Writing a paper often feels like swimming through an ocean of literature—highlighting key points, taking notes, and organizing ideas into mind maps. Many of us use Zotero for reference management, Notion for notes, and Obsidian for linking ideas, but constantly switching between tools can break your flow. That’s where Zotero Better Notes comes in—a powerful plugin discovered on GitHub that integrates these functionalities right into Zotero, so you no longer need to jump between applications.
This plugin brings Obsidian-style bidirectional linking, Notion-like templates, and even mind mapping directly into Zotero. It’s like having an entire note-taking ecosystem inside a single tool.
Say Goodbye to Isolated Notes—Build Knowledge Networks with One Click
Zotero’s built-in notes often function in isolation—it’s hard to connect ideas across different papers. Zotero Better Notes changes that.
When writing a note, simply click the link button in the title bar to connect it to any other note. For example, while taking notes on a paper about “deep learning,” you can later link it to another note on “neural network optimization” with one click.
These connections are bidirectional: if Note A links to Note B, Note B will also show a backlink to Note A. Combined with a relationship graph on the side, you can visually explore how your ideas interconnect—almost like looking at a mind map.
Template Power for Academic Work
The plugin offers a variety of templates tailored for academic use. While not as extensive as Notion’s template gallery, these are purpose-built for researchers.
For instance, you can automatically gather key points from multiple papers under a specific tag, organized by color or theme—all with a single click. Some templates even support programmable content generation, acting like mini-apps within your note system.
The plugin’s community also shares ready-made templates for literature reviews, research method comparisons, and more.
Seamless Sync with External Editors (Like Obsidian)
If you’re an Obsidian user, you can set up bidirectional synchronization between Zotero Better Notes and external Markdown files.
Setup is simple: during your first note export, just enable “Auto-Sync.” After that, any changes made in Zotero will update the Markdown file, and edits in Obsidian will sync back to Zotero. This way, you get the best of both worlds—Zotero’s reference management and Obsidian’s extensibility.
Other Useful Features:
- Multi-format Export: Export notes as Markdown, Word, PDF, or FreeMind mind maps.
- Magic Key Command Palette: Press “/” to bring up a quick-action menu (similar to Notion).
- Image Preview & Zoom: Double-click images in notes to preview and zoom without leaving Zotero.
- AI Writing Integration: Works with plugins like Zotero-GPT for AI-assisted writing inside the editor.
Installation Guide
Getting started is straightforward—just follow these steps from the README:
- Download the latest .xpi file from GitHub Releases.
- In Zotero, go to Tools → Add-ons, and drag the .xpi file into the window.
- Restart Zotero to start using the plugin.
Final Thoughts
The greatest strength of Zotero Better Notes is that it brings systematic organization to academic note-taking. Scattered ideas become structured knowledge, and connections between references become clear and navigable.
It’s especially useful for those writing papers or conducting research—enabling you to highlight, note, link, and organize entirely within Zotero.
This plugin essentially transforms Zotero from a reference manager into a full-featured academic knowledge platform—and it’s absolutely worth trying.
GitHub Project:
https://github.com/windingwind/zotero-better-notes