notebooklm-sync

name	notebooklm-sync
description	Deploy and manage NotebookLM documentation sync for any Claude Code project. Installs Python scripts + Claude Code hook that automatically syncs markdown files to a Google NotebookLM notebook on every Write/Edit. Supports install, status, resync, batch sync, cleanup, and uninstall workflows. Use when setting up NotebookLM sync in a new project, checking sync health, or managing notebook sources.

NotebookLM Sync Skill

Deploy a NotebookLM documentation sync system into any Claude Code project. This skill packages Python scripts and a Claude Code hook that automatically syncs markdown documentation to a Google NotebookLM notebook whenever files are edited.

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Install sync in project	/notebooklm-sync or /notebooklm-sync install
Check sync health	/notebooklm-sync status
Resync all modified files	/notebooklm-sync resync
Update scope (after config change)	/notebooklm-sync refresh
Remove orphaned sources	/notebooklm-sync cleanup
Remove sync from project	/notebooklm-sync uninstall

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, ensure:

• Python 3.9+ installed
• notebooklm-py package installed: pip install notebooklm-py
• Google authentication: notebooklm login (you'll be prompted to authenticate)
• jq available on PATH (used by the hook shell script for JSON processing)

If any prerequisite is missing, the installer will detect and guide you through setup.

File Structure

The skill deploys the following structure to your project:

scripts/notebooklm_sync/
├── __init__.py              # Package initialization
├── config.py                # Per-project configuration
├── utils.py                 # Common utilities (NotebookLM API, file handling)
├── init.py                  # Initialize/refresh notebook and sources
├── update.py                # Single-file sync (used by hook)
├── batch.py                 # Batch resync operations
├── status.py                # Check sync health
├── cleanup.py               # Remove orphaned sources
└── install-git-hooks.sh     # Git hook installer (optional)

.claude/hooks/
└── notebooklm-sync-hook.sh  # Claude Code PostToolUse hook

~/.notebooklm/
├── <project>-sources.json   # Local-to-remote file mapping
└── sync.log                 # Sync operation log

Installation Workflow

Run /notebooklm-sync install to set up sync in the current project. The installer performs these steps:

Step 1: Prerequisite Check

Verify that:

• notebooklm-py is installed (suggest pip install notebooklm-py if not)
• You are authenticated (notebooklm login if not)
• jq is available (critical for hook operation)

Step 2: Discover Documentation Directories

Scan the project for documentation directories:

• docs/ and all subdirectories (docs/dev/, docs/project_plans/, etc.)
• .claude/progress/
• .claude/worknotes/
• Any user-specified directories

The installer presents findings and asks which to include in the sync scope.

Step 3: Configure Scope

Ask user for:

• Notebook title in NotebookLM (default: <project-name> Documentation)
• Root-level files to include (e.g., README.md, CHANGELOG.md)
• Directories to recursively scan for .md files
• Exclude patterns (glob patterns to skip)

Step 4: Run Installation

Execute the Python installer:

python .claude/skills/notebooklm-sync/scripts/install.py \
  --project-name "<project-slug>" \
  --notebook-title "<title>" \
  --include-dirs "docs" \
  --include-dirs ".claude/progress" \
  --root-files "README.md" \
  --root-files "CHANGELOG.md" \
  --exclude-patterns "*.draft.md" \
  --exclude-patterns "tmp-*"

This:

1. Creates the NotebookLM notebook
2. Deploys scripts/notebooklm_sync/ to the project
3. Installs the Claude Code PostToolUse hook
4. Performs initial scan and creates the mapping file at ~/.notebooklm/<project>-sources.json

Step 5: Verify Installation

Run status check to confirm:

python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py

Expected output shows:

• Notebook ID and title
• Number of tracked files
• Last sync timestamp
• Sync status (OK / pending changes / errors)

Status Workflow

Check the health of the sync system in the current project:

# Overview
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py

# Show files modified since last sync
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py --stale

# Show files in scope but not yet synced
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py --untracked

# Show files tracked but deleted locally (orphaned)
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py --orphaned

# Machine-readable JSON output
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py --json

Status flags:

• OK: File synced, no local changes
• STALE: File modified locally but not synced to NotebookLM
• UNTRACKED: File in scope but never synced
• ORPHANED: Source in NotebookLM but file deleted locally
• SYNC_ERROR: Last sync attempt failed

Batch Resync Workflow

Force-sync all modified and new files:

# Resync all stale and untracked files
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/batch.py

# Only resync modified files (skip new/untracked)
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/batch.py --stale-only

