notebooklm-core

NotebookLM Automation

Complete programmatic access to Google NotebookLM — including capabilities not exposed in the web UI. Create notebooks, add sources (URLs, YouTube, PDFs, audio, video, images), chat with content, generate all artifact types (podcasts, videos, quizzes, flashcards, slide decks, infographics, reports, mind maps, data tables), and download results in multiple formats.

CLI Prefix

ALL commands in this skill must be run with the following prefix:

uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm ...

Throughout this document, commands are shown with just notebooklm for brevity. Always prepend uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" before every invocation.

Prerequisites

IMPORTANT: Before using any command, verify authentication:

uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm auth check
uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm list

If commands fail with authentication errors, re-run login:

uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm login

CI/CD, Multiple Accounts, and Parallel Agents

Variable	Purpose
NOTEBOOKLM_HOME	Custom config directory (default: ~/.notebooklm)
NOTEBOOKLM_AUTH_JSON	Inline auth JSON — no file writes needed

CI/CD setup: Set NOTEBOOKLM_AUTH_JSON from a secret containing your storage_state.json contents.

Multiple accounts: Use different NOTEBOOKLM_HOME directories per account.

When This Skill Activates

Explicit triggers: User says "/notebooklm-enhanced", "/notebooklm", "use notebooklm", or mentions the tool by name.

Intent detection — activate when the user asks to:

• "Create a podcast about [topic]"
• "Summarize these URLs/documents"
• "Generate a quiz from my research"
• "Turn this into an audio overview"
• "Create flashcards for studying"
• "Generate a video explainer"
• "Make an infographic"
• "Create a mind map of the concepts"
• "Download the quiz as markdown"
• "Add these sources to NotebookLM"

Autonomy Rules

Run automatically (no confirmation needed):

• notebooklm status — check context

• notebooklm auth check — diagnose auth issues

• notebooklm list — list notebooks

• notebooklm source list — list sources

• notebooklm artifact list — list artifacts

• notebooklm language list — list supported languages

• notebooklm language get — get current language

• notebooklm language set — set language (global setting)

• notebooklm artifact wait — wait for artifact completion (in subagent context)

• notebooklm source wait — wait for source processing (in subagent context)

• notebooklm research status — check research status

• notebooklm research wait — wait for research (in subagent context)

• notebooklm use <id> — set context (single-agent only; use -n flag in parallel workflows)

• notebooklm create — create notebook

• notebooklm ask "..." — chat queries (without --save-as-note)

• notebooklm history — display conversation history (read-only)

• notebooklm source add — add sources

• notebooklm notebook delete — destructive

• notebooklm delete — destructive

• notebooklm generate * — long-running, may fail

• notebooklm download * — writes to filesystem

• notebooklm artifact wait — long-running (when in main conversation)

• notebooklm source wait — long-running (when in main conversation)

• notebooklm research wait — long-running (when in main conversation)

• notebooklm ask "..." --save-as-note — writes a note

• notebooklm history --save — writes a note

Quick Reference

All commands below must be prefixed with uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts".

