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CLI Reference

Status: Active Last Updated: 2026-03-13

Complete command reference for the notebooklm CLI—providing full programmatic access to all NotebookLM features, including capabilities not exposed in the web UI.

Command Structure

notebooklm [--storage PATH] [--version] <command> [OPTIONS] [ARGS]

Global Options:

  • --storage PATH - Override the default storage location (~/.notebooklm/storage_state.json)
  • --version - Show version and exit
  • --help - Show help message

Environment Variables:

  • NOTEBOOKLM_HOME - Base directory for all config files (default: ~/.notebooklm)
  • NOTEBOOKLM_AUTH_JSON - Inline authentication JSON (for CI/CD, no file writes needed)
  • NOTEBOOKLM_DEBUG_RPC - Enable RPC debug logging (1 to enable)

See Configuration for details on environment variables and CI/CD setup.

Command Organization:

  • Session commands - Authentication and context management
  • Notebook commands - CRUD operations on notebooks
  • Chat commands - Querying and conversation management
  • Grouped commands - source, artifact, agent, generate, download, note, share, research, language, skill, auth
  • Utility commands - metadata

Quick Reference

Session Commands

Command Description Example
login Authenticate via browser notebooklm login / notebooklm login --browser msedge
use <id> Set active notebook notebooklm use abc123
status Show current context notebooklm status
status --paths Show configuration paths notebooklm status --paths
status --json Output status as JSON notebooklm status --json
clear Clear current context notebooklm clear
auth check Diagnose authentication issues notebooklm auth check
auth check --test Validate with network test notebooklm auth check --test
auth check --json Output as JSON notebooklm auth check --json

Language Commands (notebooklm language <cmd>)

Command Description Example
list List all supported languages notebooklm language list
get Show current language setting notebooklm language get
get --local Show local config only (skip server sync) notebooklm language get --local
set <code> Set language for artifact generation notebooklm language set zh_Hans
set <code> --local Set local config only (skip server sync) notebooklm language set ja --local

Note: Language is a GLOBAL setting that affects all notebooks in your account.

Notebook Commands

Command Description Example
list List all notebooks notebooklm list
create <title> Create notebook notebooklm create "Research"
delete <id> Delete notebook notebooklm delete abc123
rename <title> Rename current notebook notebooklm rename "New Title"
summary Get AI summary notebooklm summary

Chat Commands

Command Description Example
ask <question> Ask a question notebooklm ask "What is this about?"
ask -s <id> Ask using specific sources notebooklm ask "Summarize" -s src1 -s src2
ask --json Get answer with source references notebooklm ask "Explain X" --json
ask --save-as-note Save response as a note notebooklm ask "Explain X" --save-as-note
ask --save-as-note --note-title Save response with custom note title notebooklm ask "Explain X" --save-as-note --note-title "Title"
configure Set persona/mode notebooklm configure --mode learning-guide
history View conversation history notebooklm history
history --clear Clear local conversation cache notebooklm history --clear
history --save Save history as a note notebooklm history --save
history --save --note-title Save history with custom title notebooklm history --save --note-title "Summary"
history --show-all Show full Q&A content (not preview) notebooklm history --show-all

Source Commands (notebooklm source <cmd>)

Supported source types: URLs, YouTube videos, files (PDF, text, Markdown, Word, audio, video, images), Google Drive documents, and pasted text.

Command Arguments Options Example
list - - source list
add <content> URL/file/text - source add "https://..."
add-drive <id> <title> Drive file ID - source add-drive abc123 "Doc"
add-research <query> Search query `--mode [fast deep], --from [web
get <id> Source ID - source get src123
fulltext <id> Source ID --json, -o FILE source fulltext src123 -o content.txt
guide <id> Source ID --json source guide src123
rename <id> <title> Source ID, new title - source rename src123 "New Name"
refresh <id> Source ID - source refresh src123
delete <id> Source ID - source delete src123
delete-by-title <title> Exact source title - source delete-by-title "My Source"
wait <id> Source ID --timeout, --interval source wait src123

source delete <id> accepts only full source IDs or unique partial-ID prefixes. To delete by exact source title, use source delete-by-title "<title>".

