MCP Guide

Complete reference for the NotebookLM MCP server — 35 tools for AI assistants.

Installation

# Install the package
uv tool install notebooklm-mcp-cli

# Add to Claude Code
claude mcp add --scope user notebooklm-mcp notebooklm-mcp

# Add to Gemini CLI
gemini mcp add --scope user notebooklm-mcp notebooklm-mcp

Authentication

Before using MCP tools, authenticate:

nlm login

Or use the standalone auth tool:

nlm login

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Tool Reference

Notebooks (6 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | notebook_list | List all notebooks | | notebook_create | Create new notebook | | notebook_get | Get notebook details with sources | | notebook_describe | Get AI summary and suggested topics | | notebook_rename | Rename a notebook | | notebook_delete | Delete notebook (requires confirm=True) |

Sources (6 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | source_add | Unified - Add URL, text, file, or Drive source | | source_list_drive | List sources with Drive freshness status | | source_sync_drive | Sync stale Drive sources | | source_delete | Delete source (requires confirm=True) | | source_describe | Get AI summary with keywords | | source_get_content | Get raw text content |

source_add parameters:

source_add(
    notebook_id="...",
    source_type="url",        # url | text | file | drive
    url="https://...",        # for source_type=url
    text="...",               # for source_type=text
    title="...",              # optional title
    file_path="/path/to.pdf", # for source_type=file
    document_id="...",        # for source_type=drive
    doc_type="doc",           # doc | slides | sheets | pdf
    wait=True,                # wait for processing to complete
    wait_timeout=120.0        # seconds to wait
)

Querying (2 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | notebook_query | Ask AI about sources in notebook | | chat_configure | Set chat goal and response length |

Studio Content (4 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | studio_create | Unified - Create any artifact type | | studio_status | Check generation progress | | studio_delete | Delete artifact (requires confirm=True) | | studio_revise | Revise slides in existing deck (requires confirm=True) |

studio_create artifact types:

• audio - Podcast (formats: deep_dive, brief, critique, debate)
• video - Video overview (formats: explainer, brief)
• report - Text report (Briefing Doc, Study Guide, Blog Post)
• quiz - Multiple choice quiz
• flashcards - Study flashcards
• mind_map - Visual mind map
• slide_deck - Presentation slides
• infographic - Visual infographic
• data_table - Structured data table

Downloads (1 tool)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | download_artifact | Unified - Download any artifact type |

download_artifact types: audio, video, report, mind_map, slide_deck, infographic, data_table, quiz, flashcards

Exports (1 tool)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | export_artifact | Export to Google Docs/Sheets |

Research (3 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | research_start | Start web/Drive research | | research_status | Poll research progress | | research_import | Import discovered sources (timeout param for large notebooks) |

Notes (1 unified tool)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | note | Unified - Manage notes (action: list, create, update, delete) |

note actions:

note(notebook_id, action="list")             # List all notes
note(notebook_id, action="create", content="...", title="...")
note(notebook_id, action="update", note_id="...", content="...")
note(notebook_id, action="delete", note_id="...", confirm=True)

Sharing (3 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | notebook_share_status | Get sharing settings | | notebook_share_public | Enable/disable public link | | notebook_share_invite | Invite collaborator by email |

Auth (2 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | refresh_auth | Reload auth tokens | | save_auth_tokens | Save cookies (fallback method) |

Server (1 tool)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | server_info | Get version and check for updates |

Batch & Cross-Notebook (2 tools)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | batch | Unified — Batch operations across multiple notebooks (action: query, add_source, create, delete, studio) | | cross_notebook_query | Query multiple notebooks and get aggregated answers with per-notebook citations |

batch actions:

batch(action="query", query="What are the key findings?", notebook_names="AI Research, Dev Tools")
batch(action="add_source", source_url="https://...", tags="ai,research")
batch(action="create", titles="Project A, Project B, Project C")
batch(action="delete", notebook_names="Old Project", confirm=True)
batch(action="studio", artifact_type="audio", tags="research", confirm=True)

cross_notebook_query:

cross_notebook_query(query="Compare approaches", notebook_names="Notebook A, Notebook B")
cross_notebook_query(query="Summarize", tags="ai,research")
cross_notebook_query(query="Everything", all=True)

Pipelines (1 tool)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | pipeline | Unified — List or run multi-step workflows (action: list, run) |

pipeline actions:

pipeline(action="list")  # List available pipelines
pipeline(action="run", notebook_id="...", pipeline_name="ingest-and-podcast", input_url="https://...")

