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.
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
nlm login
nlm login --check
nlm notebook list
nlm notebook create "Name"
nlm notebook query <notebook_id>
nlm source add <notebook_id> --file <path>
nlm source add <notebook_id> --url <url>
nlm source add <notebook_id> --text "content"
nlm source list <notebook_id>
nlm note create <notebook_id> "Title"
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --confirm
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
python scripts/validate-notebooks.py --check-ids
python scripts/validate-notebooks.py --dry-run-sync
