: Note->MarkDown
See Handbook:Sycn for more details.
We are planning to have a two-path syncing for note<->MarkDown. Discuss here: https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-better-notes/issues/147
Keeping the MarkDown version of your notes in sync with the latest changes inside Zotero is extremely easy now.
Just click 'Auto Sync to Export Path' the first time you export your note. Do not require any third-party tools!
Other Features
See Handbook:Other Features for more details.
-
Annotation2Note

Create a note from annotation by just on click.markdownis supported! -
Heading mark

-
Cite Items(
"button) -
Image resizing(right click on images)
-
...
Development & Contributing
This addon is built based on the Zotero Addon Template.
Build
# A release-it command: version increase, npm run build, git push, and GitHub release
# You need to set the environment variable GITHUB_TOKEN https://github.com/settings/tokens
# release-it: https://github.com/release-it/release-it
npm run release
Alternatively, build it directly using build.js: npm run build
Debug
- Copy zotero command line config file. Modify the commands.
cp zotero-cmd-default.json zotero-cmd.json
-
Setup addon development environment following this link.
-
Build addon and restart Zotero with this npm command.
npm run restart
You can also debug code in these ways:
- Test code segments in Tools->Developer->Run Javascript;
- Debug output with
Zotero.debug(). Find the outputs in Help->Debug Output Logging->View Output; - UI debug. Zotero is built on the Firefox XUL framework. Debug XUL UI with software like XUL Explorer.
XUL Documents:
https://www.xul.fr/tutorial/
http://www.xulplanet.com/
Disclaimer
Use this code under AGPL (open source required). No warranties are provided. Keep the laws of your locality in mind!
Part of the code of this repo refers to other open-source projects within the allowed scope.
My Other Zotero Addons
- zotero-pdf-preview PDF preview for Zotero
- zotero-pdf-translate PDF translation for Zotero 6
- zotero-tag Automatically tag items/Batch tagging
Sponsor Me
I'm windingwind, an active Zotero(https://www.zotero.org) plugin developer. Devoting to making reading papers easier.
Sponsor me to buy a cup of coffee. I spend more than 24 hours every week coding, debugging, and replying to issues in my plugin repositories. The plugins are open-source and totally free.
If you sponsor more than $10 a month, you can list your name/logo here and have priority for feature requests/bug fixes!

