Thread by @MushtaqBilalPhD

Don't use Sci-Hub — it's a "controversial" website with 84M+ research papers freely available.

We should try to make billion-dollar academic publishers richer.

Here's an updated thread on integrating Sci-Hub with Zotero to get free papers.

Please don't do this😉

Don't go to the following link:

github(dot)com/ethanwillis/zotero-scihub/releases

But if you do, please replace the word "dot" with an actual dot [.]

Once the link opens, don't click on zotero-scihub file. It will download an "xpi" file to your computer.

Don't open your Zotero, but if you do, click on "Tools."

In the "Tools" menu, click on "Add-ons." This will open the Zotero Add-ons Manager.

In the Add-ons Manager, click on the gear-like icon and select "Install Add-on From File."

Navigate to the xpi file you just download and open it.

This will install the Sci-Hub add-on in your Zotero (oh no!).

Restart Zotero to complete the installation.

Don't search for "sci hub" in Bing because then you will get a list of search results.

But if you do, see which version of Sci-Hub is "live" and working.

In this case, the first link Bing gives me is working. Copy this link.

Because of its "controversial" nature, Sci-Hub keeps changing its URL.

Avoid Google. Its search results are very poor, at least for Sci-Hub.

Now don't try to configure your Sci-Hub add-on in Zotero.

But if you do, click on "Edit" and select "Preferences."

In "Preferences," click on the "Zotero Scihub" tab.

Paste the URL you just copied in the "Scihub URL" field. In my case, the URL is sci-hub(dot)st

You Sci-Hub add-on is configured and ready to use now. You shouldn't have done this.

If it stops working at some point, don't look up the another "live" version of Sci-Hub and update the URL in the "Zotero Scihub" tab.

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Next don't go to an academic publisher's website with a billion-dollar revenue.

But if you do, copy the DOI of the article you need.

Go to Zoteor and click on the magic wand-like icon on the top. This will let you enter the DOI.

But don't paste the DOI because then Sci-Hub will automatically retrieve a PDF of the article and add it to your Zotero library.

Once the article is added, don't open it because then you will be able to read it.

I hope you don't do any of the steps mentioned above.

And please tell your friends to not do this either 😉