ZotX is an Android app that links your synced .pdfs with their metadata from a .bib file, letting you search, browse, and read your papers.

With my Zotero setup, all my PDFs are managed as attachments via ZotMoov. The Zotero library itself doesn't hold a single PDF. Instead, it links to the PDFs stored in a folder on my computer. I organize and read in Zotero, and sometimes take notes in Obsidian, linking everything together with BetterBibTeX.

What about integrating that with Android? Moving/Syncing PDFs to your Android device is quickly done, but then also knowing which file contains which paper, and whether you already read it or not, isn't. ZotX solves that.

1. In Zotero: Export your library as a BetterBibTeX .bib file (Library > Export > BetterBibTeX)
2. Sync the PDFs and the .bib file to your Android device
3. In ZotX: Select the .bib file
4. In ZotX: Select the folder containing your PDFs
5. Browse: See your list of papers, with context from your Zotero library, search through them and open them to read on Android with your preferred PDF reader

ZotX is dual-licensed for accessibility to individual users and researchers with specific terms for commercial use. This ensures that ZotX remains freely available for individuals while providing an option to fund development.

You are free to use, modify, and share ZotX for personal, academic, or non-commercial research purposes under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.

Commercial use of ZotX is subject to specific conditions:

• If your organization has less than $100 thousand USD in gross annual revenue (or equivalent, over the course of the last 12 months) and has raised less than $100 thousand USD in total funding (or equivalent, total raised), you may use ZotX under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.
• If your organization exceeds these thresholds, contact me at [email protected] to discuss a licensing agreement.

• Android 8.0+
• Zotero with BetterBibTeX and ZotMoov
• Any file sync app (e.g. Syncthing)
• Any PDF reader app on Android

• OpenJDK 21
• Gradle 8.14

git clone https://github.com/MK2112/zotx.git
cd zotx
./gradlew clean build

• Zotero — Reference manager
• Better BibTeX — BibTeX export plugin
• ZotMoov — Attachment linker