Automate Gemini Notebook research from an Agent, with an internal-API risk boundary

Gemini Notebook MCP CLI provides the nlm command-line interface and an MCP server so Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and other AI tools can operate Gemini Notebook. The repository formerly named jacob-bd/notebooklm-mcp-cli is now Gemini Notebook MCP CLI, while the PyPI package remains notebooklm-mcp-cli and the server command remains notebooklm-mcp.

What it can automate

The upstream lists 43 MCP tools for listing and creating notebooks, adding URLs, text, Google Drive, and local-file sources, querying notebooks with history retained in the web UI, creating and downloading Studio artifacts, Drive research and source synchronization, batch work, cross-notebook queries, pipelines, and MCP setup for supported AI tools.

Install with uv tool install notebooklm-mcp-cli, then start with nlm, notebooklm-mcp, and nlm doctor. Setup helpers include nlm setup add claude-code and nlm setup add codex; a general JSON configuration is available for unsupported targets.

Minimum safe validation

Use a separate Google account and a non-sensitive empty notebook. Install and sign in, run nlm doctor, list and create a test notebook, add a public URL, ask one question, generate and download a low-risk artifact, and confirm that the MCP configuration can be removed without affecting other servers.

Why this needs a fallback

This is not a Google official API. The upstream explicitly uses undocumented internal Gemini Notebook APIs, which can break without notice. Authentication requires browser cookies, which carry important session authority and may expire after weeks. Do not use a production work account, client materials, or confidential research for first tests. The upstream documents free, Pro, and Google AI Ultra accounts, while Gemini Notebook Enterprise compatibility is not fully documented; any approximate free-tier daily query number is not a Google service commitment.

Source and license

"NotebookLM MCP" remains an identification term for the former repository name and current package. The current repository name is Gemini Notebook MCP CLI, and neither name implies official Google affiliation.