setup

NotebookLM Setup

This skill guides the user through installing and configuring the notebooklm-py CLI tool so that /notebooklm:query can query their NotebookLM notebooks.

Step 1: Check if notebooklm-py is Already Installed

notebooklm --version

• If the command succeeds, report the version and skip to Step 3.
• If the command is not found, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Install notebooklm-py

Ask the user which installation method they prefer:

Option A — Lightweight (recommended if you can export browser cookies manually):

pip install notebooklm-py

This installs the CLI and all query functionality. Authentication must be handled by manually exporting cookies from an existing browser session (see Step 4, Option B).

Option B — With browser-based login:

pip install "notebooklm-py[browser]"
playwright install chromium

This adds Playwright, which enables the notebooklm login command. It opens a dedicated Chromium instance to capture Google session cookies — regular browsers don't expose cookies to external programs, so Playwright's own browser is needed for automated cookie extraction.

If pip fails, try pip3 or suggest the user activate the appropriate Python virtual environment. pipx install notebooklm-py is also an option for global CLI tools.

Verify installation:

notebooklm --version

Step 3: Check Authentication Status

notebooklm auth check --json

• If auth is valid, report the status and skip to Step 5.
• If auth is invalid or missing, proceed to Step 4.

Step 4: Authenticate

Offer two authentication methods:

Option A — Browser login (requires [browser] extra and Playwright):

Tell the user:

Please run this command in your terminal (not here — it opens a browser window):

notebooklm login

1. A Chromium window will open to the NotebookLM page
2. Log in with your Google account
3. Once the page loads, switch back to your terminal and press ENTER

Come back here when you're done.