How to install zotero in ubuntu?

Question

I download the tar.bz file from the home page of zotero, extract it and run the file 'run-zotero.sh', but it open zotero rather than install it. How to install it? Any help or suggestion will be appreciated!

Just a quick note to let you know there is a github repo that should help all debian-based distro to install it with minimal hassle: https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-deb Best — mateMat, Jan 20 '20 at 15:31

score 49 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 13 '13 at 14:53

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I suggest you add a ppa so that the program gets updated regularly:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:smathot/cogscinl

Say yes/press enter to accept any requests.

sudo apt-get update

wait for it to complete, then:

sudo apt-get install zotero-standalone

This will install the program.

answered Aug 13 '13 at 14:53

Boluc Papuccuoglu

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I try this code, but 'E: Unable to locate package zotero-standalone '. – Eden Harder Aug 13 '13 at 15:01
Actually this PPA is only for upto 12.10 but OP using 13.04 .sp it doesnt work for him. – Raja G Aug 13 '13 at 15:12
Well I was able to install it from 13.04 using the commands I gave. Eden, did you run the second command after running the first? – Boluc Papuccuoglu Aug 13 '13 at 16:22
Yeah, I run all the command in order. – Eden Harder Aug 14 '13 at 02:14
@rajagenupula Maybe you are right. I try other software only upto 12.10 with the same question. – Eden Harder Aug 14 '13 at 06:45
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Working with 14.04 for me :) – nealmcb Mar 01 '15 at 00:44
... also on 14.10 and 15.04. – setempler Mar 20 '15 at 16:49
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tried on 16.04 and works – Jindra Helcl Aug 15 '16 at 11:51
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This works on later versions of ubuntu, but it can later on fail to update to later versions of Zotero, which severely diminishes its usefulness. – E.P. Nov 14 '16 at 08:27
works on ubuntu 17.10 – gosz Dec 21 '17 at 13:13
works on ubuntu 18 LTS – Peter Krauss Dec 23 '18 at 01:05
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The following packages are no longer maintained:
- Zotero standalone, a reference manager http://www.zotero.org/ For an alternative installer, see https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-deb
– Will Apr 03 '20 at 07:11

score 46 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 23 '19 at 09:36

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As of 2019, the preferred way of installing Zotero is by using Emiliano Heyns' packages.

Run the following instructions on your terminal:

wget -qO- https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-deb/releases/download/apt-get/install.sh | sudo bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install zotero

For additional information about the provided packages, see the README file.

Other answers should be considered obsolete, Sebastiaan Mathot's packages being no longer maintained.

answered Jul 23 '19 at 09:36

Nicolas Girard

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I ran into an problem with this -- it looks like the repo has a hosting problem and so the owner recommends installing from Sourceforge for now. For more info see the readme and issue https://github.com/retorquere/zotero-deb/issues/49 – ascendants Dec 07 '21 at 22:14
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the preferred way is now probably snap, as it is available out of the box in the Ubuntu snap repos – moo Apr 30 '23 at 09:42
The updated source is:
curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/retorquere/zotero-deb/master/install.sh | sudo bash
– nicho Sep 27 '23 at 22:13

score 15 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 27 '14 at 15:22

This project is designed to automate installation. It worked for me with 13.04. To install it, run the following in your terminal:

wget https://raw.github.com/smathot/zotero_installer/master/zotero_installer.sh -O /tmp/zotero_installer.sh
chmod +x /tmp/zotero_installer.sh
/tmp/zotero_installer.sh

and answer the questions. If you want it to be installed globally, you will need sudo on the last command:

sudo /tmp/zotero_installer.sh

score 9 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 01 '22 at 14:20

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It's 2022 and Zotero is available as a snap in Ubuntu. A version of Zotero can be installed without having to add additional repositories (although you may get a more recent version if you do use some of the techniques from other answers).

To install:

snap install zotero-snap

edited Aug 01 '22 at 14:20

BeastOfCaerbannog

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answered Aug 01 '22 at 13:33

moo

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raf · Answer 5 · 2025-01-05T18:10:44.100

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I recently installed Zotero on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

This is what I have done:

First I downloaded the tarball from the Zotero Download page, and extracted its contents to a folder named Zotero_linux-x86_64 in ~/Downloads.
Then I ran the following commands in the terminal:

sudo mv ~/Downloads/Zotero_linux-x86_64/* /opt/zotero/
sudo /opt/zotero/set_launcher_icon
ln -s /opt/zotero/zotero.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/zotero.desktop

That's it. The installation is completed.

edited Jan 05 '25 at 18:10

answered Feb 02 '21 at 06:56

raf

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Last command should be 'sudo /opt/zotero/set_launcher_icon', or cd to /opt/zotero/ before it. – timanix May 15 '21 at 20:55
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Very straightforward, and the only answer where setting zotero.desktop worked, +1 thanks! – jay.sf Aug 28 '21 at 17:20
@jay.sf I'm glad to know that my answer has helped you. – raf Aug 28 '21 at 17:25
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The answer I avoided out of lazyness but the only one that delivered me the newest zotero version I needed. – Ben Dec 02 '21 at 08:46
Just install via snap, just one line, and DONE. Follow @Mark answer – Kevin Patel Dec 11 '22 at 22:57

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 13 '13 at 15:17

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I have searched and came to know that , there only standalone Zotero PPA not yet made for Ubuntu 13.04 . you can run it as you've done with the script upto PPA made.

but Ubuntu have a good Documentation for Zotero that can help you to get more information on usage of it.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Zotero

answered Aug 13 '13 at 15:17

Raja G

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Thanks! I make it a startup application and this will be ok. – Eden Harder Aug 14 '13 at 06:48

score 1 · Answer 7 · edited Aug 03 '17 at 18:39

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I found a help here https://www.linuxhelp.com/how-to-install-zotero-in-ubuntu/

The steps in the terminal are

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:smathot/cogscinl

Type your password and press ENTER when asked.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install zotero-standalone

This will install Zotero

edited Aug 03 '17 at 18:39

Nick Weinberg

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answered Aug 03 '17 at 17:16

RYAN REGO

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Same thing as described in https://askubuntu.com/a/332117/15003. – edwinksl Aug 03 '17 at 17:19
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How is this answer different from @Boluc Papuccuoglu's? add-apt-repository is a symlink, this should have been a comment below the aforementioned answer at most. – Calimo Oct 23 '17 at 12:00
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Also they are no longer maintaining it. – TKH Apr 15 '20 at 19:04

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Jul 13 '22 at 16:53

The zotero installation page has decent instructions but they should have supplied the commands. Below are the commands I used (assuming the downloads folder is where your downloaded tar ball ended up):

cd /opt/
sudo mkdir zotero
cd ~/Downloads/
sudo tar -xf Zotero-6.0.9_linux-x86_64.tar.bz2 -C /opt/zotero/
cd /opt/zotero/Zotero_linux-x86_64/
sudo ./set_launcher_icon
ln -s /opt/zotero/Zotero_linux-x86_64/zotero.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/zotero.desktop

A quick script could be made from these simple commands if desired.

How to install zotero in ubuntu?

8 Answers8