How to install a plugin
A Zotero plugin is a single file ending in .xpi. You download it, then point Zotero at it. It takes about a minute.
Check your Zotero version
In Zotero, open Help › About Zotero (on a Mac, Zotero › About Zotero). The first number is the one that matters: 7, 8, 9 or 10.
Don't have Zotero yet? Download it free from zotero.org, then come back here.
Every plugin page lists the versions it works with. Pick yours in the "Your Zotero" filter when you browse and you'll only see plugins that work with it.
Download the plugin file
On the plugin's page here, click Install, then Download. You get one .xpi file, usually in your Downloads folder.
Using Firefox? Firefox tries to install .xpi files as its own add-ons. Right-click the Download button and choose Save Link As… instead.
On GitHub, don't download "Source code (zip)": that's the code, not the plugin.
Open Tools › Plugins
In Zotero's menu bar, click Tools, then Plugins. The Plugins window opens.
In Zotero 6 this was called Tools › Add-ons.
Install from the file
In the Plugins window, click the gear button at the top right and choose Install Plugin From File…. Pick the .xpi file you downloaded and click Open.
Or drag the .xpi file onto the Plugins window.
Check it's installed
The plugin now appears in the list. Some plugins ask you to restart Zotero: if you see a "Restart now" link, click it.
Most plugins add their own menu items, a pane in Zotero's Settings, or a panel in the reader.
If something goes wrong
- "…is not compatible with Zotero"
- The plugin doesn't support your Zotero version. Check the versions on its page here, and look for another plugin for the same job.
- "…could not be installed because it appears to be corrupt"
- The file isn't a plugin: often a web page saved by mistake, or GitHub's "Source code (zip)". Download it again from the plugin's page here.
- Nothing happens, or you don't see the plugin anywhere
- Restart Zotero. If it still doesn't show, open Tools › Plugins and check it isn't disabled.
- Zotero won't install it at all
- Some plugins are on Zotero's blocklist or fail Zotero's own checks. Their pages here say so and have no Install button.