Research Commands (notebooklm research <cmd>)

Command Arguments Options Example
status - --json research status
wait - --timeout, --interval, --import-all, --json research wait --import-all

Generate Commands (notebooklm generate <type>)

All generate commands support:

  • --source/-s to select specific sources (repeatable)
  • --json for machine-readable output (returns task_id and status)
  • --language to override output language (defaults to config or 'en')
  • --retry N to automatically retry on rate limits with exponential backoff
Command Options Example
audio [description] --format [deep-dive|brief|critique|debate], --length [short|default|long], --wait generate audio "Focus on history"
video [description] --format [explainer|brief|cinematic], --style [auto|classic|whiteboard|kawaii|anime|watercolor|retro-print|heritage|paper-craft], --wait generate video "Explainer for kids"
cinematic-video [description] Alias for video --format cinematic; supports the same options generate cinematic-video "Documentary about quantum physics"
slide-deck [description] --format [detailed|presenter], --length [default|short], --wait generate slide-deck
revise-slide <description> -a/--artifact <id> (required), --slide N (required), --wait generate revise-slide "Move title up" --artifact <id> --slide 0
quiz [description] --difficulty [easy|medium|hard], --quantity [fewer|standard|more], --wait generate quiz --difficulty hard
flashcards [description] --difficulty [easy|medium|hard], --quantity [fewer|standard|more], --wait generate flashcards
infographic [description] --orientation [landscape|portrait|square], --detail [concise|standard|detailed], --style [auto|sketch-note|professional|bento-grid|editorial|instructional|bricks|clay|anime|kawaii|scientific], --wait generate infographic
data-table <description> --wait generate data-table "compare concepts"
mind-map (sync, no wait needed) generate mind-map
report [description] --format [briefing-doc|study-guide|blog-post|custom], --append "extra instructions", --wait generate report --format study-guide

Artifact Commands (notebooklm artifact <cmd>)

Command Arguments Options Example
list - --type artifact list --type audio
get <id> Artifact ID - artifact get art123
rename <id> <title> Artifact ID, title - artifact rename art123 "Title"
delete <id> Artifact ID - artifact delete art123
export <id> Artifact ID `--type [docs sheets], --title`
poll <task_id> Task ID - artifact poll task123
wait <id> Artifact ID --timeout, --interval artifact wait art123
suggestions - -s/--source, --json artifact suggestions

Download Commands (notebooklm download <type>)

Command Arguments Options Example
audio [path] Output path -a/--artifact, --all, --latest, --name, --force, --dry-run download audio --all
video [path] Output path -a/--artifact, --all, --latest, --name, --force, --dry-run download video --latest
cinematic-video [path] Output path Alias for download video; same options as video download cinematic-video ./documentary.mp4
slide-deck [path] Output path -a/--artifact, --all, --latest, --name, --force, --dry-run, --format [pdf|pptx] download slide-deck ./slides.pdf
infographic [path] Output path -a/--artifact, --all, --latest, --name, --force, --dry-run download infographic ./info.png
report [path] Output path -a/--artifact, --all, --latest, --name, --force, --dry-run download report ./report.md
mind-map [path] Output path -a/--artifact, --all, --latest, --name, --force, --dry-run download mind-map ./map.json
data-table [path] Output path -a/--artifact, --all, --latest, --name, --force, --dry-run download data-table ./data.csv
quiz [path] Output path -n/--notebook, -a/--artifact, --format (json/markdown/html) download quiz --format markdown quiz.md
flashcards [path] Output path -n/--notebook, -a/--artifact, --format (json/markdown/html) download flashcards cards.json

Note Commands (notebooklm note <cmd>)

