# retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex

Make Zotero effective for us LaTeX holdouts

Repository: https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/zotero-better-bibtex
Homepage: https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/
Language: TypeScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: zotero, bibtex, citation-keys, biblatex, latex, bib
Last push: 2026-08-26T21:06:54+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4730, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 7, "gap_med": 1.5, "n_releases_24m": 137}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7062, forks 388 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:55.609193+00:00)

## What it is
Better BibTeX (BBT) is a Zotero plugin that improves bibliographic data management for LaTeX and Markdown-based writing workflows. It generates clash-free, formula-based citation keys and converts between Zotero's Unicode/HTML data and BibTeX/BibLaTeX formats.

## Use cases
- generate stable citation keys for my Zotero library
- export Zotero items to BibLaTeX for LaTeX papers
- convert HTML markup in Zotero items to LaTeX commands
- avoid citation key clashes when exporting bibliographies
- auto-export my bibliography when the Zotero library changes
- use cite-as-you-write with LaTeX or Pandoc Markdown
- manage unicode references with plain BibTeX

## When to choose
- you write papers in LaTeX or Markdown and manage references in Zotero
- you need stable, customizable citation keys that never break
- you need BibTeX/BibLaTeX export with proper unicode and HTML conversion
- you want automatic or git-based bibliography exports

## When to avoid
- you use Zotero 7 or earlier (BBT 9 requires Zotero 8+)
- you only use Zotero's built-in word processor integrations without LaTeX/Markdown
- you need a standalone bibliography manager rather than a Zotero extension

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: active
- function: serialization, developer-tools, plugin-system
- domain: developer-tools, documentation, files, education
- platform: cross-platform
- tags: zotero, bibtex, biblatex, latex, citation-keys, reference-management, academic-writing, markdown, desktop

## Member repositories
- retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:55.609193+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:40:29.234807+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-better-bibtex (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:55.609193+00:00, sha f1eb3c083f4c)
  - homepage: https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:36:27.421117+00:00, sha c85f8b027f7c)
  - site_page: https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/installation/index.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:36:27.432729+00:00, sha bf10a7e3900d)
  - site_page: https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/installation (fetched 2026-08-29T08:36:27.434951+00:00, sha affd93a3dfa6)
  - site_page: https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/changelog/index.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:36:27.436950+00:00, sha 579de7460b0b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.