NotebookLM Second Brain
Policy: Query the relevant NotebookLM notebook before web search or dumping full docs into context.
Description
This skill enforces a "Notebook First" retrieval policy. Instead of loading entire markdown files or running web searches for architecture decisions, debugging patterns, or security knowledge, the agent queries purpose-built NotebookLM notebooks via the nlm CLI. This keeps the agent context window lean and retrieval fast.
When to Apply
| Scenario | Notebook | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "How does auth work?" | project_sot |
Architecture decisions live here |
| "Why is this test failing?" | debug_kb |
Error patterns and debugging playbooks |
| "Is this input sanitised?" | security_handbook |
OWASP patterns and security reviews |
| "Explain the codebase" | repo_onboarding |
Codebase atlas and mind maps |
| After successful build/verify | project_sot |
Auto-sync implementation notes |
Core Directives
1. Notebook ID Location
All notebook IDs are stored in .claude/notebooklm/notebooks.json. Never hard-code or fabricate IDs.
# Read current notebook config
cat .claude/notebooklm/notebooks.json
2. Notebook Routing
| Query Type | Target Notebook | Fallback |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture, feature specs, implementation history | project_sot |
Read CLAUDE.md directly |
| Error patterns, test failures, debugging steps | debug_kb |
Search codebase with grep |
| OWASP, auth patterns, security reviews | security_handbook |
Web search security docs |
| "How does X work?", codebase overview, onboarding | repo_onboarding |
Read source files directly |
3. CLI Command Reference
# Authentication
nlm login # Browser cookie extraction (one-time)
nlm login --check # Verify auth status
# Notebook management
nlm notebook list # List all notebooks
nlm notebook create "Name" # Create new notebook
nlm notebook query <notebook_id> # Interactive query
# Source management
nlm source add <notebook_id> --file <path> # Add file source
nlm source add <notebook_id> --url <url> # Add URL source
nlm source add <notebook_id> --text "content" # Add text source
nlm source list <notebook_id> # List sources
# Notes and audio
nlm note create <notebook_id> "Title" # Create note
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --confirm # Generate audio overview
4. Deterministic Routine
When setting up a new notebook:
- Create —
nlm notebook create "Name" - Add sources — Upload relevant files and URLs
- Query — Verify the notebook returns useful answers
- Export — Save notebook ID to
notebooks.json
5. Post-Build Sync
After successful pnpm run verify or pnpm build, the sync hook (.claude/hooks/scripts/notebooklm-sync.ps1) automatically creates an implementation note in project_sot with:
- Commit message and hash
- Changed files list
- Test results summary
- Detected TODO items
Anti-Patterns
- Never fabricate notebook IDs — only use IDs from
notebooks.json(populated by/notebooklm-bootstrap) - Never dump full docs into context when a notebook query would suffice
- Never skip the notebook and go straight to web search for project-specific knowledge
- Never hard-code notebook IDs in scripts or commands — always read from config
Integration Points
| System | Integration |
|---|---|
| Beads | Sync completed Beads tasks as implementation notes |
| Council of Logic | Architecture queries route through project_sot first |
| Hooks | Post-verify sync hook adds notes automatically |
| Skills | Other skills can query notebooks for domain knowledge |
Setup
Run the bootstrap command to install, authenticate, and create all notebooks:
/notebooklm-bootstrap
This installs notebooklm-mcp-cli, authenticates via browser, creates the 4 notebooks, seeds them with project sources, and writes IDs to notebooks.json.
Validation
python scripts/validate-notebooks.py # Schema validation
python scripts/validate-notebooks.py --check-ids # Verify IDs populated
python scripts/validate-notebooks.py --dry-run-sync # Preview sync note