Tropy for Research Photo Management: Integrate Zotero

If you use Tropy to organize your research photos and use Zotero for citations of secondary literature, you can cite the sources you have in Tropy without having to manually type each one into Zotero. You can export Tropy items into a .json file (i.e. metadata of items, not the associated photos), then import the file into Zotero to generate citations automatically. The workflow below uses the 'Zotero Letter'—a customized template—as an example. You can also create your own custom templates compatible with Zotero (see the section below for details).  

1. Install the tropy-plugin-csl:
   Tropy and Zotero use different vocabularies and fields to describe items. This tropy-plugin-csl lets Tropy export a .json file in Citation Style Language (CSL), which Zotero can interpret and import. The CSL .json file is like a middleman that makes the communication between Tropy and Zotero possible. 
   • From the latest release on GitHub, download the .zip file, named tropy-plugin-csl-v1.1.0.zip as of 6/2/2025. Don't unpack the Zip.
   • Tropy -> Preferences -> Plugins, click Install Plugin, and click to select the .zip file. 
   • Click Enable
     
2. Select the Zotero export template for the items you want to export.
   • In this example, we’ll choose Zotero Letter for the item titled "Letter from Banks to Biggers", and then complete the metadata accordingly.
   • You can either create Zotero Letter by following the steps in the section below or installing the Zotero Letter template directly. 
   • Note that the collection name, the collection identification number, the box number, and the folder number, all have been put in the field of "archive_location". The italicized fields are not sourced from this template.
   • Below is a screenshot of the item titled "Letter from Banks to Biggers" in Tropy. 
     
3. Choose the custom template designed for Zotero export in the CSL plugin settings. This is to tell the CSL plugin which template to use when exporting the item metadata.
   • Tropy -> Settings -> Plugins, CSL Settings
   • Template -> Zotero Letter
     
   • Note: If you don't have this set up, the CSL plugin will use whatever template the item is in to export; Export Item-> tropy-plugin-csl-v1.1.0 #0 shows up in the export dropdown menu. The exported .json file will not import into Zotero if a template that is not compatible with Zotero is selected, or the exported .json file will import into Zotero with partial metadata if a template that is compatible with Zotero is selected. Neither is what you want. 
4. Export from Tropy
   • To export, right-click on an item in the middle pane, -> Export Item, select Zotero Letter. See the screenshot below
     
   • You can also select multiple items and export them as a single .json file so that you don't have to import the items file by file into Zotero. 
   • It creates a .json file. It exports metadata, not an associated photo file. 
      
5. Import into Zotero
   • Zotero -> File -> import -> A file, select the .json file exported from Tropy.
   • Once imported, the item will display in Zotero as shown below.
     
      

This section demonstrates how to create a customized Zotero Letter template. By following the step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to build a template similar to Zotero Letter, tailored to your needs. If you have downloaded the customized templates for Zotero Letter or Zotero Manuscript and have no interest in creating your own, you can skip this section and follow the steps in the preceding section, Export to Zotero. These instructions are based on the Tropy forum post titled Best practice for creating citations. 

We'll use the Zotero item type Letter. Its corresponding Citation Style Language (CSL) type is personal_communication. Remember, CSL acts as the bridge that allows Tropy to communicate with Zotero—it's the translator between the two systems.

Let’s approach this from the end goal and work our way back. You need to know all the fields for the item type letter in Zotero to begin, then create all the essential mapping fields in the customized template in Tropy with the CSL fields. 

1.  Learn all 18 fields for the Zotero item type letter.  The table below is copied from Zotero Types.
   You can find this link under Zotero -> Developer Documentation -> Zotero Translators - The Missing Manual -> Item Properties. 

   letter → personal_communication

   UI Label	Zotero field	CSL field
   Abstract	abstractNote	abstract
   Accessed	accessDate	accessed
   Archive	archive	archive
   Loc. in Archive	archiveLocation	archive_location
   Call Number	callNumber	call-number
   	creator
   Author	author (author)	author
   Contributor	contributor	contributor
   Recipient	recipient	recipient
   Date	date	issued
   Extra	extra	note
   Language	language	language
   Type	letterType (type)	genre
   Library Catalog	libraryCatalog	source
   Rights	rights	license
   Short Title	shortTitle	title-short or <text variable="title" form="short"/> title-short
   Title	title	title
   URL	url	URL

2. Decide on the essential fields to have for your customized Tropy template
   • How to decide which field(s) to keep?
     You can keep all the fields if you want to. It's best to prioritize the information you'll need for citing the type of resource you have, in the style you must use. For example, no matter which citation style you use, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, the following elements are essential for citing archival documents:
     • Individual document title, author, date
     • Collection name and identifier, box number, folder number
     • Archive name and location
     • URL
   • We have decided to keep the following 9 Zotero fields for citation purposes. All the 9 corresponding CSL fields are recognized by Tropy Plugin CSL. 
     Refer to the tropy-plugin-csl document on GitHub for all the CSL fields recognized by the Tropy CSL Plugin (73 fields out of 98 CSL fields are recognized). 

