Zotero 10 Plugin Compatibility: What Works, What Broke, and How to Fix It

Q: How do I update plugins for Zotero 10?

Download the plugin's latest .xpi from its GitHub Releases page, then go to Tools → Add-ons → ⚙ → Install Add-On From File… and select it, then restart Zotero. Or install the community Zotero Add-ons Market to browse and update plugins from inside Zotero.

Q: Can I install a plugin manually in Zotero 10?

Yes — the .xpi route above is the manual method. Drag-and-drop of XPI files into the main window no longer works like it did in Zotero 6; use Tools → Add-ons → Install Add-On From File.

Zotero 10 shipped on August 17, 2026 — and for most people the first question wasn't "what's new?" but "will my plugins still work?"

It's the right question. A Zotero install without its plugins is like a browser without extensions: the core works, but half your workflow just vanished. The good news: as of early September 2026, nearly every major plugin has shipped a Zotero 10–compatible release. The plugin ecosystem spent late August and the first days of September updating in waves — most big names pushed new versions within a week or two of the release.

This guide gives you the current compatibility status of the plugins people actually use, a checklist for checking your own library before you upgrade, and step-by-step fixes when something does break.

Zotero 10 Plugin Compatibility Status (September 2026)

We checked the release activity of the most popular Zotero plugins through September 8, 2026. Anything marked ✅ Zotero 10–ready has shipped a compatible release; anything marked ⚠️ check either updates slowly or hasn't published a Zotero 10 build yet — verify on its release page before upgrading.

Reading, translation & PDF tools

✅ zotero-pdf-translate — translate PDFs, EPUBs, and annotations in place. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ Zotero PDF2ZH (pdf2zh for Zotero) — bilingual Chinese translation preserving layout. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ PDFMathTranslate — scientific PDF translation that preserves formulas. Active through the Zotero 10 window.
✅ zotero-scihub — auto-download PDFs. Updated for Zotero 10.

Notes, Obsidian & knowledge management

✅ zotero-better-notes — the heavyweight note manager. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ zotero-mdnotes — export notes and metadata to Markdown/Obsidian. Updated.
✅ Notero — sync items and notes into Notion. Updated.
⚠️ Obsidian integration plugins (community bridge/URI plugins) — most work, but a few small bridges update slowly. Check each one's release page.

AI & research assistants

✅ PapersGPT — AI chat, AutoPilot batch reading, and a Zotero MCP server. Fully Zotero 10–compatible (this is our plugin — we track every Zotero release closely).
✅ Zotero GPT — chat with your library using your own API key. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ llm-for-zotero — open-source research agent built on your library. Updated.
✅ Zotero AI Butler — batch-reads papers into structured Zotero notes. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ zotero-mcp — expose your library to Claude, Codex, and other MCP clients. Updated.
✅ zotero-arxiv-daily — daily arXiv recommendations from your library. Updated.
⚠️ Aria (AI research assistant) — was still on older compatibility in August; check its release page before upgrading.

Chinese-language users (metadata & translation)

✅ Jasminum — CNKI/Chinese metadata retrieval. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ translators_CN — Chinese site translators. Updated.
✅ zotero-pdf2zh — see above.

Citation, LaTeX & bibliography

✅ zotero-better-bibtex — the LaTeX/Overleaf essential. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ zotero-shortdoi — DOI retrieval. Updated.
✅ zotero-reference — PDF reference panel. Updated.
✅ zotero-citation — cleaner Word citations. Updated.

Attachments, files & workflow

✅ ZotFile — attachment renaming and management. Updated.
✅ zotero-attanger — attachment organizer. Updated.
✅ zotero-actions-tags — workflow automation. Updated.
✅ zotmoov / watch-folder style helpers — Zotero 10–compatible builds available.

Themes & UI

✅ Ethereal Style — the popular dark/beautiful theme. Zotero 10 build released.
✅ zotero-night — night theme. Updated.

Plugin installation itself changed, too

✅ Zotero Add-ons Market (community in-app plugin browser) — updated for Zotero 10. Meanwhile the long-running Zotero Chinese Community plugin collection (web directory) has suspended maintenance, which is pushing more users toward in-app marketplaces. More on that below.

Statuses reflect releases we verified through September 8, 2026. If a plugin you depend on isn't listed, don't assume — check its GitHub Releases page or forum thread for a build dated on or after August 17, 2026.

Before You Upgrade: A 3-Minute Compatibility Check

Do this before clicking "Check for Updates", and you'll avoid 90% of upgrade pain:

List your plugins. In Zotero, go to Tools → Add-ons. Write down (or screenshot) every add-on and its version.
Check each one's release page. For every plugin you can't live without, open its GitHub Releases page (or official forum thread). Look for a release published on or after August 17, 2026 — that's your Zotero 10 compatibility signal. Many authors also write "Zotero 10" or "10.0" in the release notes.
Update plugins first. If a compatible release exists, install it before upgrading Zotero itself. Zotero keeps your add-ons folder across upgrades, so a plugin that's already current usually survives the jump untouched.
Back up your data. Zotero stores everything in your data directory (macOS/Linux default: ~/Zotero; Windows: under %APPDATA%\Zotero\Zotero\Profiles\… — unless you moved it in Settings → Advanced → Files and Folders). Copy it somewhere safe — five minutes now beats a weekend of recovery later. Your Zotero account sync is not a backup for local attachment files unless you've enabled file syncing.
Upgrade, then check Add-ons again. After Zotero updates, open Tools → Add-ons and confirm nothing is listed as incompatible or disabled. Restart Zotero once — many plugins need a clean restart after a major upgrade.

