Create and open literature notes

ZotLit treats opening and creating a literature note as a single gesture. If a note already exists for a Zotero item, ZotLit opens it. If not, ZotLit creates the note and then opens it.

Use the quick switcher

The quick switcher searches your Zotero library and opens or creates a literature note for the item you pick.

Open a note from a citation key

Enable Citation key links in Settings → ZotLit → Citations. New installs start with this setting off. ZotLit keeps it on when migrating earlier settings.

Type or paste a bracketed citation like [@key] in Live Preview or Source mode. Click its citation key to open or create the corresponding Literature Note.

ZotLit recognizes bracketed Pandoc citations: [@key], [@key, p. 3], and multi-cite [@a; @b]. A bare @key outside brackets stays plain text.

The Citation key property setting controls direct lookup and defaults to citekey. Exactly one matching Literature Note supports direct opening and hover preview. Files without zotero-key do not count as Literature Note matches.

When the property has no match or multiple matches, a click looks up the Zotero item. ZotLit then checks the item's zotero-key before creating a note. This check prevents a duplicate when an existing Literature Note has a missing or different citation key property.

If the item is not found in your Zotero library, a notice appears: "No Zotero item with citation key @{key}." If the database is unavailable, ZotLit shows "Open the Zotero database to look up citation key @{key}."

Zotero lookup uses the Default library setting at the top of Settings > ZotLit. If the selected Citation Key Property is absent from Managed Frontmatter, ZotLit shows a notice but keeps the feature active. Existing unmanaged property values can still resolve notes.

For details on the internal editor integration and the Reading mode limitation, see How citation key links work.

Create or update notes in bulk

You can create or update literature notes for many Zotero items at once from the Zotero right-click menu. This requires the ZotLit Zotero companion plugin.

Update the entire library at once

Use this command to create or update literature notes for every item in your library at once.

Open the command palette and run:

ZotLit: Create or update all literature notesCopy →

Obsidian opens a confirmation modal that lists what will be created and what will be updated. Review the list, then confirm to start the batch.

You can also trigger this from Zotero: right-click a library — My Library or a group library — in the sidebar and choose ZotLit > Create or Update Literature Notes.

The command uses your Default library (set in Settings > ZotLit).

Update one collection at once

In Zotero, right-click a collection in the sidebar and choose ZotLit > Create or Update Literature Notes. Obsidian opens the same confirmation modal, scoped to that collection.

Items in nested subcollections are included, so you do not need to repeat the action on each child collection.

If the collection no longer exists in your Zotero database, Obsidian reports "Collection not found in Zotero."

Open or update a single item from Zotero

When exactly one regular item is selected in the Zotero library, the top-level context menu shows Open Literature Note in Obsidian. This creates the note if none exists, or opens the existing one. The behavior matches the quick switcher.

Update multiple items at once

How ZotLit identifies literature notes

ZotLit identifies literature notes by their zotero-key frontmatter field. For details on note identity and the managed region, see Literature notes and the managed region.

See also