     • letter → personal_communication 

       UI Label	Zotero field	CSL field
       Archive	archive	archive
       Loc. in Archive	archiveLocation	archive_location
       Call Number	callNumber	call-number
       Author	author (author)	author
       Recipient	recipient	recipient
       Date	date	issued
       Rights	rights	license
       Title	title	title
       URL	url	URL

3. Map all the selected Zotero fields in the custom Tropy template. See the box below for the complete mapping table. 
   • Create a new custom Tropy template.
     • Duplicate Tropy Correspondence template and name it "Zotero Letter" and edit its metadata accordingly. Refer to the previous Create Customized Templates for instructions.
     • Remove the fields we don’t need: Coverage, Box, and Folder. 

   • Map Zotero fields.

     • First, map Zotero item type letter in Tropy custom template.

       • Move the Tropy Type field up and keep it. This is a mandatory field to have. 

       • Use lower-case type in the Label field.

       • Use "personal_communication" in the default value field, a valid CSL type matching Zotero letter. See the screenshot below for illustration. 
         

       • Notes: 

         • The table below shows how the fields are mapped. When you put "type" in the Label field and "personal_communication" in the default value field, you are literally telling the tropy-plugin-csl to write the code ("type": "personal_communication") in the exported .json file. When Zotero imports this file, it recognizes the item as a letter based on that CSL type.

           Zotero UI label	Zotero Item type value	CSL type value	Tropy field	Tropy UI Label/CSL field
           Item Type	letter	personal_communication	Type dc:type	type

         • Zotero decides how to interpret the data in the CSL .json file based on the value in the Type field. Therefore, your customized template must include the Type field with a valid CSL type value. In our example, the default value of the Type is "personal_communication", which corresponds to letter item type in Zotero.

         • The CSL type you put in the default value field is case sensitive and must be in lowercase, such as "personal_communication" or "manuscript". There are 45 types in CSL types and 37 types in Zotero item types. To see how Zotero item types match to CSL types and an exhaustive list of all CSL fields per item type, check out this Zotero-CSL-Type-Map document.  

         • Tip: Use "manuscript" as a general-purpose CSL type in the default value field when needed. Avoid using "document"—its citation output omits the archive location, which is essential for citing archival materials.

     • Second, map the first 8 fields in step 2. Edit them to make sure each field's label corresponds to a CSL field. Essentially you are mapping Zotero fields to Tropy fields using CSL fields. Refer to the table below for the mapping fields. Remember, CSL fields act as a shared language between Tropy and Zotero. They are case-sensitive, so be sure to enter them exactly as defined. Once you’ve added valid CSL fields to the Label fields in your custom template, the tropy-plugin-csl can use the template and generate a .json file that Zotero can correctly interpret and import.

       Zotero UI Label	Zotero field	CSL field	Tropy field	Tropy UI Label/CSL field
       Archive	archive	archive	Source dc:source	archive
       Loc. in Archive	archiveLocation	archive_location	Collection tropy:collection	archive_location
       Call Number	callNumber	call-number	Identifier dc:identifier	call-number
       Author	author (author)	author	Creator dc:creator	author
       Recipient	recipient	recipient	Audience dcterms:audience	recipient
       Date	date	issued	Date dc:date	issued
       Rights	rights	license	Rights dc:rights	license
       Title	title	title	Title dc:title	title
       URL	url	URL	Data source bf:dataSource	URL

        

       • For example, the Creator field in Tropy maps to the author field in CSL, as shown below. CSL then passes this value to Zotero, where it also corresponds to the author field.

         In other words, the Creator field in Tropy ultimately becomes the author field in Zotero.

         
       • Ensure all 8 fields have been edited as shown below. 
          
     • Third, map URL, the 9th field, by adding a new field as shown below. The original Tropy Correspondence doesn't have this field. We need to add it. 
        
4. Congratulations, you have successfully made the Zotero Letter template. You can now tailor it to your needs. 

Below is a combined table from the above box to show how the Zotero fields have been matched to Tropy fields using CSL fields.