NotebookLM Management Skill

Overview

Provide comprehensive Google NotebookLM management through the nlm CLI from the notebooklm-mcp-cli package (v0.3.3). This skill enables full notebook lifecycle management including creating notebooks, adding diverse sources, generating AI-powered audio/video overviews, creating study materials, querying sources with AI, researching topics, and sharing notebooks.

CLI Tool: nlm (installed via uv tool install notebooklm-mcp-cli)

Note: This skill does NOT share authentication with Google OAuth skills (calendar, contacts, drive, docs). It uses its own browser cookie-based authentication method.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill for ANY Google NotebookLM operations:

Notebook Management: Create, list, rename, delete, describe notebooks
Source Management: Add URLs, text, files, YouTube videos, Google Drive docs
Audio/Podcast Generation: Create audio overviews (podcasts) from notebook sources
Video Generation: Create video overviews from notebook sources
AI Querying: Ask questions about notebook sources
Study Materials: Create flashcards, quizzes from sources
Reports & Visuals: Generate reports, mind maps, slides, infographics, data tables
Research: Discover and import new sources on topics
Sharing: Make notebooks public, invite collaborators
Download: Download generated artifacts (audio, video, slides, etc.)

Trigger Keywords: "notebooklm", "notebook lm", "audio overview", "podcast from sources", "create notebook", "add sources to notebook", "study materials", "flashcards from sources", "query notebook", "video overview", "research topic", "mind map"

Authentication

Browser Cookie Authentication

The nlm CLI authenticates by extracting cookies from your browser session with NotebookLM.

Initial Login:

# Default login (opens browser for cookie extraction)
nlm login

# Check if current auth is valid
nlm login --check

Profile Management (for multiple Google accounts):

# Login with a named profile
nlm login --profile work
nlm login --profile personal

# Switch default profile
nlm login switch <profile-name>

# Manage profiles
nlm login profile

Manual Cookie Mode (if browser extraction fails):

nlm login --manual --file cookies.txt

Diagnostics:

nlm doctor

Important: This authentication is completely separate from Google OAuth used by other Google skills (calendar, contacts, drive, docs, sheets). Each system maintains its own credentials.

Core Workflows

1. Notebook Management

List all notebooks:

nlm notebook list

Create a new notebook:

nlm notebook create "Research Project"

Get notebook details:

nlm notebook get <notebook_id>

Get AI-generated notebook summary:

nlm notebook describe <notebook_id>

Rename a notebook:

nlm notebook rename <notebook_id> "New Name"

Delete a notebook:

nlm notebook delete <notebook_id>

2. Source Management

Add a URL source:

nlm source add <notebook_id> --url "https://example.com/article"

Add a URL and wait for processing:

nlm source add <notebook_id> --url "https://example.com/article" --wait

Add text content directly:

nlm source add <notebook_id> --text "Your content here..."

Add a YouTube video:

nlm source add <notebook_id> --youtube "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..."

Add a local file (PDF, etc.):

nlm source add <notebook_id> --file document.pdf --wait

Add a Google Drive document:

nlm source add <notebook_id> --drive <drive_doc_id>
nlm source add <notebook_id> --drive <drive_doc_id> --type slides

Add source with custom title:

nlm source add <notebook_id> --url "https://example.com" --title "My Article"

List sources in a notebook:

nlm source list <notebook_id>

Get source details:

nlm source get <source_id>

Get AI-generated source summary:

nlm source describe <source_id>

Get raw source content:

nlm source content <source_id>

Delete a source:

nlm source delete <source_id>

Sync Drive sources with latest content:

nlm source sync <notebook_id>

Check for stale Drive sources:

nlm source stale <notebook_id>

3. Querying Notebooks (AI Chat)

Ask a question about notebook sources:

nlm notebook query <notebook_id> "What are the key findings?"