Command Arguments Options Example
list - - note list
create <content> Note content - note create "My notes..."
get <id> Note ID - note get note123
save <id> Note ID --title, --content note save note123 --title "Updated title"
rename <id> <title> Note ID, title - note rename note123 "Title"
delete <id> Note ID - note delete note123

Metadata Command

Export notebook metadata and a simplified source list.

notebooklm metadata [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • -n, --notebook ID - Specify notebook (uses current if not set)
  • --json - Output as JSON for scripts

Examples:

notebooklm metadata
notebooklm metadata -n abc123 --json

Skill Commands (notebooklm skill <cmd>)

Manage NotebookLM agent skill integration.

Command Description Example
install Install/update the skill for claude, .agents, or both skill install --target all
status Check installed targets and version info skill status --scope project
uninstall Remove one or more installed targets skill uninstall --target agents
show Display the packaged skill or an installed target skill show --target source

Defaults:

  • skill install uses --scope user --target all
  • claude maps to .claude/skills/notebooklm/SKILL.md
  • agents maps to .agents/skills/notebooklm/SKILL.md
  • show --target source prints the canonical packaged skill file

The packaged wheel includes the repo-root SKILL.md, so the same skill content powers notebooklm skill install, GitHub discovery, and npx skills add teng-lin/notebooklm-py.

Codex does not use the skill subcommand. In this repository it reads the root AGENTS.md file and invokes the notebooklm CLI or Python API directly.

Agent Commands (notebooklm agent <cmd>)

Show bundled instructions for supported agent environments.

Command Description Example
show codex Print the Codex repository guidance agent show codex
show claude Print the bundled Claude Code skill template agent show claude

agent show codex prefers the root AGENTS.md file when running from a source checkout, so the CLI mirrors the same instructions Codex sees in the repository.

Features Beyond the Web UI

These CLI capabilities are not available in NotebookLM's web interface:

Feature Command Description
Batch downloads download <type> --all Download all artifacts of a type at once
Quiz/Flashcard export download quiz --format json Export as JSON, Markdown, or HTML
Mind map extraction download mind-map Export hierarchical JSON for visualization tools
Data table export download data-table Download structured tables as CSV
Slide deck as PPTX download slide-deck --format pptx Download as editable .pptx (web UI only offers PDF)
Slide revision generate revise-slide "prompt" --artifact <id> --slide N Modify individual slides with a natural-language prompt
Report template append generate report --format study-guide --append "..." Append instructions to built-in templates
Source fulltext source fulltext <id> Retrieve the indexed text content of any source
Save chat to note ask "..." --save-as-note / history --save Save Q&A answers or full conversation as notebook notes
Programmatic sharing share commands Manage permissions without the UI

Detailed Command Reference

Session: login

Authenticate with Google NotebookLM via browser.

notebooklm login [OPTIONS]

Opens a Chromium browser with a persistent profile. Log in to your Google account, then press Enter in the terminal to save the session.

Options:

  • --storage PATH - Where to save storage_state.json (default: $NOTEBOOKLM_HOME/storage_state.json)
  • --browser [chromium|msedge] - Browser to use for login (default: chromium). Use msedge for Microsoft Edge.

Examples:

# Default (Chromium)
notebooklm login

# Use Microsoft Edge (for orgs that require Edge for SSO)
notebooklm login --browser msedge

Session: use

Set the active notebook for subsequent commands.

notebooklm use <notebook_id>

Supports partial ID matching:

notebooklm use abc  # Matches abc123def456...

