I have been using Zotero for a while and syncing my library directory with Syncthing, even though they say not to (no problem in 7 years including PhD and job).
If you want something even more minimalist, it is possible with the command line too, , which is the approximate setup I’m currently using in my pharma job.

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Good to know! I’m still at the vim+markdown+LaTeX for equations mode, but other than for math stuff I can’t be bothered for LaTeX. I wish collaborators would be open to LaTeX rather than Google Docs or the highway.

Surely the support for LaTeX is the killer feature with your math class, not emacs vs. vim.