AgentSkillsCN

Ris To Zotero

Ris To Zotero

SKILL.md

RIS to Zotero Importer

Import bibliography files in RIS format to your Zotero library with automatic DOI enrichment.

Definition

  • •ID: ris-to-zotero
  • •Type: Command
  • •Author: Research Skills
  • •Description: Import RIS files to Zotero collections with DOI lookup and deduplication

Commands

Basic Import

code
/ris-to-zotero citations.ris

Import all RIS entries to your Zotero library.

Import to Collection

code
/ris-to-zotero citations.ris --collection COLLECTION_KEY

Add imported items to a specific collection.

Add Tags

code
/ris-to-zotero citations.ris --tag "systematic-review" --tag "2026"

Tag all imported items.

Batch Import

code
/ris-to-zotero citations.ris --collection KEY --batch-size 25

Control import batch size (pauses between batches).

Requirements

  • •Python 3.10+
  • •httpx>=0.25.0
  • •Zotero Web API credentials
  • •RIS format bibliography files

Setup

  1. •

    Install as part of skills-research:

    bash
    cd ~/.claude/skills/skills-research/conversion-utilities/ris-to-zotero
  2. •

    Configure credentials:

    bash
    cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Set ZOTERO_USER_ID and ZOTERO_API_KEY

Environment Variables

  • •ZOTERO_USER_ID - Your Zotero user ID
  • •ZOTERO_API_KEY - Your Zotero API key

RIS Format

Standard RIS bibliography format (exported by most academic databases):

code
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Paper Title
AU  - Author Name
PY  - 2023
JF  - Journal Name
DO  - 10.1145/1234567
AB  - Abstract text...
ER  -

Typical Workflow

  1. •

    Export from database (PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Semantic Scholar, etc.)

    • •Select papers → Export as RIS
  2. •

    Import to Zotero:

    bash
    /ris-to-zotero results.ris --collection RESEARCH_PROJECT --tag "needs-screening"
  3. •

    Verify in Zotero:

    • •Check imported items in collection
    • •DOI automatically looked up for items with missing metadata
  4. •

    Use with citation-chaser:

    • •Export backward/forward citations as RIS
    • •Import the results using this skill

Examples

code
/ris-to-zotero search_results.ris
/ris-to-zotero citations.ris --collection ABC123DEF
/ris-to-zotero results.ris --tag "slr-2026" --tag "draft"

Output

code
Importing 42 unique DOIs...
✓ Success: 38
✗ Failed: 2 (duplicate DOI)
⊘ Skipped: 2 (no DOI found)

Notes

  • •Deduplicates by DOI automatically
  • •Pauses between batches to respect API rate limits
  • •Failed imports show specific error reasons
  • •Works with RIS files from any academic database
  • •Pairs with citationchaser for snowballing literature searches