Session: status

Show current context (active notebook and conversation).

notebooklm status [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --paths - Show resolved configuration file paths
  • --json - Output as JSON (useful for scripts)

Examples:

# Basic status
notebooklm status

# Show where config files are located
notebooklm status --paths
# Output shows home_dir, storage_path, context_path, browser_profile_dir

# JSON output for scripts
notebooklm status --json

With --paths:

                Configuration Paths
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ File            ┃ Path                         ┃ Source          ┃
┡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┩
│ Home Directory  │ /home/user/.notebooklm      │ default         │
│ Storage State   │ .../storage_state.json      │                 │
│ Context         │ .../context.json            │                 │
│ Browser Profile │ .../browser_profile         │                 │
└─────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴─────────────────┘

Language: list, get, set

Manage the output language for artifact generation (audio, video, etc.).

Important: Language is a GLOBAL setting that affects all notebooks in your account.

# List all supported languages with native names
notebooklm language list

# Show current language setting (syncs from server)
notebooklm language get

# Set language to Simplified Chinese
notebooklm language set zh_Hans

# Set language to Japanese
notebooklm language set ja

Options for get:

  • --local - Skip server sync, show local config only
  • --json - Output as JSON

Options for set:

  • --local - Save to local config only, skip server sync
  • --json - Output as JSON

Common language codes:

Code Language
en English
zh_Hans 中文（简体） - Simplified Chinese
zh_Hant 中文（繁體） - Traditional Chinese
ja 日本語 - Japanese
ko 한국어 - Korean
es Español - Spanish
fr Français - French
de Deutsch - German
pt_BR Português (Brasil) - Brazilian Portuguese

Run notebooklm language list for all 80+ supported languages.

Share: status, public, view-level, add, update, remove

Manage notebook sharing settings and user permissions.

# Show current sharing status and shared users
notebooklm share status

# Enable public link sharing (anyone with link can view)
notebooklm share public --enable

# Disable public sharing
notebooklm share public --disable

# Set what viewers can access
notebooklm share view-level full   # Full notebook (chat, sources, notes)
notebooklm share view-level chat   # Chat interface only

# Share with specific users
notebooklm share add user@example.com                        # Add as viewer (default)
notebooklm share add user@example.com --permission editor    # Add as editor
notebooklm share add user@example.com -m "Check this out!"   # With message
notebooklm share add user@example.com --no-notify            # Skip email notification

# Update user permission
notebooklm share update user@example.com --permission editor

# Remove user access
notebooklm share remove user@example.com
notebooklm share remove user@example.com -y   # Skip confirmation

Options (all commands):

  • -n, --notebook ID - Specify notebook (uses current if not set, supports partial IDs)
  • --json - Output as JSON

Permission levels:

Level Access
viewer Read-only access (default)
editor Can edit notebook content

View levels:

Level Viewers can see
full Chat, sources, and notes
chat Chat interface only

Session: auth check

Diagnose authentication issues by validating storage file, cookies, and optionally testing token fetch.

notebooklm auth check [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --test - Also test token fetch from NotebookLM (makes network request)
  • --json - Output as JSON (useful for scripts)

Examples:

# Quick local validation
notebooklm auth check

# Full validation with network test
notebooklm auth check --test

# JSON output for automation
notebooklm auth check --json

Checks performed:

  1. Storage file exists and is readable
  2. JSON structure is valid
  3. Required cookies (SID) are present
  4. Cookie domains are correct (.google.com vs regional)
  5. (With --test) Token fetch succeeds

Output shows:

  • Authentication source (file path or environment variable)
  • Which cookies were found and from which domains
  • Detailed cookie breakdown by domain (highlighting key auth cookies)
  • Token lengths when using --test

Use cases:

  • Debug "Not logged in" errors
  • Verify auth setup in CI/CD environments
  • Check if cookies are from correct domain (regional vs .google.com)
  • Diagnose NOTEBOOKLM_AUTH_JSON environment variable issues

Source: add-research

Perform AI-powered research and add discovered sources to the notebook.

notebooklm source add-research <query> [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --mode [fast|deep] - Research depth (default: fast)
  • --from [web|drive] - Search source (default: web)
  • --import-all - Automatically import all found sources (works with blocking mode)
  • --no-wait - Start research and return immediately (non-blocking)