Task	Command
Authenticate	notebooklm login
Diagnose auth issues	notebooklm auth check
Diagnose auth (full)	notebooklm auth check --test
List notebooks	notebooklm list
Create notebook	notebooklm create "Title"
Set context	notebooklm use <notebook_id>
Show context	notebooklm status
Add URL source	notebooklm source add "https://..."
Add file	notebooklm source add ./file.pdf
Add YouTube	notebooklm source add "https://youtube.com/..."
List sources	notebooklm source list
Delete source by ID	notebooklm source delete <source_id>
Delete source by exact title	notebooklm source delete-by-title "Exact Title"
Wait for source processing	notebooklm source wait <source_id>
Web research (fast)	notebooklm source add-research "query"
Web research (deep)	notebooklm source add-research "query" --mode deep --no-wait
Check research status	notebooklm research status
Wait for research	notebooklm research wait --import-all
Chat	notebooklm ask "question"
Chat (specific sources)	notebooklm ask "question" -s src_id1 -s src_id2
Chat (with references)	notebooklm ask "question" --json
Chat (save answer as note)	notebooklm ask "question" --save-as-note
Chat (save with title)	notebooklm ask "question" --save-as-note --note-title "Title"
Show conversation history	notebooklm history
Save all history as note	notebooklm history --save
Continue specific conversation	notebooklm ask "question" -c <conversation_id>
Save history with title	notebooklm history --save --note-title "My Research"
Get source fulltext	notebooklm source fulltext <source_id>
Get source guide	notebooklm source guide <source_id>
Generate podcast	notebooklm generate audio "instructions"
Generate podcast (JSON)	notebooklm generate audio --json
Generate podcast (specific sources)	notebooklm generate audio -s src_id1 -s src_id2
Generate video	notebooklm generate video "instructions"
Generate report	notebooklm generate report --format briefing-doc
Generate report (append instructions)	notebooklm generate report --format study-guide --append "Target audience: beginners"
Generate quiz	notebooklm generate quiz
Generate flashcards	notebooklm generate flashcards
Generate slide deck	notebooklm generate slide-deck
Generate infographic	notebooklm generate infographic
Generate mind map	notebooklm generate mind-map
Generate data table	notebooklm generate data-table "description"
Revise a slide	notebooklm generate revise-slide "prompt" --artifact <id> --slide 0
Check artifact status	notebooklm artifact list
Wait for completion	notebooklm artifact wait <artifact_id>
Download audio	notebooklm download audio ./output.mp3
Download video	notebooklm download video ./output.mp4
Download slide deck (PDF)	notebooklm download slide-deck ./slides.pdf
Download slide deck (PPTX)	notebooklm download slide-deck ./slides.pptx --format pptx
Download report	notebooklm download report ./report.md
Download mind map	notebooklm download mind-map ./map.json
Download data table	notebooklm download data-table ./data.csv
Download quiz	notebooklm download quiz quiz.json
Download quiz (markdown)	notebooklm download quiz --format markdown quiz.md
Download flashcards	notebooklm download flashcards cards.json
Download flashcards (markdown)	notebooklm download flashcards --format markdown cards.md
Download infographic	notebooklm download infographic ./infographic.png
Delete notebook	notebooklm notebook delete <id>
List languages	notebooklm language list
Get language	notebooklm language get
Set language	notebooklm language set zh_Hans

Command Output Formats

Commands with --json return structured data for parsing.

Create notebook:

$ notebooklm create "Research" --json
{"id": "abc123de-...", "title": "Research"}

Add source:

$ notebooklm source add "https://example.com" --json
{"source_id": "def456...", "title": "Example", "status": "processing"}

Generate artifact:

$ notebooklm generate audio "Focus on key points" --json
{"task_id": "xyz789...", "status": "pending"}

Chat with references:

$ notebooklm ask "What is X?" --json
{"answer": "X is... [1] [2]", "conversation_id": "...", "turn_number": 1, "is_follow_up": false, "references": [{"source_id": "abc123...", "citation_number": 1, "cited_text": "Relevant passage from source..."}, {"source_id": "def456...", "citation_number": 2, "cited_text": "Another passage..."}]}

Source fulltext:

$ notebooklm source fulltext <source_id> --json
{"source_id": "...", "title": "...", "char_count": 12345, "content": "Full indexed text..."}

JSON list schemas (key fields):

notebooklm list --json:

{"notebooks": [{"id": "...", "title": "...", "created_at": "..."}]}

notebooklm auth check --json:

{"checks": {"storage_exists": true, "json_valid": true, "cookies_present": true, "sid_cookie": true, "token_fetch": true}, "details": {"storage_path": "...", "auth_source": "file"}}

notebooklm source list --json:

{"sources": [{"id": "...", "title": "...", "status": "ready|processing|error"}]}

notebooklm artifact list --json:

{"artifacts": [{"id": "...", "title": "...", "type": "Audio Overview", "status": "in_progress|pending|completed|unknown"}]}

Status values:

• Sources: processing -> ready (or error)
• Artifacts: pending or in_progress -> completed (or unknown)

Extract IDs: Parse the id, source_id, or task_id field from JSON output.

