Using Zotero with Obsidian + citations plugin to auto critique with AI

Make sure you already have:

* Obsidian installed  
   
* Your Obsidian vault created and open (e.g., called EU_Research)  
    
* .bib file exported from Zotero using Better BibTeX (e.g., EU_Democracy.bib)  
    
* Citations plugin installed & enabled in Obsidian  
   
* EU_Democracy.bib set as the BibTeX file in Citations plugin settings  
  

Step 1: Confirm Citation Plugin Settings

In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins → Citations.

In "Path to BibTeX library", select your .bib file (example: EU_Democracy.bib).

Set the Literature Notes folder to something like 01_LibraryNotes (or any folder inside your vault).

Choose your note template format, or leave it default.

===== Step 2: Generate Notes for Each Zotero Reference
=====

You will now create one .md note per Zotero reference:

Press Cmd + P (Mac) or Ctrl + P to open the Command Palette in Obsidian.

Type and select: Citations: Create new literature note from a citation

A search box appears. Type part of a Zotero reference title from your .bib file.

Click the result → It will create a new .md note in your 01_LibraryNotes folder.

Repeat for each of your 87 entries.

Result: You now have 87 separate .md notes, each with a source (title, authors, abstract, etc.).

Step 3: Create One Master File with All Notes

Option A: Manually Combine All Notes (Recommended for Claude) In Obsidian, create a new note: All_EU_Democracy_Refs.md

Open each of the 87 notes (or select a group in your vault folder).

Copy and paste the content of each into All_EU_Democracy_Refs.md.

Add a separator like:

md Copy Edit --- between each source to keep them clean.

Example format: md Copy Edit

1. 1. Habermas, J. (2001). The Postnational Constellation

• • Abstract:** This work examines the concept of postnational democracy...

• • Tags:** #democracy #EU #politicalphilosophy

---

1. 1. Moravcsik, A. (1998). The Choice for Europe

• • Abstract:** This paper explains...

• • Tags:** #integration #europolitics #history

📁 Save the final .md file in your vault or desktop.

Step 4: Upload to Claude AI

Now that you have your file:

Open Claude AI

Drag and drop All_EU_Democracy_Refs.md into the chat.

Add your own writing as a second file or copy-paste it.

Ask:

"Can you critique my essay in comparison to these 87 references?" "What ideas or theories am I missing?"

*Claude will now have the full Zotero library in one file to review alongside your work.