Examples:

# Fast web research (blocking)
notebooklm source add-research "Quantum computing basics"

# Deep research into Google Drive
notebooklm source add-research "Project Alpha" --from drive --mode deep

# Non-blocking deep research for agent workflows
notebooklm source add-research "AI safety papers" --mode deep --no-wait

Research: status

Check research status for the current notebook (non-blocking).

notebooklm research status [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • -n, --notebook ID - Notebook ID (uses current if not set)
  • --json - Output as JSON

Output states:

  • No research running - No active research session
  • Research in progress - Deep research is still running
  • Research completed - Shows query, found sources, and summary

Examples:

# Check status
notebooklm research status

# JSON output for scripts/agents
notebooklm research status --json

Research: wait

Wait for research to complete (blocking).

notebooklm research wait [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • -n, --notebook ID - Notebook ID (uses current if not set)
  • --timeout SECONDS - Maximum seconds to wait (default: 300)
  • --interval SECONDS - Seconds between status checks (default: 5)
  • --import-all - Import all found sources when done
  • --json - Output as JSON

Examples:

# Basic wait
notebooklm research wait

# Wait longer for deep research
notebooklm research wait --timeout 600

# Wait and auto-import sources
notebooklm research wait --import-all

# JSON output for agent workflows
notebooklm research wait --json --import-all

Use case: Primarily for LLM agents that need to wait for non-blocking deep research started with source add-research --no-wait.

Generate: audio

Generate an audio overview (podcast).

notebooklm generate audio [description] [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --format [deep-dive|brief|critique|debate] - Podcast format (default: deep-dive)
  • --length [short|default|long] - Duration (default: default)
  • --language LANG - Language code (default: en)
  • -s, --source ID - Use specific source(s) (repeatable, uses all if not specified)
  • --wait - Wait for generation to complete
  • --json - Output as JSON (returns task_id and status)

Examples:

# Basic podcast (starts async, returns immediately)
notebooklm generate audio

# Debate format with custom instructions
notebooklm generate audio "Compare the two main viewpoints" --format debate

# Generate and wait for completion
notebooklm generate audio "Focus on key points" --wait

# Generate using only specific sources
notebooklm generate audio -s src_abc -s src_def

# JSON output for scripting/automation
notebooklm generate audio --json
# Output: {"task_id": "abc123...", "status": "pending"}

Generate: video

Generate a video overview.

notebooklm generate video [description] [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --format [explainer|brief] - Video format
  • --style [auto|classic|whiteboard|kawaii|anime|watercolor|retro|heritage|paper-craft] - Visual style
  • --language LANG - Language code
  • -s, --source ID - Use specific source(s) (repeatable, uses all if not specified)
  • --wait - Wait for generation to complete
  • --json - Output as JSON (returns task_id and status)

Examples:

# Kid-friendly explainer
notebooklm generate video "Explain for 5 year olds" --style kawaii

# Professional style
notebooklm generate video --style classic --wait

# Generate from specific sources only
notebooklm generate video -s src_123 -s src_456

# JSON output for scripting/automation
notebooklm generate video --json

Generate: revise-slide

Revise an individual slide in an existing slide deck using a natural-language prompt.

notebooklm generate revise-slide <description> --artifact <id> --slide N [OPTIONS]

Required Options:

  • -a, --artifact ID - The slide deck artifact ID to revise
  • --slide N - Zero-based index of the slide to revise (0 = first slide)

Optional:

  • --wait - Wait for revision to complete
  • --json - Machine-readable output

Examples:

# Revise the first slide
notebooklm generate revise-slide "Move the title up" --artifact art123 --slide 0

# Revise the fourth slide and wait for completion
notebooklm generate revise-slide "Remove taxonomy table" --artifact art123 --slide 3 --wait

Note: The slide deck must already be fully generated before using revise-slide. Use artifact list to find the artifact ID.