Generation Types

All generate commands support:

• -s, --source to use specific source(s) instead of all sources
• --language to set output language (defaults to configured language or 'en')
• --json for machine-readable output (returns task_id and status)
• --retry N to automatically retry on rate limits with exponential backoff

Type	Command	Options	Download
Podcast	generate audio	--format [deep-dive|brief|critique|debate], --length [short|default|long]	.mp3
Video	generate video	--format [explainer|brief], --style [auto|classic|whiteboard|kawaii|anime|watercolor|retro-print|heritage|paper-craft]	.mp4
Slide Deck	generate slide-deck	--format [detailed|presenter], --length [default|short]	.pdf / .pptx
Slide Revision	generate revise-slide "prompt" --artifact <id> --slide N	--wait, --notebook	(re-downloads parent deck)
Infographic	generate infographic	--orientation [landscape|portrait|square], --detail [concise|standard|detailed], --style [auto|sketch-note|professional|bento-grid|editorial|instructional|bricks|clay|anime|kawaii|scientific]	.png
Report	generate report	--format [briefing-doc|study-guide|blog-post|custom], --append "extra instructions"	.md
Mind Map	generate mind-map	(sync, instant)	.json
Data Table	generate data-table	description required	.csv
Quiz	generate quiz	--difficulty [easy|medium|hard], --quantity [fewer|standard|more]	.json/.md/.html
Flashcards	generate flashcards	--difficulty [easy|medium|hard], --quantity [fewer|standard|more]	.json/.md/.html

Parallel Safety

The CLI stores notebook context in a shared file (~/.notebooklm/context.json). Multiple concurrent agents using notebooklm use can overwrite each other's context.

Solutions for parallel workflows:

1. Always use explicit notebook ID (recommended): Pass -n <notebook_id> (for wait/download commands) or --notebook <notebook_id> (for others) instead of relying on use
2. Per-agent isolation: Set unique NOTEBOOKLM_HOME per agent: export NOTEBOOKLM_HOME=/tmp/agent-$ID
3. Use full UUIDs: Avoid partial IDs in automation (they can become ambiguous)

Commands supporting -n shorthand: artifact wait, source wait, research wait/status, download *. Download commands also support -a/--artifact. Other commands use --notebook. For chat, use -c <conversation_id> to target a specific conversation.

Partial IDs: Use first 6+ characters of UUIDs. Must be unique prefix (fails if ambiguous). For automation, prefer full UUIDs to avoid ambiguity.

Error Handling

On failure, offer the user a choice:

1. Retry the operation
2. Skip and continue with something else
3. Investigate the error

Error decision tree:

Error	Cause	Action
Auth/cookie error	Session expired	Run notebooklm auth check then notebooklm login
"No notebook context"	Context not set	Use -n <id> or --notebook <id> flag (parallel), or notebooklm use <id> (single-agent)
"No result found for RPC ID"	Rate limiting	Wait 5-10 min, retry
GENERATION_FAILED	Google rate limit	Wait and retry later
Download fails	Generation incomplete	Check artifact list for status
Invalid notebook/source ID	Wrong ID	Run notebooklm list to verify
RPC protocol error	Google changed APIs	May need CLI update

Exit codes:

Code	Meaning	Action
0	Success	Continue
1	Error (not found, processing failed)	Check stderr, see error table above
2	Timeout (wait commands only)	Extend timeout or check status manually

Processing Times

Operation	Typical Time	Suggested Timeout
Source processing	30s - 10 min	600s
Research (fast)	30s - 2 min	180s
Research (deep)	15 - 30+ min	1800s
Notes	instant	n/a
Mind-map	instant (sync)	n/a
Quiz, flashcards	5 - 15 min	900s
Report, data-table	5 - 15 min	900s
Audio generation	10 - 20 min	1200s
Video generation	15 - 45 min	2700s

Polling intervals: When checking status manually, poll every 15-30 seconds to avoid excessive API calls.

Known Limitations

Reliable operations (always work):

• Notebooks (list, create, delete, rename)
• Sources (add, list, delete)
• Chat/queries
• Mind-map, study-guide, report, data-table generation

Unreliable operations (may hit rate limits):

• Audio (podcast) generation
• Video generation
• Quiz and flashcard generation
• Infographic and slide deck generation

Workaround for rate-limited generation:

1. Check status: notebooklm artifact list
2. Retry after 5-10 minutes
3. Use the NotebookLM web UI as fallback

Language Configuration

Language setting controls the output language for generated artifacts. It is a GLOBAL setting that affects all notebooks.

Common language codes:

Code	Language
en	English
zh_Hans	Simplified Chinese
zh_Hant	Traditional Chinese
ja	Japanese
ko	Korean
es	Spanish
fr	French
de	German
pt_BR	Portuguese (Brazil)

Override per command: Use --language flag on generate commands:

uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm generate audio --language ja

Troubleshooting

uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm --help
uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm auth check
uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm auth check --test
uv run --project "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" notebooklm --version