Built-in pipelines: ingest-and-podcast, research-and-report, multi-format

Tags & Smart Select (1 tool)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | tag | Unified — Tag notebooks and find relevant ones (action: add, remove, list, select) |

tag actions:

tag(action="add", notebook_id="...", tags="ai,research,llm")
tag(action="remove", notebook_id="...", tags="ai")
tag(action="list")  # List all tagged notebooks
tag(action="select", query="ai research")  # Find notebooks by tag match

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Example Workflows

Research → Podcast

1. research_start(query="AI trends 2026", mode="deep")
2. research_status(notebook_id, max_wait=300)  # wait for completion
3. research_import(notebook_id, task_id, timeout=600)  # optional: increase for large notebooks
4. studio_create(notebook_id, artifact_type="audio", confirm=True)
5. studio_status(notebook_id)  # poll until complete
6. download_artifact(notebook_id, artifact_type="audio", output_path="podcast.mp3")

Add Sources with Wait

source_add(notebook_id, source_type="url", url="https://...", wait=True)
# Returns when source is fully processed and ready for queries

Generate Study Materials

studio_create(notebook_id, artifact_type="quiz", question_count=10, confirm=True)
studio_create(notebook_id, artifact_type="flashcards", difficulty="hard", confirm=True)
studio_create(notebook_id, artifact_type="report", report_format="Study Guide", confirm=True)

Tag, Batch & Cross-Notebook

# Tag notebooks for organization
tag(action="add", notebook_id="abc", tags="ai,research")
tag(action="add", notebook_id="def", tags="ai,product")

# Find relevant notebooks
tag(action="select", query="ai research") 

# Query across tagged notebooks
cross_notebook_query(query="What are the main conclusions?", tags="ai")

# Batch generate podcasts for all tagged notebooks
batch(action="studio", artifact_type="audio", tags="ai", confirm=True)

Pipeline Automation

# List available pipelines
pipeline(action="list")

# Run a full ingest-and-podcast workflow
pipeline(action="run", notebook_id="abc", pipeline_name="ingest-and-podcast", input_url="https://example.com")

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Configuration

MCP Server Options

| Flag | Description | Default | |------|-------------|---------| | --transport | Protocol (stdio, http, sse) | stdio | | --port | Port for HTTP/SSE | 8000 | | --debug | Enable verbose logging | false |

Environment Variables

| Variable | Description | |----------|-------------| | NOTEBOOKLM_MCP_TRANSPORT | Transport type | | NOTEBOOKLM_MCP_PORT | HTTP/SSE port | | NOTEBOOKLM_MCP_DEBUG | Enable debug logging | | NOTEBOOKLM_HL | Interface language and default artifact language (default: en) | | NOTEBOOKLM_QUERY_TIMEOUT | Query timeout (seconds) | | NOTEBOOKLM_BASE_URL | Override base URL for Enterprise/Workspace (default: https://notebooklm.google.com) |

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Context Window Tips

This MCP has 35 tools which consume context. Best practices:

• Disable when not using: In Claude Code, use @notebooklm-mcp to toggle
• Use unified tools: source_add, studio_create, download_artifact handle multiple operations each
• Poll wisely: Use studio_status sparingly - artifacts take 1-5 minutes

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IDE Configuration

The easiest way to configure any tool is with nlm setup:

nlm setup add claude-code       # Claude Code
nlm setup add gemini            # Gemini CLI
nlm setup add cursor            # Cursor
nlm setup add windsurf          # Windsurf
nlm setup add json              # Any other tool (interactive JSON generator)

Manual configuration

Claude Code

claude mcp add --scope user notebooklm-mcp notebooklm-mcp

Cursor / VS Code

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json or ~/.vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notebooklm-mcp": {
      "command": "/path/to/notebooklm-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add --scope user notebooklm-mcp notebooklm-mcp