Generate: report

Generate a text report (briefing doc, study guide, blog post, or custom).

notebooklm generate report [description] [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --format [briefing-doc|study-guide|blog-post|custom] - Report format (default: briefing-doc)
  • --append TEXT - Append extra instructions to the built-in prompt (no effect with --format custom)
  • -s, --source ID - Use specific source(s) (repeatable, uses all if not specified)
  • --wait - Wait for generation to complete
  • --json - Output as JSON

Examples:

notebooklm generate report --format study-guide
notebooklm generate report "Executive summary for stakeholders" --format briefing-doc

# Generate report from specific sources
notebooklm generate report --format study-guide -s src_001 -s src_002

# Custom report with description (auto-selects custom format)
notebooklm generate report "Create a white paper analyzing the key trends"

# Append instructions to a built-in format
notebooklm generate report --format study-guide --append "Target audience: beginners"
notebooklm generate report --format briefing-doc --append "Focus on AI trends, keep it under 2 pages"

Download: audio, video, slide-deck, infographic, report, mind-map, data-table

Download generated artifacts to your local machine.

notebooklm download <type> [OUTPUT_PATH] [OPTIONS]

Artifact Types and Output Formats:

Type Default Extension Description
audio .mp4 Audio overview (podcast) in MP4 container
video .mp4 Video overview
slide-deck .pdf or .pptx Slide deck as PDF (default) or PowerPoint
infographic .png Infographic image
report .md Report as Markdown (Briefing Doc, Study Guide, etc.)
mind-map .json Mind map as JSON tree structure
data-table .csv Data table as CSV (UTF-8 with BOM for Excel)

Options:

  • --all - Download all artifacts of this type
  • --latest - Download only the most recent artifact (default if no ID/name provided)
  • --earliest - Download only the oldest artifact
  • --name NAME - Download artifact with matching title (supports partial matches)
  • -a, --artifact ID - Select specific artifact by ID (supports partial IDs)
  • --dry-run - Show what would be downloaded without actually downloading
  • --force - Overwrite existing files
  • --no-clobber - Skip if file already exists (default)
  • --format [pdf|pptx] - Slide deck format (slide-deck command only, default: pdf)
  • --json - Output result in JSON format

Examples:

# Download the latest podcast
notebooklm download audio ./podcast.mp3

# Download all infographics
notebooklm download infographic --all

# Download a specific slide deck by name
notebooklm download slide-deck --name "Final Presentation"

# Download slide deck as PPTX (editable PowerPoint)
notebooklm download slide-deck --format pptx

# Preview a batch download
notebooklm download audio --all --dry-run

# Download a report as markdown
notebooklm download report ./study-guide.md

# Download mind map as JSON
notebooklm download mind-map ./concept-map.json

# Download data table as CSV (opens in Excel)
notebooklm download data-table ./research-data.csv

Download: quiz, flashcards

Download quiz questions or flashcard decks in various formats.

notebooklm download quiz [OUTPUT_PATH] [OPTIONS]
notebooklm download flashcards [OUTPUT_PATH] [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • -n, --notebook ID - Notebook ID (uses current context if not set)
  • --format FORMAT - Output format: json (default), markdown, or html
  • -a, --artifact ID - Select specific artifact by ID

Output Formats:

  • JSON - Structured data preserving full API fields (answerOptions, rationale, isCorrect, hint)
  • Markdown - Human-readable format with checkboxes for correct answers
  • HTML - Raw HTML as returned from NotebookLM

Examples:

# Download quiz as JSON
notebooklm download quiz quiz.json

# Download quiz as markdown
notebooklm download quiz --format markdown quiz.md

# Download flashcards as JSON (normalizes f/b keys to front/back)
notebooklm download flashcards cards.json

# Download flashcards as markdown
notebooklm download flashcards --format markdown cards.md

# Download flashcards as raw HTML
notebooklm download flashcards --format html cards.html

Common Workflows

Research → Podcast

Find information on a topic and create a podcast about it.

