Local retrieval
Keyword search and the stored index run against your own Zotero profile. A managed local embedding model can build the semantic index on the same computer.
Zotero research assistant
Nodus Zotero Plugin
The Nodus Zotero plugin adds semantic search, cited answers and evidence review directly to Zotero. It indexes research attachments inside your Zotero profile, can use local models, and remains useful with or without the Nodus desktop application.
01 · Inside Zotero
A research layer over the library you already use.
The plugin works where reading and reference management already happen. It indexes PDF, EPUB and HTML attachments, then adds a sidebar for exact and semantic retrieval across the indexed library.
A cited answer includes the passage it relies on and the page when the source provides one. That makes the result a route back into the document rather than an unsupported summary. Hybrid retrieval combines keywords with semantic similarity and can find related passages across languages even when authors use different terms.
The plugin is distinct from the broader Nodus–Zotero integration. That broader workflow mirrors a Zotero library into the Nodus desktop workspace for ideas, relations, knowledge graphs, research gaps and writing. The plugin focuses on searching and checking the material from inside Zotero.
02 · Local-first privacy
The index belongs to your Zotero profile.
Attachment text, chunks and the search index are stored locally with the plugin. There is no Nodus account and the plugin does not upload a library to Nodus Research.
Models you choose
Local Ollama or LM Studio endpoints can keep model-assisted work on your hardware. If you configure a cloud provider, only the requested material is sent under that provider's terms.
Open source
The plugin source lives in the canonical Nodus repository under AGPL-3.0-only, beside the desktop application and website.
For confidential or restricted material, use local models and review the repository's privacy documentation before enabling an external provider.
03 · Installation
Install the release file in Zotero.
The plugin is distributed as nodus-zotero.xpi with each stable Nodus release.
01
Download the XPI
Use the direct latest-release download, or choose the file from a specific tagged release when reproducibility matters.
02
Open Zotero Plugins
In Zotero 9 or 10, open Tools → Plugins, then choose Install Add-on From File from the gear menu.
03
Select and configure
Select nodus-zotero.xpi, restart Zotero if requested, then choose a local model or a provider before building the semantic index.
04 · Supported workflows
Search, ask, inspect and return to the evidence.
The plugin is designed for research questions that should end at a source passage, not at an untraceable answer.
Semantic library search
Find related text across indexed PDF, EPUB and HTML attachments, including conceptually similar passages that do not repeat the query wording.
Cited answers
Ask across the indexed library and receive an answer grounded in exact passages. PDF citations open the supporting page; EPUB and HTML evidence is marked non-navigable when Zotero provides no stable chapter or anchor locator.
Scans and visual pages
With a vision-capable model, read scanned text and describe figures, tables or formulas that a plain text layer cannot expose.
Evidence audit
Compare claims with the indexed library and flag places where support looks thin. The audit is a prompt to inspect sources, not a truth score.
05 · Relation to Nodus desktop
Independent when you want it. Connected when you need more.
The plugin does not require the Nodus desktop app. Its index and research sidebar work inside Zotero on their own.
When Nodus desktop is installed, optional actions can check whether a clean reading copy exists, import or refresh the Zotero library in Nodus, and open the current document in the Nodus reader. The original Zotero item and attachment remain read-only.
Use the plugin for quick retrieval while collecting and reading. Use the Nodus desktop application when the project needs a structured corpus, source-linked ideas, a knowledge graph, research gaps, debates, notes and cited writing. The academic research guide explains that wider workflow.
Collect and cite in Zotero, search and check inside the plugin, and move into Nodus for corpus-level analysis. Each part has a separate job, and none requires surrendering the local source library.