Boyang Yan

Scientific note-taking with org-roam, citar, and zotero

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org roam Zotero

Practical workflow

Create or open a reference note from library.bib

In normal mode, run:

SPC n r i c

This calls citar-create-note, configured in lisp/init-keybindings.el:64. Choose an entry from ~/org/library.bib, and Citar will create or open the matching reference note:

~/org/org-roam/references/<citekey>.org

Open the org-roam note where the reference should appear, then run:

SPC n r i b

This calls orb-insert-link, configured in lisp/init-keybindings.el:65. Select the BibTeX entry, and ORB inserts a link to the corresponding reference note. If that note does not already exist, ORB can create it.

Insert a normal Org citation

Inside any Org note, run:

M-x org-cite-insert

Because org-cite-insert-processor is set to citar, completion comes from ~/org/library.bib and inserts an Org citation such as:

[cite:@some-citekey]

Rule of thumb

  • Use SPC n r i c to create a dedicated org-roam reference note.
  • Use SPC n r i b to link that reference note from another note.
  • Use M-x org-cite-insert when you want a bibliography citation in the text.

Reference List

  1. https://www.riccardopinosio.com/blog/posts/zotero_notes_article.html

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