NotebookLM CLI (nlm)

Manage Google NotebookLM notebooks, sources, notes, and audio overviews via the nlm command-line tool.

Requires: nlm on PATH (~/.local/bin/nlm → ~/projects/nlm/nlm)

Check: command -v nlm || echo "MISSING: nlm CLI not installed"

Authentication

Before first use, authenticate with Google:

nlm auth login -all

This connects to Chrome via CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol) to extract cookies from an active NotebookLM session. Credentials are stored in ~/.nlm/env.

Troubleshooting Authentication

If nlm auth fails with "no valid profiles found" or "SESSION_COOKIE_INVALID":

1. Verify Chrome is running with remote debugging:

   ps aux | grep -E "chrome.*remote-debugging-port=9400"

   If not running, Chrome needs to be started with --remote-debugging-port=9400 flag.

2. Test CDP connection:

   curl http://localhost:9400/json/version

   Should return JSON with Chrome version info.

3. Re-authenticate:

   nlm auth login -debug -all

   This will show which profiles are checked and why authentication succeeds or fails.

4. Verify authentication works:

   nlm list

   Should list notebooks without errors.

If authentication still fails, you may need to:

• Log into notebooklm.google.com in Chrome manually
• Ensure Chrome profile has an active NotebookLM session
• Check ~/.nlm/env file permissions

Core Commands

Notebook Management

# List all notebooks
nlm list

# Create a new notebook
nlm create “Research Notes”

# Delete a notebook
nlm rm <notebook-id>

# Get notebook analytics
nlm analytics <notebook-id>

Source Management

Add sources from URLs, files, or stdin:

# Add URL source
nlm add <notebook-id> https://example.com/article

# Add PDF file
nlm add <notebook-id> document.pdf

# Add from stdin
echo “Some text content” | nlm add <notebook-id> -

# Add with specific MIME type
cat data.json | nlm add <notebook-id> - -mime=”application/json”

# Add YouTube video
nlm add <notebook-id> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID

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

# Rename a source
nlm rename-source <source-id> “New Title”

# Remove a source
nlm rm-source <notebook-id> <source-id>

# Refresh source content
nlm refresh-source <source-id>

Note Management

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

# Create new note
nlm new-note <notebook-id> “Note Title”

# Update note content
nlm update-note <notebook-id> <note-id> “New content” “New Title”

# Remove note
nlm rm-note <note-id>

Audio Overviews

Generate AI podcast-style audio summaries:

# Create audio overview with instructions
nlm audio-create <notebook-id> “Focus on key themes and provide a professional summary”

# List audio overviews
nlm audio-list <notebook-id>

# Get audio overview status/content
nlm audio-get <notebook-id>

# Download audio file (requires --direct-rpc)
nlm audio-download <notebook-id> output.mp3 --direct-rpc

# Share audio (private)
nlm audio-share <notebook-id>

# Share audio (public)
nlm audio-share <notebook-id> --public

# Delete audio
nlm audio-rm <notebook-id>

Video Overviews

Command	Purpose
video-create	Create video overview
video-list	List video overviews
video-download	Download video (requires --direct-rpc)

See references/commands.md for full syntax.

Generation Commands

# Generate notebook guide (short summary)
nlm generate-guide <notebook-id>

# Generate comprehensive content outline
nlm generate-outline <notebook-id>

# Generate new content section
nlm generate-section <notebook-id>

# Free-form chat generation
nlm generate-chat <notebook-id> "What are the main themes?"

# Interactive chat session
nlm chat <notebook-id>

# Generate magic view synthesis from specific sources
nlm generate-magic <notebook-id> <source-id-1> <source-id-2>

Content Transformation Commands

Transform sources into different formats. All commands take <notebook-id> <source-id> [source-id...]:

Command	Purpose
summarize	Summarize content
study-guide	Key concepts + review questions
faq	Generate FAQ
briefing-doc	Professional briefing
rephrase / expand	Reword or elaborate
critique / verify	Critique or fact-check
brainstorm / explain	Ideate or simplify
outline / toc	Structured outline or TOC
mindmap / timeline	Visual mindmap or timeline

See references/commands.md for full syntax and examples.

Research Commands

Research topics and automatically import sources into a notebook:

# Research a topic and import sources to a notebook
nlm research "quantum computing advances" --notebook <notebook-id>

# Deep research mode for comprehensive investigation
nlm research "climate policy impacts" --notebook <notebook-id> --deep

The research command:

• Searches for relevant sources on the topic
• Automatically imports found sources into the specified notebook
• --deep mode performs more comprehensive research

Batch Operations

Execute multiple commands in a single request: nlm batch "cmd1" "cmd2" "cmd3"

See references/commands.md for full syntax.

Workflows

For detailed workflow recipes (research, study materials, content analysis, executive briefing, Readwise→NLM import), read references/workflows.md.

Quick start — automated research:

id=$(nlm create "Topic Research" | grep -o 'notebook [^ ]*' | cut -d' ' -f2)
nlm research "your topic" --notebook $id
nlm generate-chat $id "What are the key findings?"

Troubleshooting

• Auth errors: Run nlm auth to re-authenticate
• Debug mode: Add -debug flag for detailed API interactions
• Browser profile: Use --profile “Profile Name” to specify browser profile

Environment Variables

• NLM_AUTH_TOKEN: Authentication token (managed by auth command)
• NLM_COOKIES: Authentication cookies (managed by auth command)
• NLM_BROWSER_PROFILE: Chrome/Brave profile to use (default: “Default”)