# 1. Create a notebook for this research
notebooklm create "Climate Change Research"
# Output: Created notebook: abc123

# 2. Set as active
notebooklm use abc123

# 3. Add a starting source
notebooklm source add "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change"

# 4. Research more sources automatically (blocking - waits up to 5 min)
notebooklm source add-research "climate change policy 2024" --mode deep --import-all

# 5. Generate a podcast
notebooklm generate audio "Focus on policy solutions and future outlook" --format debate --wait

# 6. Download the result
notebooklm download audio ./climate-podcast.mp3

Research → Podcast (Non-blocking with Subagent)

For LLM agents, use non-blocking mode to avoid timeout:

# 1-3. Create notebook and add initial source (same as above)
notebooklm create "Climate Change Research"
notebooklm use abc123
notebooklm source add "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change"

# 4. Start deep research (non-blocking)
notebooklm source add-research "climate change policy 2024" --mode deep --no-wait
# Returns immediately

# 5. In a subagent, wait for research and import
notebooklm research wait --import-all --timeout 300
# Blocks until complete, then imports sources

# 6. Continue with podcast generation...

Research commands:

  • research status - Check if research is in progress, completed, or not running
  • research wait --import-all - Block until research completes, then import sources

Document Analysis → Study Materials

Upload documents and create study materials.

# 1. Create notebook
notebooklm create "Exam Prep"
notebooklm use <id>

# 2. Add your documents
notebooklm source add "./textbook-chapter.pdf"
notebooklm source add "./lecture-notes.pdf"

# 3. Get a summary
notebooklm summary

# 4. Generate study materials
notebooklm generate quiz --difficulty hard --wait
notebooklm generate flashcards --wait
notebooklm generate report --format study-guide --wait

# 5. Ask specific questions
notebooklm ask "Explain the key concepts in chapter 3"
notebooklm ask "What are the most likely exam topics?"

YouTube → Quick Summary

Turn a YouTube video into notes.

# 1. Create notebook and add video
notebooklm create "Video Notes"
notebooklm use <id>
notebooklm source add "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"

# 2. Get summary
notebooklm summary

# 3. Ask questions
notebooklm ask "What are the main points?"
notebooklm ask "Create bullet point notes"

# 4. Generate a quick briefing doc
notebooklm generate report --format briefing-doc --wait

Bulk Import

Add multiple sources at once.

# Set active notebook
notebooklm use <id>

# Add multiple URLs
notebooklm source add "https://example.com/article1"
notebooklm source add "https://example.com/article2"
notebooklm source add "https://example.com/article3"

# Add multiple local files (use a loop)
for f in ./papers/*.pdf; do
  notebooklm source add "$f"
done

Tips for LLM Agents

When using this CLI programmatically:

  1. Two ways to specify notebooks: Either use notebooklm use <id> to set context, OR pass -n <id> directly to commands. Most commands support -n/--notebook as an explicit override.

  2. Generation commands are async by default (except mind-map):

    • mind-map: Synchronous, completes instantly (no --wait option)
    • All others: Return immediately with task ID (default: --no-wait)

    Avoid --wait for LLM agents—all async operations can take minutes to 30+ minutes. Use artifact wait <id> in a background task or inform the user to check back later.

  3. Partial IDs work: notebooklm use abc matches any notebook ID starting with "abc".

  4. Check status: Use notebooklm status to see the current active notebook and conversation.

  5. Auto-detection: source add auto-detects content type:

    • URLs starting with http → web source
    • YouTube URLs → video transcript extraction
    • File paths → file upload (PDF, text, Markdown, Word, audio, video, images)

  6. Error handling: Commands exit with non-zero status on failure. Check stderr for error messages.

  7. Deep research: Use --no-wait with source add-research --mode deep to avoid blocking. Then use research wait --import-all in a subagent to wait for completion.