Zotero into a .bib file

Zotero is very good at collecting references: it grabs metadata and PDFs from a browser button and keeps everything searchable. LaTeX, on the other hand, only reads .bib files. The bridge between the two is the Better BibTeX plugin, which turns a Zotero collection into a .bib file that stays current and, just as important, keeps citation keys stable so your \cite commands never break.

Why the built-in export is not enough

Zotero can export BibTeX on its own, but it regenerates citation keys each time, and a key that changes from knuth_literate_1984 to knuth_literate_1984-1 silently breaks every \cite that used the old name. The export is also a one-time snapshot, so the file goes stale the moment you add a paper. Better BibTeX fixes both problems: keys are generated from a formula you choose, can be pinned so they never change, and the export can refresh itself automatically.

Setting up the pipeline

First, install Better BibTeX from its website through Zotero’s Tools, Plugins dialog, then restart Zotero. Second, decide on a citation key formula in the Better BibTeX preferences; a pattern that produces keys like knuth1984 or knuth1984literate is easy to type and easy to recognize in source. Third, right-click the collection that belongs to your paper, choose Export Collection, select the Better BibTeX format, and tick “Keep updated” before saving the file into your project folder as, say, refs.bib. From then on, adding or editing an item in Zotero rewrites the file within a few seconds.

Finally, point your document at the exported file with \bibliography{refs} or \addbibresource{refs.bib}, exactly as with a hand-written database. The wiring is covered in From .bib key to in-text cite.

Division of labor

Treat Zotero as the master database and the .bib file as a generated artifact that lives in the paper’s repository. Committing the .bib alongside the .tex means a coauthor, or you on another machine, can compile the paper without having Zotero installed at all. Do not hand-edit the exported file, because the next auto-export overwrites your changes; fix metadata in Zotero instead, and the correction flows through. If an entry still looks wrong after export, run it through the BibTeX validator to see which field the style is unhappy about.

One habit prevents most future pain: once a key appears in a manuscript, pin it in Better BibTeX (right-click the item, Better BibTeX, Pin BibTeX key). Pinned keys survive formula changes, machine moves, and library reorganizations, which is exactly what a citation key needs to do.