A companion to the reading workflow.
Reading scientific literature involves moving between the source text, technical terminology, questions and notes. PaperPilot brings several of those steps into Zotero’s PDF reader instead of treating every excerpt as an isolated conversation.
The public plugin supports configured translation services and AI providers. Its outputs remain aids to reading: important interpretations should be checked against the paper.
What is in the current release.
| Selection translation | Translate selected PDF text, with AI translation and local paragraph context when configured. |
|---|---|
| Contextual questions | Ask about an excerpt or use the reader sidebar to discuss paper content with a configured model. |
| Paper digests | Generate structured reading summaries, using single-pass or chunked processing as appropriate. |
| Separate reading sessions | Keep multiple local conversations for each PDF, with options to create, rename and switch sessions. |
| Note export | Export a reading conversation to a Zotero note; render common mathematical expressions in the sidebar. |
Install and configure.
- Open the v1.0.2 release and download paperpilot-1.0.2.xpi.
- In Zotero 10, open Tools → Add-ons, then choose Install Add-on From File from the gear menu.
- Select the package and follow Zotero’s installation prompts.
- Choose your translation service and AI provider in PaperPilot settings. AI features require your own configured provider access.
The current release has been tested in Zotero 10; other versions are not verified. v1.0.2 (October 2026) covers Zotero 10 context-menu safety, sidebar rendering and responsive layout. See the repository README for configuration, troubleshooting, privacy details and limitations.
Where data goes.
Chat history is stored locally by the plugin. When using online AI or translation services, relevant text is sent to the configured providers; full-paper analysis may send a substantial portion of the extracted paper text. Translation fallback can involve another translation provider.
Review the repository’s data-handling information and your institution’s policies before processing sensitive or unpublished material. This website does not accept PDF uploads or run the plugin.
Claude integration status
PaperPilot v1.0.2 uses compatible configured model endpoints. Native Anthropic API support is not represented as an existing feature. HaoHorizon is evaluating future Claude-powered research workflows.
Explore the implementation.
PaperPilot also has a self-hosted web version: PaperPilot Web ↗ (v0.2.1, run it yourself with Docker or locally).
Have a research tool or document workflow to develop? Discuss a project with HaoHorizon ↗