Zotero Citation Counts Manager

• GitHub: Source code repository
• Will be archived on Zenodo

This is an add-on for Zotero, a research source management tool. The add-on can auto-fetch citation counts for journal articles using various APIs, including Crossref, Inspire HEP,

Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex (free, no API key needed), and Google Scholar via SerpAPI (free tier: 100 searches/month).

Please report any bugs, questions, or feature requests in the Github repository.

Code for this extension is based on the Zotero DOI Manager, which is based in part on Zotero Google Scholar Citations by Anton Beloglazov.

Supported Data Sources

Source	API Key Required	Notes
Crossref	No	Uses DOI
Inspire HEP	No	Uses DOI or arXiv ID
Semantic Scholar	No	Uses DOI or arXiv ID
OpenAlex	No	Uses DOI, falls back to title search
Google Scholar (SerpAPI)	Yes (free tier available)	Get a key at serpapi.com

Plugin Functions

• Get citation counts: Right-click selected items → "Manage Citation Counts" → choose a data source.
• Custom "Citations" column: Right-click the column header in the items list → enable "Citations" to see citation counts as a sortable column.
• Auto-retrieve: Go to Tools → "Get citation counts for new items" to automatically fetch counts when new items are added.
• Preferences: Go to Tools → "Citation Counts Manager Preferences…" to set your SerpAPI key (only needed for Google Scholar).
• Citation counts are stored in the "Extra" field as Citations: N.

Requirements

• Zotero 7.0 or later (tested on Zotero 8.0.3)

Installing

From Release

1. Download the latest .xpi file from the Releases page
2. In Zotero: Tools → Add-ons → ⚙️ → Install Add-on From File
3. Select the .xpi file and restart Zotero

Building from Source

Linux / macOS:

cd zotero-citationcounts
sh bin/build.sh

Windows (PowerShell):

cd zotero-citationcounts
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File bin\build.ps1

This creates zotero-citationcounts-2.0.0.xpi in the project root.

Setting Up Google Scholar (SerpAPI)

If you want to use Google Scholar as a data source:

1. Sign up for a free account at serpapi.com
2. Copy your API key from the dashboard
3. In Zotero: Tools → "Citation Counts Manager Preferences…" → enter the key

License

Distributed under the Mozilla Public License (MPL) Version 2.0.