References & integrations¶
Everything external is opt-in and declared in research-config.yml. Secrets always live in .env and are referenced as ${VARS} — never written into committed files.
Set references.provider to choose your reference manager. All citation-aware skills (/draft, /cover-letter, /peer-review, /literature-scan) read through one interface, so the provider is swappable without touching any skill:
| Provider | Setup | Notes |
|---|---|---|
bibtex (default) |
Export your library as BibTeX/CSL-JSON/RIS from any manager, save it to references.bibtex_path |
Zero external service, works offline, works with any tool (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, Paperpile) |
zotero (opt-in) |
Community zotero-mcp server, API key + user id in .env |
Live search, full text, PDFs |
mendeley |
Export as BibTeX, use the bibtex provider |
No turnkey Mendeley MCP exists yet — see below |
You can also add any other MCP server — a SQLite/DuckDB connector, a filesystem MCP, or a domain-specific server for your field — via .mcp.json.template or settings.local.json.
The full setup steps for each provider (API keys, .mcp.json wiring, the Mendeley REST API caveat, and general MCP-server instructions) live in docs/integrations.md, which stays the single source of truth for this content so it doesn't drift out of sync.