NotebookLM for Codex

Use Google NotebookLM from Codex through a local MCP connector.

This repo wraps the unofficial notebooklm-py command-line tool as an MCP server, so Codex can list notebooks, switch notebooks, inspect sources, ask questions, and add sources without relying on ad hoc shell commands.

What This Enables

• List your NotebookLM notebooks from Codex
• Switch the active NotebookLM notebook
• Check NotebookLM authentication
• List notebook sources and generated artifacts
• Ask a notebook questions
• Add URLs, YouTube links, PDFs, docs, and other files as sources
• Trigger audio overview generation
• Install a Codex skill that teaches Codex when and how to use NotebookLM

Use Cases

• Ask Codex to query a research notebook before answering a strategy question
• Build a project research notebook from URLs, PDFs, or YouTube videos
• Turn a NotebookLM notebook into an audio overview
• Inspect whether shared notebooks are accessible
• Use NotebookLM as a second brain for business, research, content, or sales strategy
• Give Codex repeatable access to NotebookLM without pasting Google cookies into prompts

Architecture

Codex
  -> MCP stdio connector
  -> local Python server in this repo
  -> notebooklm-py CLI
  -> Google NotebookLM

Your Google credentials stay on your Mac in the notebooklm-py local auth profile. The MCP server calls the local CLI; it does not store Google cookies or tokens in this repo.

Requirements

• macOS or Linux
• Python 3.10+
• Codex with custom MCP server support
• A Google account with NotebookLM access
• notebooklm-py installed and authenticated locally

Step 1: Install And Authenticate NotebookLM CLI

Install notebooklm-py in a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv ~/.notebooklm-venv
source ~/.notebooklm-venv/bin/activate
pip install "notebooklm-py[browser]"
playwright install chromium
mkdir -p ~/bin
ln -sf ~/.notebooklm-venv/bin/notebooklm ~/bin/notebooklm
export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"
notebooklm --help

Authenticate:

notebooklm login
notebooklm auth check
notebooklm list

If notebooklm login does not work in your terminal environment, use the browser-auth flow documented in the bundled Codex skill reference:

codex-skill/notebooklm/references/notebooklm-cli-and-mcp.md

Step 2: Install This MCP Connector

Clone this repo:

git clone https://github.com/knowingdoing/notebooklm-codex.git
cd notebooklm-codex

Create the connector environment:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Smoke test:

NOTEBOOKLM_BIN="$(command -v notebooklm)" \
  .venv/bin/python -c "from notebooklm_mcp.server import run_cli; print(run_cli('auth', 'check'))"

You should see Authentication is valid.

Step 3: Add The MCP Server To Codex

Open your Codex config:

open ~/.codex/config.toml

Add this block, replacing /absolute/path/to/notebooklm-codex with the actual cloned repo path:

[mcp_servers.notebooklm]
command = "/absolute/path/to/notebooklm-codex/.venv/bin/python"
args = ["/absolute/path/to/notebooklm-codex/notebooklm_mcp/server.py"]
startup_timeout_sec = 30

[mcp_servers.notebooklm.env]
NOTEBOOKLM_BIN = "/Users/YOUR_USER/bin/notebooklm"

Restart Codex after editing the config.

Step 4: Test In Codex

In a new Codex thread, ask:

Use $notebooklm to list my NotebookLM notebooks.

Or:

List my NotebookLM notebooks and open the one called Client Retention.

Available MCP Tools

Tool	Purpose
notebooklm_auth_check	Check local NotebookLM authentication
notebooklm_list	List notebooks
notebooklm_status	Show the active notebook
notebooklm_use	Set the active notebook
notebooklm_source_list	List sources in the active notebook
notebooklm_source_add	Add a URL, YouTube URL, or local file source
notebooklm_ask	Ask the active notebook a question
notebooklm_artifact_list	List generated artifacts
notebooklm_generate_audio	Generate an audio overview

Example Prompts

Use $notebooklm to list my notebooks.

Use $notebooklm to open my Client Retention notebook and list its sources.

Use $notebooklm to ask my Eric Siu Single Brain notebook: what are the major themes?

Use $notebooklm to create a NotebookLM notebook for this research and add these URLs as sources.

Use $notebooklm to generate an audio overview from the active notebook.

Optional: Install The Codex Skill

This repo includes a Codex skill at:

codex-skill/notebooklm

Install it into your Codex skills folder:

cp -R codex-skill/notebooklm ~/.codex/skills/notebooklm

Restart Codex after installing the skill.

The skill helps Codex recognize NotebookLM-related requests and choose the right workflow.

Notes And Limits

• This uses the unofficial notebooklm-py package.
• Google can change NotebookLM behavior without notice.
• Generation actions can take minutes and may hit Google rate limits.
• This connector runs locally. Your Mac must be online and authenticated.
• Do not commit Google cookies, browser profiles, or local auth files.

Security

Credentials are handled by notebooklm-py on your machine. This repo does not require storing NotebookLM cookies, Google tokens, or account credentials in source control.

For shared machines, review your local NotebookLM auth profile before exposing the connector to other tools.