dev-research

Dev Research Skill

Integrates NotebookLM into development workflow for grounded, citation-backed research. Uses notebooklm-py CLI for all NotebookLM interactions.

Prerequisites

# Check if notebooklm-py is installed
which notebooklm || echo "Install: pip install 'notebooklm-py[browser]'"

# Check auth
notebooklm auth check --test

Notebooks Convention

Each dev notebook follows naming: [Project] — [Purpose]

Examples:

• "Crypto Portal — Stack Docs" (Payload CMS, Next.js docs)
• "AI News Portal — CMS Research" (comparing CMS options)
• "Dev Sessions Archive" (all session logs for cross-project search)

Commands

/research TOPIC

Research a topic using NotebookLM's grounded answers.

# Check if relevant notebook exists
notebooklm list 2>/dev/null | grep -i "TOPIC"

# If not, create one
notebooklm create "Research — TOPIC"
notebooklm use <notebook_id>

# Add sources — user provides URLs, or we search
notebooklm source add "URL1"
notebooklm source add "URL2"
notebooklm source add "./local-doc.md"

# Ask questions
notebooklm ask --json "QUESTION"

Parse JSON response and extract:

• Answer text
• Citations with source references
• Confidence indicators

/docs-query QUESTION

Query project documentation notebook.

# Use the project's docs notebook
notebooklm use <project-docs-notebook-id>
notebooklm ask --json "QUESTION"

This gives grounded answers from actual documentation, not hallucinations.

/compare OPTION1 vs OPTION2

Create a structured comparison using NotebookLM.

notebooklm create "Comparison — OPTION1 vs OPTION2"
# Add documentation for both options
notebooklm source add "URL_OPTION1_DOCS"
notebooklm source add "URL_OPTION2_DOCS"

# Structured comparison questions
notebooklm ask --json "Compare OPTION1 and OPTION2 for: performance, DX, ecosystem, production readiness"
notebooklm ask --json "What are the main trade-offs between OPTION1 and OPTION2?"
notebooklm ask --json "Which is better for: [specific use case]?"

# Generate mind-map for visual comparison
notebooklm generate mind-map
notebooklm download mind-map ./vault/research/COMPARISON.json