Mendeley Bulk Reference Folder Organizer

WHAT IT DOES

This productivity tool revolutionizes Mendeley reference library organization by enabling bulk folder management across multiple references simultaneously. It scans your current Mendeley reference library page, extracting all visible references including their titles, authors, publication years, and current folder assignments. You can then filter references by title, author, or folder, select individual references or use the select-all-filtered feature, and apply folder operations with three powerful modes: Assign (add references to a folder), Remove (remove references from a folder), or Replace (move references exclusively to one folder, removing all others). The script also allows you to create new folders on the fly. The script handles the entire workflow automatically, opening each reference's edit modal and applying folder updates through Mendeley's own UI controls with proper event propagation.

WHERE IT RUNS

This script operates on Mendeley reference library pages at *://*.mendeley.com/references/, *://*.mendeley.com/library/, and *://*.mendeley.com/groups//library. It integrates as a floating panel on the left side of your browser window when you navigate to your Mendeley library. The tool works with Mendeley's dynamic React-based interface, detecting references regardless of how they're rendered on the page and adapting to Mendeley's frequent UI changes.

HOW TO USE

Navigate to your Mendeley reference library page (any of the supported URLs).

The panel appears automatically on the left side of the screen.

Click "Refresh" to load all visible references from the current page.

Use the filter input to search references by title or author.

Use the folder filter to show only references in specific folders.

Check the boxes next to references you want to organize, or use "Select All Filtered".

Select a target folder from the dropdown (or create a new folder using the "New" field and "Create" button).

Choose the operation mode: Assign to Folder, Remove from Folder, or Move to Folder (Replace).

Click "Apply Folder to Selected" to begin the batch organization process.

The status bar shows progress and any errors encountered during processing.

REACT EVENT PROPAGATION MECHANISM

The tool succeeds where browser extensions fail because it operates directly within Mendeley's own JavaScript context, bypassing cross-origin restrictions that prevent external extensions from accessing Mendeley's internal React state. It uses React event propagation by dispatching both "input" and "change" events with proper bubbling flags (bubbles: true), ensuring Mendeley's virtual DOM reconciles the folder changes correctly and persists the updates. The script implements a concurrency cap of 4 simultaneous operations with 300ms spacing between each, preventing Mendeley's rate limiting from blocking requests while maintaining efficient throughput. The tool intelligently detects folder selection fields by scanning for select elements with name attributes and data-testid attributes, using multi-select handling to manage multiple folder assignments. The three operation modes provide comprehensive control: Assign adds references to a folder while preserving existing folder assignments; Remove deletes references from a folder while preserving other assignments; Replace moves references exclusively to the selected folder. The script also automatically saves your recently used folders per user, making common folder assignments quickly accessible. New folder creation is handled directly through the panel and the new folder is immediately available in the folder dropdown.

THE PANEL

The floating panel is draggable to any position on screen and remembers its location between sessions using GM_setValue. It automatically collapses to a small icon when minimized and expands on hover or click. The panel is resizable to suit your workspace needs and can be dismissed with the Escape key. It snaps to the left edge by default but can be positioned anywhere, with position persisted across browsing sessions for consistent placement. All settings persist automatically across sessions, including your recently used folders per user and folder operation mode preference.

PLEASE NOTE

This script requires the free BotGentz extension to run user scripts on Mendeley. Mendeley frequently updates its library interface, which may temporarily break functionality; updates are released regularly to maintain compatibility. The script only reads visible reference information from the page and does not store or transmit any data externally. All processing occurs locally in your browser. Folder assignments are applied exactly as configured; verify your folder selections before bulk application to avoid unintended library organization. The Replace mode will remove all existing folder assignments and assign only the selected folder—use with caution. The script remembers your recently used folders per user, making common folder assignments easily accessible for future sessions. For large libraries, the script processes references in batches of 4 to prevent rate limiting.