Convert once
The default Mktero account reflows two-column layouts into continuous Markdown. No separate OCR key is required. The same PDF is cached locally.
Read Zotero PDFsas source-linked Markdown
Reflow columns, formulas, tables, and figures — then jump back to the original PDF.
Built for people who still read papers in Zotero
- Zotero 7–10
- MIT licensed
- Mktero account
- Local cache
Every excerpt has a way back
Text, formulas, tables, and figures stay mapped to PDF pages and regions. If the match is uncertain, Mktero does not guess.
One loop for papers that are hard to read
Annotate in place
Highlights, underlines, and comments stay in the reading tab and sync to Zotero PDF annotations.
Verify the source
Jump from a sentence to a reliable page and region, or copy it with paper, page, and Zotero link.
Keep it local
Credentials, Markdown, figures, and maps live in your Zotero profile. Mktero does not sync them.
Built for papers that fight the reader
Open from Zotero, read as continuous text, and keep structure, figures, and notes in one tab.
Start from the PDF
A local file becomes a reading-first Markdown tab. A cache hit skips the remote conversion.
Notes stay beside the sentence
Create, recolor, comment, or delete annotations without leaving the line you are on.
Fix what OCR missed
Edit a paragraph or table cell without rewriting the immutable conversion. Restore anytime.
It lives in the tools you already use
Mktero is a Zotero extension. The default conversion uses your Mktero account. Switch to your own OCR if you do not want the PDF sent to Mktero.
Zotero 7–10
A restartless reading tab: outline, citations, annotations, and the library you already keep.
MinerU
Switch to your own MinerU cloud or a local MinerU service if you do not want the PDF sent to Mktero. This is not the default path.
Mistral OCR
Another alternative. With your own Mistral key, the PDF is not sent to Mktero.
From download to first page
About five minutes, and the default path needs no separate OCR key.
Download the XPI
Take the latest release file. Zotero then keeps formal releases up to date on its own.
Add it in Zotero
Choose
Tools → Plugins, open the gear menu, and pickInstall Add-on From File.... No restart is needed.Sign in and read
Sign in under
Settings → Mktero, then right-click a PDF and chooseRead as Markdown with Mktero.
Translation, and references you already have
Optional AI translation never rewrites the source. The citation graph only links items already in the current library.
Original, translation, or bilingual
Translation stays opt-in. Switch views without losing your place. The source Markdown does not change.
See papers already in your library
Match direct references by DOI or arXiv, refreshing from Semantic Scholar, OpenCitations, and OpenAlex when needed.
- Export corrected Markdown and figures
- Save a portable Zotero snapshot
- Import references from the citation popup
A reading-first Zotero tab
Outline, continuous text, figures, and notes in one place. The PDF stays the source of truth.
Know where the PDF goes
With the default converter, a cache miss sends the complete PDF to the Mktero service you signed in to. If you switch to your own MinerU or Mistral, the PDF goes there instead and is not sent to Mktero. Everything else stays in the local profile.
Read the privacy notesKeep the paper in Zotero. Keep reading.
Install the XPI, sign in to Mktero, and open the next PDF as Markdown.