Fix stale data from Zotero
What to do when changes you made in Zotero don't appear in ZotLit.
Use this guide when you edit something in Zotero but ZotLit still shows the old data.
Refresh the database manually
Open the command palette and run Refresh Zotero database. This forces ZotLit to re-read the database file on disk.
If the data updates after a manual refresh, the issue is a stale read. The fixes below prevent it from recurring.
Set up live updates
If you find yourself refreshing manually after every edit, enable live updates. The Zotero companion triggers an automatic database refresh each time Zotero saves changes, so ZotLit stays current without intervention.
See Set up live updates.
Check your read mode
Open Settings > ZotLit > Zotero database and check the Read mode setting.
On Windows and Linux, Auto uses Immutable source, which reads only what Zotero has written to disk. Recent edits (annotations you just made, notes you just typed) may not be visible yet.
Full copy is expensive
Switching to Full copy captures the most recent state, but it copies the entire database on every refresh. With large Zotero libraries this is noticeably slower and uses more disk space. Try live updates first.
For background on how each read mode works, see How ZotLit connects to Zotero.
If the problem persists
If none of the above resolves it, collect debug logs and file a bug report with your ZotLit version, OS, and the steps that trigger the stale read.