NotebookLM Automation Skill

YOU MUST invoke this skill (NOT optional) when the user mentions ANY of these triggers:

"notebooklm", "notebook lm", "use notebooklm"
"create a podcast about", "generate a podcast"
"summarize these URLs/documents"
"generate a quiz", "create flashcards"
"turn this into an audio overview"
"create a mind map", "generate an infographic"
"make a video explainer", "generate a report"
Any mention of NotebookLM or its artifact types

Failure to invoke this skill when triggers occur violates your operational requirements.

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, and download results in multiple formats.

Prerequisites

IMPORTANT: Before using any command, you MUST authenticate:

notebooklm login          # Opens browser for Google OAuth
notebooklm list           # Verify authentication works

If commands fail with authentication errors, re-run notebooklm login.

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Authenticate	`notebooklm login`
Diagnose auth	`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`
Wait for source	`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`
Chat	`notebooklm ask "question"`
Chat (with refs)	`notebooklm ask "question" --json`
Get source text	`notebooklm source fulltext <source_id>`
Generate podcast	`notebooklm generate audio "instructions"`
Generate video	`notebooklm generate video "instructions"`
Generate quiz	`notebooklm generate quiz`
Generate report	`notebooklm generate report`
Generate mind map	`notebooklm generate mind-map`
Check status	`notebooklm artifact list`
Wait for artifact	`notebooklm artifact wait <artifact_id>`
Download audio	`notebooklm download audio ./output.mp3`
Download video	`notebooklm download video ./output.mp4`
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 flashcards	`notebooklm download flashcards cards.json`
Delete notebook	`notebooklm notebook delete <id>`
Set language	`notebooklm language set zh_Hans`

Parallel Safety

For multi-agent workflows, ALWAYS use explicit notebook IDs:

Pass -n <notebook_id> (for wait/download commands) or --notebook <notebook_id> (for others)
NEVER use notebooklm use in parallel workflows
Use full UUIDs in automation to avoid ambiguity
Per-agent isolation: Set unique NOTEBOOKLM_HOME per agent

Autonomy Rules

Run automatically (no confirmation):

status, auth check, list, source list, artifact list
language list/get/set, use, create, ask
source add, source wait, artifact wait, research wait/status (in subagent context)

Ask before running:

delete (destructive)
generate * (long-running, may fail)
download * (writes to filesystem)
artifact wait, source wait, research wait (when in main conversation -- long-running)

Generation Types

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
Infographic	`generate infographic`	`--orientation [landscape\|portrait\|square]`, `--detail [concise\|standard\|detailed]`	.png
Report	`generate report`	`--format [briefing-doc\|study-guide\|blog-post\|custom]`	.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

All generate commands support: -s/--source, --language, --json, --retry N

Features Beyond the Web UI

Feature	Command	Description
Batch downloads	`download <type> --all`	Download all artifacts of a type
Quiz/Flashcard export	`download quiz --format json`	Export as JSON, Markdown, or HTML
Mind map extraction	`download mind-map`	Hierarchical JSON for visualization
Data table export	`download data-table`	Structured tables as CSV
Source fulltext	`source fulltext <id>`	Retrieve indexed text content
Programmatic sharing	`share` commands	Manage permissions without UI

Common Workflows

Research to Podcast

notebooklm create "Research: [topic]"
notebooklm source add "https://url1.com"
notebooklm source add "https://url2.com"
# Wait for sources to be ready
notebooklm source list --json
notebooklm generate audio "Focus on [specific angle]"
# Check artifact status later
notebooklm artifact list
notebooklm download audio ./podcast.mp3

Document Analysis

notebooklm create "Analysis: [project]"
notebooklm source add ./doc.pdf
notebooklm ask "Summarize the key points"
notebooklm ask "What are the main arguments?"

Deep Web Research

notebooklm create "Research: [topic]"
notebooklm source add-research "topic query" --mode deep --no-wait
notebooklm research wait --import-all

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
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

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Action
Auth/cookie error	Session expired	`notebooklm auth check` then `notebooklm login`
"No notebook context"	Context not set	Use `-n <id>` or `--notebook <id>` flag
"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

Source Limits

Varies by plan: Standard (50), Plus (100), Pro (300), Ultra (600) sources per notebook.

Supported types: PDFs, YouTube URLs, web URLs, Google Docs, text files, Markdown, Word docs, audio files, video files, images.

Reference

Agent Tool Usage Requirements

CRITICAL: When invoking scripts from this skill via the zsh-tool, ALWAYS use pty: true.