notebooklm-cli

name	notebooklm-cli
description	Use when working with NotebookLM through its CLI for tasks such as adding local files or URLs as sources, batch-importing project documentation, checking auth, or managing notebook content more directly than the NotebookLM MCP high-level tools allow.

NotebookLM CLI

Use this skill when the task is better served by the local NotebookLM CLI than by the NotebookLM MCP wrapper, especially for source ingestion.

When to use

• The user wants to add many files to a notebook.
• The user wants to add local files as sources.
• The MCP tools are too high-level and do not expose a needed low-level source command.
• You need direct commands such as source add, source list, or auth check.

Preferred commands

Use the module form first on this machine:

python -m notebooklm --help
python -m notebooklm list
python -m notebooklm source list
python -m notebooklm source add "./doc-1.md" "./doc-2.md"
python -m notebooklm source add "https://example.com/article"

If a notebook must be targeted explicitly, check the CLI help first and then pass the notebook/context flag the installed version expects.

Workflow

1. Confirm authentication before bulk work.
2. Prefer CLI import over browser automation for local files.
3. For project docs, start with top-level Markdown and other human-authored design docs.
4. Avoid bulk-uploading noisy runtime assets unless the user explicitly wants them.
5. After import, verify source count or source titles.

Authentication notes

• Use python -m notebooklm auth check --json for diagnostics.
• On this Windows machine, avoid rich table output when possible; prefer --json because plain auth check may hit console encoding issues.
• If auth is missing or expired, use the NotebookLM MCP auth flow or python -m notebooklm login.

Import guidance

For this project, prefer this order:

1. Root-level *.md docs
2. Focused architecture references such as parser or autotest docs
3. Only then consider structured JSON specs like public/text/system/*.json if the user wants deeper engine knowledge in NotebookLM

Batch patterns

Top-level Markdown in PowerShell:

$files = Get-ChildItem -Path . -File -Filter *.md | Sort-Object Name | ForEach-Object { $_.FullName }
python -m notebooklm source add $files

Mixed local files and URLs:

python -m notebooklm source add "./transcript-1.md" "https://example.com/article" "./report.pdf"

Guardrails

• Prefer CLI over browser uploads when both are possible.
• Do not assume MCP exposes the same low-level commands as the CLI.
• Keep imports curated: docs first, assets only on purpose.
• Re-check CLI help when subcommand flags are unclear because NotebookLM tooling versions may differ.