# Preview changes without syncing
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/batch.py --dry-run

# Resync with verbose output
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/batch.py --verbose

# Resync specific files
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/batch.py --files "docs/api.md" --files "docs/guide.md"

The batch operation:

1. Scans for stale (modified) and untracked (new) files
2. For each file: deletes old NotebookLM source (if exists) and uploads new content
3. Updates the mapping file
4. Applies 1-second delay between uploads to avoid rate limiting
5. Logs all operations to ~/.notebooklm/sync.log

Refresh Scope Workflow

Update the set of directories to sync after editing scripts/notebooklm_sync/config.py:

# Example: add .claude/agents to scope
INCLUDE_DIRS = [
    "docs",
    ".claude/progress",
    ".claude/agents",  # <-- Added
]

Then refresh:

# Reconcile notebook sources with new scope
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/init.py --refresh

# Preview changes
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/init.py --refresh --dry-run

This:

1. Scans for files in new directories
2. Uploads new files as sources
3. Removes sources for files now outside scope
4. Updates the mapping file

Cleanup Workflow

Remove orphaned sources (files deleted locally but still in NotebookLM):

# Preview orphaned sources
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/cleanup.py --dry-run

# Remove orphaned sources (with confirmation)
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/cleanup.py

# Remove orphaned sources (no confirmation)
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/cleanup.py --force

# Remove specific sources
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/cleanup.py --sources "source-id-1" --sources "source-id-2"

Uninstall Workflow

To remove the sync system from a project:

Option 1: Automated Uninstall

python .claude/skills/notebooklm-sync/scripts/uninstall.py --project-root .

Option 2: Manual Removal

1. Delete the sync scripts directory:

   rm -rf scripts/notebooklm_sync/
   

2. Remove the Claude Code hook:

   rm -f .claude/hooks/notebooklm-sync-hook.sh
   

3. Remove hook registration from .claude/settings.json:

   {
     "hooks": {
       // Remove this entry:
       "notebooklm-sync": {
         "trigger": "PostToolUse",
         "script": ".claude/hooks/notebooklm-sync-hook.sh"
       }
     }
   }
   

4. (Optional) Delete the mapping file:

   rm -f ~/.notebooklm/<project-slug>-sources.json
   

5. (Optional) Delete the NotebookLM notebook via Google interface or:

   notebooklm delete <notebook-id>
   

How It Works

The sync system has two modes:

Auto-Sync (Hook-Triggered)

When you use Write or Edit on a markdown file within the configured scope:

1. The .claude/hooks/notebooklm-sync-hook.sh PostToolUse hook fires
2. The hook calls scripts/notebooklm_sync/update.py <file-path>
3. If the file is in scope (matching INCLUDE_DIRS and not excluded):
   • Delete old NotebookLM source (if it exists)
   • Upload new content as a source
   • Update the mapping file
4. Hook errors are logged but never fail the Write/Edit operation
5. All operations are logged to ~/.notebooklm/sync.log

Manual Sync

Scripts for on-demand operations:

• status.py: Check sync health without making changes
• batch.py: Bulk sync all modified/new files
• init.py --refresh: Reconcile scope after config changes
• cleanup.py: Remove orphaned sources

Configuration

After installation, configure the sync scope in scripts/notebooklm_sync/config.py:

# Root-level files to include
ROOT_INCLUDE_FILES = [
    "README.md",
    "CHANGELOG.md",
    "CONTRIBUTING.md",
]

# Directories to recursively scan for .md files
INCLUDE_DIRS = [
    "docs",
    ".claude/progress",
    ".claude/worknotes",
]

# Glob patterns to exclude (relative to INCLUDE_DIRS)
EXCLUDE_PATTERNS = [
    "*.draft.md",
    "tmp-*",
    "**/private/*",
]

# Path to mapping file (local file -> NotebookLM source ID)
MAPPING_PATH = "~/.notebooklm/{PROJECT_SLUG}-sources.json"

# NotebookLM notebook title
DEFAULT_NOTEBOOK_TITLE = "Project Documentation"

# NotebookLM notebook ID (set during install)
NOTEBOOK_ID = "notebook-id-here"

Edit this file to:

• Add/remove documentation directories
• Exclude draft or temporary files
• Change the notebook title (not recommended after initial setup)

After edits, run python scripts/notebooklm_sync/init.py --refresh to reconcile.

