Imported from wentorai/research-plugins (skills/literature/metadata/zutilo-guide/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add wentorai/research-plugins --skill zutilo-guide. Copyright stays with the author.

Zutilo Guide

Overview

Zutilo is a Zotero utility plugin that adds keyboard shortcuts, batch editing capabilities, and clipboard operations for efficient library management. It enables power-user workflows — copying/pasting tags between items, batch-editing fields, assigning keyboard shortcuts to any Zotero action, and quick item manipulation. Essential for researchers managing large collections who need speed and efficiency.

Installation

# Download .xpi from GitHub releases
# Zotero 7: Tools → Add-ons → Install Add-on From File

Key Features

Clipboard Operations

### Tag Management
- **Copy tags** from selected item(s)
- **Paste tags** to selected item(s)
- **Remove tags** from selected item(s) by clipboard
- Supports multiple items simultaneously

### Field Operations
- Copy creator (author) information
- Paste creators to other items
- Copy item fields to clipboard
- Batch copy/paste between items

### Related Items
- Copy related item links
- Paste related items in bulk
- Quick-link items as related

Keyboard Shortcuts

### Configurable Shortcuts
Zutilo lets you assign keyboard shortcuts to:
- Copy/paste tags
- Copy/paste related items
- Edit item info
- Open attachment
- Show/hide panes
- Merge duplicates
- Any Zotero menu action

### Common Shortcuts Setup
Ctrl+Shift+C → Copy tags
Ctrl+Shift+V → Paste tags
Ctrl+Shift+R → Copy related items
Alt+E → Edit item
Alt+O → Open first attachment

Batch Operations

### Batch Tag Editing
1. Select multiple items (Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click)
2. Zutilo → Paste Tags (applies to all selected)
3. Or: Zutilo → Remove Tags (removes from all selected)

### Batch Field Editing
- Modify item type for multiple items
- Batch-update a field value
- Copy field from one item, paste to many

### Item Manipulation
- Merge items (combine metadata)
- Relate items in batch
- Move items between collections

Configuration

### Preferences (Edit → Preferences → Zutilo)

**Shortcut Configuration:**
- Each Zutilo function can have a keyboard shortcut
- Shortcuts: single key, Ctrl+key, or Ctrl+Shift+key
- Avoid conflicts with existing Zotero shortcuts

**Context Menu:**
- Show/hide Zutilo items in right-click menu
- Configure which operations appear
- Group by category (tags, fields, related)

**Behavior:**
- Tag paste mode: append (default) or replace
- Clipboard format: plain text or JSON
- Confirm before batch operations: on/off

Workflow Examples

### Organize by Reading Status
1. Create tag set: #to-read, #reading, #done
2. Select papers to read → Ctrl+Shift+V (paste #to-read)
3. As you finish → Copy #done tag → Select item → Paste

### Bulk Relate Papers
1. Select all papers on a topic
2. Zutilo → Relate Selected Items
3. All items now linked as related in Zotero

### Migrate Tags
1. Select items with old tag
2. Copy tags → modify in text editor → Paste new tags
3. Remove old tags in batch

Use Cases

Power-user efficiency: Keyboard-driven library management
Batch operations: Tag and edit multiple items at once
Organization: Quick tag assignment and removal
Workflow speed: Reduce clicks in repetitive tasks
Collection management: Efficient item relationships

References

Install zutilo-guide and it becomes one more candidate the router can pick - when it fits.

A listing is a routing target with a manifest: what it does, which domains it covers, what it costs and who publishes it. Once installed it sits beside your own models and tools, is scored like any other candidate for each request, and shows up in the trace when it wins. Ratings come from workspaces that installed it, one per account.

zutilo-guide

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