EndNote¶

Clarivate has no public API. Paperful reads the desktop library and never writes the SQLite file. Official write-back is EndNote’s own File → Import. Schema notes below are from inspecting EndNote 20/21 library folders (2026-09-21). Lines marked paperful are client rules.

This adapter is seeking testers. Zotero remains the well-tested path. Do not treat a first EndNote run as proven.

Setup¶

Point config at the .enl file. The matching .Data folder must sit beside it (EndNote’s usual pair):
```
manager = "endnote"
[endnote]
library = "/path/to/Library.enl"
```
Confirm Library.Data/sdb/sdb.eni exists. PDFs live under Library.Data/PDF/ and are referenced as internal-pdf://….
uv run paperful doctor should show EndNote library green.

If EndNote is open, SQLite is often locked. Paperful copies sdb.eni plus -wal / -shm / -journal to a temp file and reads that. Connections register EndNote’s ENCI_Base / ENCIN_Base collations so SELECTs do not fail.

Read path¶

Piece	Where
Catalogue	`sdb.eni` table `refs` (skipped when `trash_state` is set). `reference_type` uses a different number space from XML `<ref-type>` — journal is 0 in the database and 17 in XML. DOI lives in `electronic_resource_number`.
Groups	`groups.spec` XML for the name; `groups.members` BLOB for membership. There is no join table in a real library. Online-search groups (`TYPE;6` in spec) are skipped. Group sets are not in XML.
PDFs	`file_res.file_path` (prefer `file_type` 1 or 4), else `internal-pdf://` in URL fields, else a filename match under `PDF/`
Notes	`research_notes` and `notes` columns, exposed as child notes

Item keys are integers. out/ folder names accept them.

Write path (import bundle)¶

Paperful does not UPDATE EndNote’s database. attach, fix-metadata --apply, restore --apply, import --apply, summarize, and synthesize accumulate a pending list. At the end of the command, flush_writes() writes:

state/endnote-import/<UTC-stamp>/
  paperful.xml
  PDF/
  README.txt

Then in EndNote:

File → Import → File…
Choose paperful.xml.
Import Option: EndNote Generated XML (or XML).
Duplicates: discard, or import into a duplicates group, as you prefer.

If PDFs do not attach automatically, File → Import → Folder on PDF/, or drag files onto the matching references.

Groups are not in EndNote XML. Collection paths are stored in the Label field so you can rebuild groups after import. dedupe --apply is refused: EndNote cannot move a PDF or note onto the keeper. Delete the extra in EndNote, or omit it from the next bundle.

attachments reads every PDF path (file_res and internal-pdf://). A path that does not resolve is a broken link in the report, with an MD5 when the file is on disk. --apply does not stage a bundle and does not edit the library. --link is refused. Clean the files up in EndNote, or keep the copy under out/ via snapshot.

Paperful rules¶

Never point this adapter at a library you have not copied. The reader is conservative, but EndNote’s schema is unpublished and can move.
Moving a library: snapshot --pdfs all here, switch manager, then restore --apply or import on the other side. The hub is out/.
Interchange without a live adapter: paperful export / import with RIS, BibTeX, or EndNote XML.

Commands¶

uv run paperful doctor
uv run paperful collections
uv run paperful snapshot -C MyGroup --pdfs all
uv run paperful export bundle.xml --library --pdfs
# after a write command, import the printed state/endnote-import/… folder