Mapping File Format

The mapping file at ~/.notebooklm/<project>-sources.json tracks which local files map to which NotebookLM sources:

{
  "notebook_id": "abc123def456...",
  "notebook_title": "Project Documentation",
  "last_refresh": "2024-11-29T10:00:00Z",
  "sources": {
    "docs/api.md": {
      "source_id": "source-abc123",
      "title": "API Documentation",
      "last_synced": "2024-11-29T10:15:30Z"
    },
    "README.md": {
      "source_id": "source-def456",
      "title": "README",
      "last_synced": "2024-11-29T10:15:35Z"
    }
  }
}

Do not edit manually — scripts manage this file automatically. If corruption occurs, delete it and run /notebooklm-sync resync to rebuild.

Important Notes

Safety & Error Handling

• Hook never fails: All errors are caught and logged to ~/.notebooklm/sync.log. If sync fails, your Write/Edit still succeeds.
• Atomic operations: File upload and mapping update are atomic (mapping updated only if upload succeeds).
• Logging: All operations logged to ~/.notebooklm/sync.log with timestamps and full error context.

Capacity Limits

• 50-source limit per NotebookLM notebook — keep your sync scope focused.
• If you exceed 50 files, consider:
  • Creating separate notebooks for different projects
  • Excluding generated/temporary files via EXCLUDE_PATTERNS
  • Using nested scopes (e.g., docs/api/ instead of all docs/)

File Naming & Collisions

• README collision handling: If multiple directories contain README.md (e.g., docs/README.md and docs/guides/README.md), they are renamed to README-{parent}.md (e.g., README-docs.md, README-guides.md) to avoid name collisions in NotebookLM.
• Dot-files excluded: Files starting with . are skipped (e.g., .gitignore, .env).

Rate Limiting

• 1-second delay applied between uploads during batch operations to avoid hitting NotebookLM API rate limits.
• Hook triggers are not rate-limited — each Write/Edit triggers a sync immediately. If you rapidly edit multiple files, they queue on the NotebookLM side.

Debugging

Check the log file for errors:

tail -f ~/.notebooklm/sync.log

Common issues:

• "Notebook not found": NotebookLM was deleted. Run /notebooklm-sync install to create a new one.
• "Authentication failed": Run notebooklm login to re-authenticate.
• "Source upload failed": File may be too large (NotebookLM has file size limits). Check log for details.
• "Mapping corrupted": Delete ~/.notebooklm/<project>-sources.json and run /notebooklm-sync resync.

Examples

Example 1: Install Sync for a New Project

/notebooklm-sync install

# Follow prompts to select directories and files
# Installer creates notebook and deploys scripts
# Run status check to verify
/notebooklm-sync status

Example 2: Check What's Changed Since Last Sync

python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py --stale

# Output:
# STALE: docs/api.md (modified 2 hours ago)
# STALE: docs/guide.md (modified 30 minutes ago)
# UNTRACKED: docs/new-feature.md (added 5 minutes ago)

Example 3: Resync After Editing Multiple Files

# You edited several docs and want to force a sync
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/batch.py

# Monitor progress
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py --verbose

Example 4: Add .claude/agents to Scope

# Edit config
# In scripts/notebooklm_sync/config.py, add ".claude/agents" to INCLUDE_DIRS

# Refresh to upload new files
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/init.py --refresh

# Verify
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py

Example 5: Clean Up After Deleting Files

# You deleted some docs locally but NotebookLM still has them
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/status.py --orphaned

# Remove orphaned sources
python scripts/notebooklm_sync/cleanup.py --force

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"Notebook not found"	Notebook was deleted. Run /notebooklm-sync install to create a new one.
Authentication fails	Run notebooklm login and re-authenticate with Google.
Files not syncing on Write/Edit	Check that the hook is registered: cat .claude/settings.json | grep notebooklm-sync. Reinstall if missing: python .claude/skills/notebooklm-sync/scripts/install.py --repair.
"NotebookLM API rate limit exceeded"	Too many syncs in rapid succession. Wait a minute before syncing again. Batch operations apply 1s delays to avoid this.
Mapping file corrupted	Delete ~/.notebooklm/<project>-sources.json and run /notebooklm-sync resync.
Hook script not executable	Run chmod +x .claude/hooks/notebooklm-sync-hook.sh.
jq command not found	Install jq: brew install jq (macOS) or apt install jq (Linux).

Summary

This skill provides a complete NotebookLM documentation sync system for Claude Code projects. Use it to:

• Automatically sync markdown files to NotebookLM on every Write/Edit
• Maintain documentation in NotebookLM as a living reference
• Batch resync after major documentation overhauls
• Manage scope by editing configuration and refreshing
• Monitor health with status checks
• Clean up orphaned sources

All operations are logged, safe (hook never fails), and configurable to fit your project's documentation structure.