How to Install or Update Plugins in Zotero 10

Zotero 10 uses the same modern add-on system as Zotero 7 (no more legacy XPI dragging into the window):

Download the plugin's .xpi file. On the plugin's GitHub Releases page, download the .xpi attached to the release (not the source code zip).
Install it: Tools → Add-ons → ⚙ gear icon → Install Add-on From File… → select the .xpi.
Restart Zotero when prompted.

Want an app-store experience instead? Install the community Zotero Add-ons Market plugin once, and you can browse, install, and update plugins from inside Zotero — including checking which of your plugins have new Zotero 10–compatible versions. With the old web directories winding down (the Zotero Chinese Community's famous plugin list has paused maintenance), the in-app market is becoming the fastest way to keep plugins current.

To update an already-installed plugin, either repeat the install step with the new .xpi (it overwrites cleanly) or use the Add-ons Market's update button when available.

Fixing Plugins That Break After the Upgrade

Even with good prep, things break. Here's the troubleshooting ladder, from least to most drastic:

Symptom: a plugin shows as "incompatible" or is disabled in Tools → Add-ons.

First: check its release page again — the fix may have shipped today. Plugin authors pushed updates for weeks after Zotero 9, and the same is happening for Zotero 10.
Install the newest .xpi and restart Zotero.
If the add-on manager refuses it, you're on a build the plugin doesn't declare support for yet — don't force it; wait for the author's update (or see the last section below).

Symptom: the plugin is enabled but misbehaves (missing toolbar buttons, options gone, errors on load).

Restart Zotero once.
Turn on Help → Debug Output Logging (or open Zotero's error console from the Help menu), reproduce the problem, and look for messages mentioning the plugin's name — that tells you exactly which add-on is failing.
Check the plugin's GitHub Issues tab. During a compatibility wave, someone has usually already reported your exact bug, and the author often links a fixed build there before the official release.
If it's a minor plugin you rarely use, disable it (Tools → Add-ons → Disable) and move on — you can re-enable it when the author catches up.

Symptom: Zotero itself is slow or crashes after upgrading.

Disable plugins in batches (half at a time) to isolate the culprit.
Remove and re-add the suspect plugin rather than just disabling — a stale preference file can survive an update.

Symptom: the plugin you need for your thesis defense has no Zotero 10 build.

First, check whether you actually need Zotero 10 right now. Nothing forces you to upgrade the day a new version drops. Zotero 9 still runs your old plugins fine — you can upgrade your plugin later and Zotero after that, in whatever order keeps your workflow alive.
Report the gap politely to the plugin author (a GitHub issue saying "waiting for Zotero 10 support, thanks for your work" genuinely helps prioritize).
Follow the author's release page so you can upgrade the moment the build lands.

The Bigger Picture: Version Churn Is Why an AI Layer Should Live In Your Library, Not On It

Here's the pattern Zotero users have now seen three times in 18 months — Zotero 8, then 9, then 10: every major release is great, and every major release briefly breaks the plugin ecosystem. The plugins that survive best are the ones maintained by large communities or small teams that track Zotero's release cycle closely.

That's worth remembering when you pick an AI assistant for your research. An AI plugin that only talks to your library (indexing your PDFs and reading them through Zotero's own storage) breaks far less often than one that hooks deep into Zotero's UI — and when a new Zotero version lands, it should already have a compatible build waiting. PapersGPT is built that way: it indexes your library, chats with your PDFs, and runs AutoPilot batch reads, and it was Zotero 10–compatible the week Zotero 10 shipped. If you'd rather not gamble your reading workflow on the next compatibility wave, that's exactly the kind of plugin you want.

FAQ

Are my Zotero plugins compatible with Zotero 10? Most are, as of September 2026. The major plugins — zotero-pdf-translate, better-bibtex, zotero-gpt, better-notes, Jasminum, Ethereal Style, and dozens more — shipped Zotero 10–compatible releases within days or weeks of Zotero 10's August 17 launch. For any specific plugin, check its GitHub Releases page for a build dated on or after August 17, 2026.

How do I update plugins for Zotero 10? Download the plugin's latest .xpi from its GitHub Releases page, then go to Tools → Add-ons → ⚙ → Install Add-On From File… and select it, then restart Zotero. Or install the community Zotero Add-ons Market to browse and update plugins from inside Zotero.

A plugin broke after I upgraded to Zotero 10. What should I do? Restart Zotero first, then check the plugin's release page for a newer build (compatibility updates were still shipping through early September). If none exists, disable the plugin until the author updates, or check its GitHub Issues tab — authors often post a fixed build there first.

Can I install a plugin manually in Zotero 10? Yes — the .xpi route above is the manual method. Drag-and-drop of XPI files into the main window no longer works like it did in Zotero 6; use Tools → Add-ons → Install Add-On From File.

Does PapersGPT work with Zotero 10? Yes. PapersGPT is fully compatible with Zotero 10, and with Zotero 7, 8, and 9 — including its AutoPilot batch reading and Zotero MCP server features.

I can't live without one plugin that isn't updated yet. Can I stay on an older Zotero? Yes — you don't have to upgrade on day one. Zotero 9 keeps working with plugins that declare support for it. Upgrade your critical plugins first and Zotero afterwards, in whatever order keeps your workflow intact.

Ready to Read Your Library on Zotero 10?

Zotero 10's new Reading Mode and faster search make this the best version yet — and with the plugin ecosystem caught up, it's a great moment to upgrade. Download PapersGPT for Zotero to chat with your PDFs, auto-summarize new papers, and draft literature reviews from your own library. Free to start, works on Zotero 10 today.