ScienceDirect Citation Export

Export article citations from ScienceDirect search results. Supports RIS, BibTeX, plain text, and Zotero push.

Export API

ScienceDirect uses a POST endpoint for citation export:

{BASE_URL}/search/api/export-citations

Parameters (form POST):

Field	Description
`pii`	Article PII (e.g. `S0957417426005245`). Multiple PIIs for batch.
`type`	Export format: `ris`, `bibtex`, `text`
`t`	Security token (must be extracted from the page)

Single Article Export

Step 1: Ensure on search results page

The export API requires a token that exists only on search results pages. If you have a PII but are not on a search results page, first search for the article or navigate back to results.

Note: When navigating to search results, always include initScript to prevent bot detection:

initScript: "Object.defineProperty(navigator, 'webdriver', {get: () => undefined})"

Step 2: Click the article's Export button and extract token

Use evaluate_script:

(pii) => {
  // Find the result item with this PII
  const checkbox = document.getElementById(pii);
  const resultItem = checkbox?.closest('li.ResultItem');
  if (!resultItem) return { error: 'Article with PII ' + pii + ' not found on this page.' };

  // Click the Export button for this result
  const exportBtn = resultItem.querySelector('button[aria-label="Export"]');
  if (exportBtn) exportBtn.click();

  // Wait briefly for the export panel to appear, then extract token
  return new Promise(resolve => {
    setTimeout(() => {
      const form = resultItem.querySelector('.ExportCitationOptions form');
      if (!form) { resolve({ error: 'Export panel did not open.' }); return; }

      const token = form.querySelector('input[name="t"]')?.value || '';
      const formAction = form.action;

      resolve({ token, formAction, pii });
    }, 500);
  });
}

Step 3: Submit export request

Use evaluate_script to submit the form with the desired format:

(token, pii, format) => {
  // format: 'ris', 'bibtex', or 'text'
  const typeMap = {
    'ris': 'ris',
    'bibtex': 'bibtex',
    'text': 'text',
  };

  const form = document.createElement('form');
  form.method = 'POST';
  form.action = window.location.origin + '/search/api/export-citations';
  form.target = '_blank';

  const fields = { type: typeMap[format] || 'ris', t: token, pii: pii };
  for (const [name, value] of Object.entries(fields)) {
    const input = document.createElement('input');
    input.type = 'hidden';
    input.name = name;
    input.value = value;
    form.appendChild(input);
  }

  document.body.appendChild(form);
  form.submit();
  document.body.removeChild(form);

  return { success: true, format: format, pii: pii };
}

Batch Export

Step 1: On search results page, click the top Export button

Use evaluate_script to select multiple articles and trigger batch export:

(piis) => {
  // Select all specified articles
  piis.forEach(pii => {
    const cb = document.getElementById(pii);
    if (cb && !cb.checked) cb.click();
  });

  // Click the batch export button
  const exportBtn = document.querySelector('.export-all-link-button');
  if (exportBtn) exportBtn.click();

  return { success: true, selected: piis.length };
}

Then wait for the export dropdown to appear and select the desired format.

Zotero Push

To push citations to a locally running Zotero instance. Two modes are supported:

Prerequisites: Zotero desktop must be running with the Connector API enabled (default on port 23119).

Mode 1: RIS import (simple, no PDF)

Use when you have RIS data from the export API or constructed from metadata.

python {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/push_to_zotero.py --ris-file "{RIS_FILE_PATH}"

Or push RIS content directly:

python {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/push_to_zotero.py --ris-data "{RIS_CONTENT}"

The script uses a deterministic session ID (MD5 hash of content) so:

First call → 201 (saved successfully)
Repeat call → 409 → treated as success ("already saved, no duplicates")

This avoids the SESSION_EXISTS error that occurs with random session IDs, since Zotero's session cleanup is buggy and sessions persist until restart.

Mode 2: JSON import (structured data with optional PDF attachment)

Use when you have structured paper data (e.g., from sd-paper-detail) and want to attach PDFs.

Save paper data as a JSON file, then run:

python {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/push_to_zotero.py --json "{JSON_FILE_PATH}"

JSON format (single paper or array):

{
  "title": "Paper Title",
  "authors": ["Author One", "Author Two"],
  "journal": "Journal Name",
  "date": "2026",
  "doi": "10.1016/...",
  "volume": "76",
  "issue": "3",
  "pages": "109460",
  "abstract": "...",
  "keywords": ["keyword1", "keyword2"],
  "url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/{PII}",
  "pdfUrl": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/..../pdfft?md5=...&pid=...",
  "cookies": "cf_clearance=...; JSESSIONID=..."
}

When pdfUrl and cookies are provided, the script will:

Save metadata via /connector/saveItems
Download PDF using the browser cookies
Upload PDF as attachment via /connector/saveAttachment

Listing Zotero collections

python {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/push_to_zotero.py --list

Export Format Buttons on Page

Each result item has these export option buttons (inside .export-options):

Button text	data-aa-button attribute	Format
Save to RefWorks	`srp-export-single-refworks`	RefWorks
Export citation to RIS	`srp-export-single-ris`	RIS
Export citation to BibTeX	`srp-export-single-bibtex`	BibTeX
Export citation to text	`srp-export-single-text`	Plain text

Notes

Authentication required: Export buttons, result checkboxes, and the batch action toolbar are only visible to authenticated users. The user must be logged in (institutional or personal account) for export to work.
The security token t is session-specific and page-specific. It must be extracted from the export form on the page.
Batch export is much more efficient than exporting one-by-one.
For Zotero push, ensure Zotero desktop is running before invoking.
If the page shows captcha during export, auto-click the Cloudflare Turnstile checkbox: use take_snapshot to find checkbox "确认您是真人" inside the Turnstile iframe, then click(uid). Wait 3-5s and verify. If auto-click fails after 2 attempts, fall back to asking the user. After solving once, the session cookie persists.

sd-export