Compact Pane for Zotero

Compact Pane shows selected metadata fields for each item type, with an option to expand the full list. It also adds a command for copying attachment paths.

Install

Current version: 0.3.2. Supported target: Zotero 9.x and 10.0.x on macOS. No companion add-on is required.

1. Download zotero-compact-pane.xpi from Releases.
2. In Zotero, open the Add-ons Manager and choose Install Add-on From File….
3. Select the XPI and restart Zotero.

After this version is installed, Zotero can check this repository's updates.json for future releases. Downloading and installing a newer XPI manually also works.

Use

Select an item and use the compact/expanded field control in its information pane. Compact mode chooses fields by item type; expanded mode returns the full metadata view. Switching views does not remove metadata from the item.

The add-on also adds Copy Attachment Path to the item context menu. For a parent item, it looks for its attachments. A small guard prevents a repeated duplicate-merge command while an earlier merge is still being handled.

Limits

The implementation patches Zotero's internal metadata, sidenav, and duplicate-merge interface components, so upstream UI changes can affect it. Current testing targets macOS. This standalone component has not received a full UI acceptance test. The repository's test script checks JavaScript syntax; no separate behavioral tests were present in the source being extracted.

Related tools

See the Zotero Tools main page for an overview. Each tool installs independently. Book Helper is a separate Mac app.

• Praetor for Zotero — Chat with Codex or Claude Code about Zotero items, search indexed text, and review proposed library changes.
• NotebookLM Pane for Zotero — Keep Google NotebookLM in the item pane and prepare local PDFs for its upload dialog.
• Page View for Zotero — Add single-page reading, two-page spreads, page fitting, and focus controls to the PDF reader.
• Quiet Theme for Zotero — Change Zotero’s colors, typography, and interface spacing.
• Book Helper — Identify and rename PDF and DRM-free EPUB books in a native Mac app, with optional Zotero import.

Build and check

Building requires a Unix shell, zip, and Python 3. Syntax checks and any included unit tests require Node.js. End users installing an XPI do not need these developer tools.

./scripts/build.sh
./scripts/test.sh

The package is written to dist/zotero-compact-pane.xpi. The build also regenerates updates.json with the package's SHA-256 hash and versioned release URL. To publish an update, change the version in manifest.json, build and check, commit the new update manifest, and attach that exact XPI to release v<version>.

Keep examples synthetic. Do not commit library exports, conversations, personal configuration, or screenshots containing private material.

License

No repository-wide license has been specified. Author attribution is retained in the add-on manifest.