nlm - NotebookLM CLI Tool 📚

A powerful command-line interface for Google's NotebookLM, allowing you to manage notebooks, sources, notes, audio/video overviews, and AI-powered content transformation from your terminal.

🔊 Listen to an Audio Overview of this tool: NotebookLM Audio Demo

✨ Features

• 📖 Complete Notebook Management - Create, list, delete, and analyze notebooks
• 📁 Source Operations - Add URLs, files, text, and YouTube videos as sources
• 📝 Note Management - Create, edit, and organize notes within notebooks
• 🎧 Audio/Video Overviews - Generate and download AI-powered audio and video summaries
• 🛠️ Artifact Creation - Create interactive reports, apps, and other content artifacts
• 🤖 AI Content Transformation - Rephrase, summarize, expand, critique, and transform content
• 💬 Interactive Chat - Have conversations with your notebook content
• 🔍 Advanced Generation - Create guides, outlines, study materials, timelines, and mindmaps
• 🔐 Multi-Browser Authentication - Seamless auth with Chrome, Brave, Edge, and more
• ⚡ Batch Operations - Execute multiple commands efficiently
• 🔗 Smart Sharing - Share notebooks publicly or privately with fine-grained control

🚀 Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

go install github.com/tmc/nlm/cmd/nlm@latest

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/tmc/nlm.git
cd nlm
go build -o nlm ./cmd/nlm

📦 Installing Go (if needed)

Option 1: Using Package Managers

macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install go

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install golang

Linux (Fedora):

sudo dnf install golang

Option 2: Direct Download

1. Visit the Go Downloads page
2. Download the appropriate version for your OS
3. Follow the installation instructions

macOS:

• Download the .pkg file and run the installer

Linux:

# Example for Linux AMD64
wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.24.6.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.24.6.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Post-Installation Setup

Add Go to your PATH:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin
export PATH=$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin

Verify installation:

go version

🔑 Authentication

Quick Start

# First-time setup - opens browser for Google account authentication
nlm auth

# List your notebooks to verify authentication
nlm list

Advanced Authentication

The nlm tool provides sophisticated browser-based authentication with automatic profile detection:

# Use specific browser profile
nlm auth --profile "Work Profile"

# Try all available browser profiles
nlm auth --all

# Check which profiles have NotebookLM access
nlm auth --notebooks

# Keep browser open for manual login (useful for troubleshooting)
nlm auth --keep-open 30

# Enable detailed authentication debugging
nlm auth --debug

Supported Browsers

The tool automatically detects and works with:

• Google Chrome (default)
• Google Chrome Canary
• Brave Browser
• Microsoft Edge
• Chromium

Browser Profile Management

The authentication system intelligently:

• Scans all browser profiles automatically
• Prioritizes profiles with existing NotebookLM cookies
• Uses most recently used profiles when possible
• Preserves complete browser session state for better compatibility

💻 Command Reference

📖 Notebook Operations

# List all notebooks
nlm list
nlm ls                           # Shorthand

# Create a new notebook
nlm create "AI Research Notes"

# Delete a notebook
nlm rm <notebook-id>

# Show notebook analytics
nlm analytics <notebook-id>

# List featured/recommended notebooks
nlm list-featured

📁 Source Management

# List sources in a notebook
nlm sources <notebook-id>

# Add sources from various inputs
nlm add <notebook-id> https://example.com/article
nlm add <notebook-id> research-paper.pdf
nlm add <notebook-id> data.json
nlm add <notebook-id> "Direct text content"
nlm add <notebook-id> https://youtube.com/watch?v=abc123

# Add from stdin with MIME type specification
cat document.xml | nlm add <notebook-id> - --mime="text/xml"
echo "Meeting notes" | nlm add <notebook-id> -

# Source operations
nlm rename-source <source-id> "New Title"
nlm refresh-source <source-id>
nlm check-source <source-id>
nlm rm-source <notebook-id> <source-id>

# Discover relevant sources
nlm discover-sources <notebook-id> "machine learning papers"

📝 Note Management

# List notes in a notebook
nlm notes <notebook-id>

# Create and manage notes
nlm new-note <notebook-id> "Meeting Summary"
nlm update-note <notebook-id> <note-id> "Updated content" "New Title"
nlm rm-note <note-id>

🎧 Audio & Video Overviews

# Audio overview operations
nlm audio-list <notebook-id>
nlm audio-create <notebook-id> "Speak in a professional tone, focus on key insights"
nlm audio-get <notebook-id>
nlm audio-download <notebook-id> overview.mp3
nlm audio-share <notebook-id>
nlm audio-rm <notebook-id>

# Video overview operations
nlm video-list <notebook-id>
nlm video-create <notebook-id> "Create an engaging visual summary"
nlm video-download <notebook-id> summary.mp4

🛠️ Artifact Creation

# Create interactive artifacts
nlm create-artifact <notebook-id> note     # Interactive note
nlm create-artifact <notebook-id> audio    # Audio overview
nlm create-artifact <notebook-id> report   # Structured report
nlm create-artifact <notebook-id> app      # Interactive app

# Manage artifacts
nlm artifacts <notebook-id>
nlm list-artifacts <notebook-id>           # Alias
nlm get-artifact <artifact-id>
nlm rename-artifact <artifact-id> "New Title"
nlm delete-artifact <artifact-id>

