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MCP Guide

Complete reference for the NotebookLM MCP server - 29 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

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

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

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)
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)

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)

Context Window Tips

This MCP has 29 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

IDE Configuration

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

nlm setup add claude-code       # Claude Code
nlm setup add claude-desktop    # Claude Desktop
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