Or using the top-level query command:

nlm query notebook <notebook_id> "Summarize the main arguments"

4. Audio Overview (Podcast) Generation

Create audio overview with defaults (deep dive format):

nlm audio create <notebook_id> --confirm

Create with specific format:

# Formats: deep_dive, brief, critique, debate
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --format brief --confirm
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --format debate --confirm
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --format critique --confirm

Control length:

# Lengths: short, default, long
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --length short --confirm
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --length long --confirm

Specify language:

nlm audio create <notebook_id> --language es --confirm

Focus on specific topic:

nlm audio create <notebook_id> --focus "market trends" --confirm

Use specific sources only:

nlm audio create <notebook_id> --source-ids "src1,src2,src3" --confirm

Download the generated audio:

nlm download audio <notebook_id>

5. Video Overview Generation

Create video overview:

nlm video create <notebook_id>

Download generated video:

nlm download video <notebook_id>

6. Study Materials

Create flashcards:

nlm flashcards create <notebook_id>

Create quizzes:

nlm quiz create <notebook_id>

Download flashcards/quizzes:

nlm download flashcards <notebook_id>
nlm download quiz <notebook_id>

7. Reports, Visuals, and Artifacts

Create a report:

nlm report create <notebook_id>

Create a mind map:

nlm mindmap create <notebook_id>

Create slides:

nlm slides create <notebook_id>

Create an infographic:

nlm infographic create <notebook_id>

Create a data table:

nlm data-table create <notebook_id>

Download artifacts:

nlm download report <notebook_id>      # Markdown
nlm download slide-deck <notebook_id>  # PDF
nlm download infographic <notebook_id> # PNG
nlm download mind-map <notebook_id>    # JSON
nlm download data-table <notebook_id>  # CSV

8. Research and Discovery

Start a research task to find sources on a topic:

nlm research start <notebook_id> "topic description"

Check research progress:

nlm research status <task_id>

Import discovered sources:

nlm research import <task_id>

9. Sharing

Make notebook public (anyone with link can view):

nlm share public <notebook_id>

Make notebook private (restricted to collaborators):

nlm share private <notebook_id>

Invite a collaborator by email:

nlm share invite <notebook_id> --email user@example.com

Check sharing status:

nlm share status <notebook_id>

10. Studio Artifacts

List all studio artifacts and their status:

nlm studio status <notebook_id>

Rename an artifact:

nlm studio rename <artifact_id> "New Name"

Delete an artifact:

nlm studio delete <artifact_id>

11. Export to Google Workspace

Export artifacts to Google Docs/Sheets:

nlm export <artifact_id>

12. Aliases and Configuration

Set an alias for a notebook ID:

nlm alias set myproject <notebook_id>

# Then use alias instead of ID
nlm notebook get myproject

Manage configuration:

nlm config

Natural Language Examples

"Create a podcast about these articles"

# 1. Create a notebook
nlm notebook create "Article Podcast"

# 2. Add URL sources
nlm source add <notebook_id> --url "https://article1.com" --wait
nlm source add <notebook_id> --url "https://article2.com" --wait
nlm source add <notebook_id> --url "https://article3.com" --wait

# 3. Generate audio overview
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --format deep_dive --confirm

# 4. Download the audio file
nlm download audio <notebook_id>

"Summarize this YouTube video"

# 1. Create a notebook
nlm notebook create "Video Summary"

# 2. Add YouTube source
nlm source add <notebook_id> --youtube "https://youtube.com/watch?v=abc123" --wait

# 3. Query for summary
nlm notebook query <notebook_id> "Provide a comprehensive summary of this video"

"Create flashcards from this PDF"

# 1. Create a notebook
nlm notebook create "Study Material"

# 2. Upload the PDF
nlm source add <notebook_id> --file textbook-chapter.pdf --wait

# 3. Generate flashcards
nlm flashcards create <notebook_id>

# 4. Download flashcards
nlm download flashcards <notebook_id>

"Make a quick briefing podcast from these Google Docs"

