Notebooklm

NotebookLM CLI

nlm: list/select notebooks; question them with generate-chat or chat.

Workflow

1. CLI: Verify with command -v nlm; if absent, ask how user wants to install it.
2. Auth
   • Do not rely on parent-shell environment alone. Auth may be in ~/.nlm/env, CLI/browser state, NLM_AUTH_TOKEN, or NLM_COOKIES.
   • .env.example: tracked template for local use or ~/.nlm/env.
   • Prove auth with a real command, e.g. nlm list, not environment inspection alone.
   • If auth is missing, run nlm auth --all --notebooks.
   • If profiles are locked: NLM_USE_ORIGINAL_PROFILE=1 nlm auth --all --notebooks --debug.
   • If auth still fails, fail fast; ask user to complete browser login manually.
3. Notebook: Run nlm list (recent notebooks); if no ID supplied, ask user to choose one.
4. Interact
   • Single headless question: nlm generate-chat <notebook-id> "<prompt>".
   • Interactive: nlm chat <notebook-id>.
   • Transform sources: ask for source IDs, then use summarize, explain, outline, faq, briefing-doc, timeline, or toc.
5. Confirmations: Always confirm before destructive operations: rm, rm-source, rm-note, delete-artifact, audio-rm. Confirm before privacy-impacting actions: share (public) and share-private.

Quick commands

nlm list
nlm generate-chat <notebook-id> "Question about my knowledge base"
nlm chat <notebook-id>

Environment

• Tracked template: .env.example.
• Common vars: NLM_AUTH_TOKEN, NLM_COOKIES, NLM_BROWSER_PROFILE, NLM_USE_ORIGINAL_PROFILE=1.
• If ~/.nlm/env is already used, keep it as the active auth file; template is mainly a portable key list.

Notes

• “Talk to my knowledge base” → ask which notebook ID.
• No implicit state: never assume a last-used notebook.

Required follow-up reads