🤖 AI Content Transformation

Transform your notebook content with AI-powered operations:

# Content transformation (specify source IDs to focus on specific sources)
nlm rephrase <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>
nlm expand <notebook-id> <source-id1>
nlm summarize <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>
nlm critique <notebook-id> <source-id1>
nlm brainstorm <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>

# Analysis and verification
nlm verify <notebook-id> <source-id1>
nlm explain <notebook-id> <source-id1>

# Study materials generation
nlm study-guide <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>
nlm faq <notebook-id> <source-id1>
nlm briefing-doc <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>

# Visual organization
nlm mindmap <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>
nlm timeline <notebook-id> <source-id1>
nlm outline <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>
nlm toc <notebook-id> <source-id1>

🔍 AI Generation & Chat

# Content generation
nlm generate-guide <notebook-id>
nlm generate-outline <notebook-id>
nlm generate-section <notebook-id>
nlm generate-chat <notebook-id> "Explain the main themes"
nlm generate-magic <notebook-id> <source-id1> <source-id2>

# Interactive chat
nlm chat <notebook-id>              # Start interactive session
nlm chat-list                       # List saved chats

🔗 Sharing & Collaboration

# Share notebooks
nlm share <notebook-id>             # Public sharing
nlm share-private <notebook-id>     # Private sharing
nlm share-details <share-id>        # Get sharing details

🔧 Utility Commands

# Authentication management
nlm auth [profile]                  # Setup/refresh authentication
nlm refresh                         # Refresh credentials

# System operations
nlm feedback "Great tool!"          # Submit feedback
nlm hb                              # Send heartbeat

📋 Usage Examples

Complete Workflow Example

# 1. Create a new research notebook
notebook_id=$(nlm create "AI Ethics Research" | grep -o 'notebook [^ ]*' | cut -d' ' -f2)

# 2. Add diverse sources
nlm add $notebook_id https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.00020
nlm add $notebook_id "AI ethics guidelines.pdf"
nlm add $notebook_id https://youtube.com/watch?v=ethics-talk
nlm add $notebook_id "Personal notes: Key ethical concerns in AI deployment"

# 3. Generate study materials
nlm study-guide $notebook_id
nlm generate-outline $notebook_id
nlm faq $notebook_id

# 4. Create audio overview
nlm audio-create $notebook_id "Professional tone, focus on practical implications"

# 5. Transform content for different audiences
nlm rephrase $notebook_id        # Academic to accessible language
nlm briefing-doc $notebook_id    # Executive summary
nlm mindmap $notebook_id         # Visual organization

# 6. Share your research
nlm share-private $notebook_id

Batch Content Processing

# Process multiple sources for comprehensive analysis
sources=$(nlm sources $notebook_id | grep -o 'Source [^ ]*' | cut -d' ' -f2)

# Generate multiple content types
for source in $sources; do
    nlm summarize $notebook_id $source
    nlm explain $notebook_id $source
done

# Create comprehensive study package
nlm study-guide $notebook_id
nlm timeline $notebook_id
nlm generate-guide $notebook_id

🔧 Advanced Configuration

Environment Variables

# Authentication (automatically managed by nlm auth)
export NLM_AUTH_TOKEN="your-token"
export NLM_COOKIES="your-cookies"
export NLM_BROWSER_PROFILE="Work Profile"

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging for troubleshooting:

nlm --debug list
nlm --debug auth --profile "Work Profile"

Testing

# Run unit tests
go test ./...

# Run integration tests (requires credentials)
go test -tags=integration ./...

# Run CLI tests
go test ./cmd/nlm

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

├── cmd/nlm/              # CLI application
├── internal/
│   ├── api/              # NotebookLM API client
│   ├── auth/             # Browser-based authentication
│   ├── batchexecute/     # Google BatchExecute protocol
│   └── httprr/           # HTTP record/replay for testing
├── gen/                  # Generated protobuf code
└── proto/                # Protocol buffer definitions

Building

# Build for current platform
go build ./cmd/nlm

# Build for multiple platforms
GOOS=linux go build ./cmd/nlm
GOOS=windows go build ./cmd/nlm
GOOS=darwin go build ./cmd/nlm

🔒 Security & Privacy

• Local Authentication: Tokens stored securely in ~/.nlm/env
• Browser Integration: Uses existing browser sessions, no password storage
• Profile Isolation: Copies essential browser data only, preserves privacy
• No Data Collection: Tool operates entirely locally with direct Google API calls

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Authentication fails:

# Try with debug output
nlm auth --debug

# Try different browser profile
nlm auth --all --notebooks

# Use manual authentication
nlm auth --keep-open 60

Network errors:

# Check connection
nlm hb

# Refresh credentials
nlm refresh

Getting Help

1. Check the debug output: nlm --debug <command>
2. Verify authentication: nlm auth --debug
3. Test connectivity: nlm hb
4. Submit feedback: nlm feedback "Describe your issue"

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Add tests for new functionality
4. Ensure all tests pass: go test ./...
5. Submit a pull request

Development Guidelines

• Follow standard Go conventions (gofmt)
• Add comprehensive tests for new features
• Update documentation for user-facing changes
• Use conventional commit messages

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built on Google's NotebookLM platform
• Powered by Google's Batchexecute API protocol
• Inspired by the need for efficient notebook management workflows