# 1. Create a notebook
nlm notebook create "Weekly Briefing"

# 2. Add Google Drive docs
nlm source add <notebook_id> --drive <doc_id_1>
nlm source add <notebook_id> --drive <doc_id_2>

# 3. Generate brief audio overview
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --format brief --length short --confirm

# 4. Download audio
nlm download audio <notebook_id>

"Research and create a report on AI trends"

# 1. Create a notebook
nlm notebook create "AI Trends Research"

# 2. Start research
nlm research start <notebook_id> "latest AI trends 2026"

# 3. Check progress
nlm research status <task_id>

# 4. Import discovered sources
nlm research import <task_id>

# 5. Generate a report
nlm report create <notebook_id>

# 6. Download report
nlm download report <notebook_id>

"Share this notebook with my team"

# Check current sharing status
nlm share status <notebook_id>

# Invite team members
nlm share invite <notebook_id> --email alice@company.com
nlm share invite <notebook_id> --email bob@company.com

# Or make it public
nlm share public <notebook_id>

Error Handling

Not Authenticated:

{
  "error": "Not authenticated",
  "action": "Run 'nlm login' to authenticate via browser cookie extraction"
}

Action: Run nlm login to re-authenticate.

Notebook Not Found:

{
  "error": "Notebook not found",
  "action": "Verify notebook ID with 'nlm notebook list'"
}

Action: List notebooks to find correct ID with nlm notebook list.

Source Add Failed:

{
  "error": "Failed to add source",
  "action": "Check URL accessibility, file path, or Drive permissions"
}

Action: Verify the URL is accessible, the file exists, or Drive document is shared with your account.

Audio Generation Failed:

{
  "error": "Audio creation failed",
  "action": "Ensure notebook has at least one processed source"
}

Action: Verify sources are processed with nlm source list <notebook_id>, then retry.

Profile Not Found:

{
  "error": "Profile not found",
  "action": "Run 'nlm login --profile <name>' to create a new profile"
}

Action: Create the profile with nlm login --profile <name>.

Best Practices

Create a notebook per topic/project -- keeps sources organized and queries focused
Add multiple diverse sources before generating audio -- richer content produces better overviews
Use --wait when adding sources -- ensures processing completes before querying or generating
Query to verify ingestion -- use nlm notebook query to confirm sources are properly indexed before generating audio/video
Use profiles for work vs personal accounts -- nlm login --profile work / nlm login --profile personal
Use aliases for frequently accessed notebooks -- nlm alias set myproject <id> for convenience
Use --format for audio variety -- deep_dive for comprehensive, brief for quick, debate for contrasting views, critique for analysis
Download artifacts after generation -- use nlm download <type> <notebook_id> to save locally
Sync Drive sources periodically -- nlm source sync to pull latest content changes
Use nlm doctor for diagnostics -- first step when troubleshooting any issue

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

# Run diagnostics first
nlm doctor

# Re-authenticate
nlm login

# Check if auth is valid
nlm login --check

# Try manual cookie mode if browser extraction fails
nlm login --manual --file cookies.txt

CLI Not Found

# Check if nlm is on PATH
which nlm

# Common location
ls ~/.local/bin/nlm

# Reinstall if needed
uv tool install notebooklm-mcp-cli

Source Processing Stuck

# Check source status
nlm source list <notebook_id>

# Get details on specific source
nlm source get <source_id>

# Try removing and re-adding
nlm source delete <source_id>
nlm source add <notebook_id> --url "https://..." --wait

Audio/Video Generation Not Starting

# Verify notebook has processed sources
nlm source list <notebook_id>

# Check studio status for existing artifacts
nlm studio status <notebook_id>

# Ensure you have at least one fully processed source before generating

Profile Issues

# List profiles
nlm login profile

# Switch to different profile
nlm login switch <profile-name>

# Re-authenticate a specific profile
nlm login --profile <name>

Version

CLI: nlm v0.3.3 (notebooklm-mcp-cli)
Skill: 1.0.0
Run nlm --version to check installed version