Tools

May 1, 2026 · View on GitHub

Every tool registered in v2.0.0, with parameter schema, an example invocation (MCP tools/call arguments shape), and the expected return shape. New v2 tools are flagged.

The server returns each tool result wrapped as { "success": true, "data": <object> } (or { "success": false, "error": <string> }). The shapes below describe the inner data.

ask_question

Ask a question against a notebook. Reuses an existing browser session when session_id is supplied. Citation extraction reads the DOM citation panel after the answer settles.

v2 additions: source_format, _provenance envelope on the result, AI-generated answer prefix.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`question`	string	yes	The question to ask.
`session_id`	string	no	Reuse an existing session for context. Omit to create a new one.
`notebook_id`	string	no	Library notebook ID. Falls back to active notebook.
`notebook_url`	string	no	Ad-hoc NotebookLM URL. Overrides `notebook_id`.
`source_format`	`none` \| `inline` \| `footnotes` \| `json`	no	Citation rendering. Default `none`.
`show_browser`	bool	no	Shorthand for `browser_options.show`.
`browser_options`	object	no	Per-call browser overrides — see `docs/configuration.md`.

Example

{
  "name": "ask_question",
  "arguments": {
    "question": "How does the OAuth refresh token rotation work?",
    "notebook_id": "auth-notebook",
    "source_format": "footnotes"
  }
}

Return shape

{
  "status": "success",
  "question": "How does the OAuth refresh token rotation work?",
  "answer": "[AI-GENERATED ...] The refresh token is rotated each ...\n\nSources:\n[1] auth-spec.pdf — ...",
  "session_id": "ses_…",
  "notebook_url": "https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/…",
  "session_info": {
    "age_seconds": 12,
    "message_count": 3,
    "last_activity": "2026-04-30T12:00:00.000Z"
  },
  "_provenance": {
    "provider": "google-notebooklm",
    "model": "gemini-2.5",
    "via": "chrome-automation",
    "grounding": "user-uploaded-documents",
    "ai_generated": true
  },
  "source_format": "footnotes",
  "sources": [
    { "index": 1, "title": "auth-spec.pdf", "excerpt": "Refresh tokens MUST be rotated…" }
  ]
}

sources is omitted when source_format=none or when no citations were found.

add_source — new in v2

Add a source to a notebook. v2 supports type=url (web crawl) and type=text (paste). File / YouTube / Drive uploads are not supported.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`type`	`url` \| `text`	yes
`content`	string	yes	URL when `type=url`, raw text when `type=text`.
`title`	string	no	Optional display title. NotebookLM picks a default.
`session_id`	string	no	Reuse an existing browser session.
`notebook_id`	string	no	Library notebook ID.
`notebook_url`	string	no	Ad-hoc URL. Overrides `notebook_id`.

Example

{
  "name": "add_source",
  "arguments": {
    "type": "url",
    "content": "https://docs.n8n.io/code/builtin/json-jmespath/",
    "title": "n8n JMESPath builtin"
  }
}

Return shape

{
  "status": "success",
  "type": "url",
  "title": "n8n JMESPath builtin",
  "source_count_before": 12,
  "source_count_after": 13,
  "added": true
}

generate_audio — new in v2

Generate a podcast-style Audio Overview for a notebook. Resolves when the audio element is ready.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`custom_prompt`	string	no	Optional focus prompt.
`timeout_ms`	number	no	Wait ceiling. Default `600000`.
`session_id`	string	no
`notebook_id`	string	no
`notebook_url`	string	no

Example

{
  "name": "generate_audio",
  "arguments": {
    "custom_prompt": "Focus on the migration strategy",
    "timeout_ms": 900000
  }
}

Return shape

{
  "status": "success",
  "ready": true,
  "duration_ms": 412000
}

Pair with download_audio to persist the file. Video / Infographic / Slides are not in v2.0.0.

download_audio — new in v2

Download the most recent Audio Overview to disk.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`destination_dir`	string	yes	Absolute directory. Created if missing.
`session_id`	string	no
`notebook_id`	string	no
`notebook_url`	string	no

Example

{
  "name": "download_audio",
  "arguments": {
    "destination_dir": "/Users/me/Downloads/notebooklm"
  }
}

Return shape

{
  "status": "success",
  "file_path": "/Users/me/Downloads/notebooklm/overview-2026-04-30.wav",
  "size_bytes": 9_412_000
}

Run generate_audio first if no Audio Overview exists yet.

add_notebook

Add a NotebookLM share-URL to the local library. The tool description enforces a confirmation workflow on the host agent — do not call without explicit user consent.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`url`	string	yes	NotebookLM share URL.
`name`	string	yes	Display name.
`description`	string	yes	Short description of the notebook content.
`topics`	string[]	yes	Topics covered.
`content_types`	string[]	no	e.g. `["documentation", "examples"]`.
`use_cases`	string[]	no	When to consult this notebook.
`tags`	string[]	no	Optional organizational tags.

Return shape

{
  "status": "added",
  "id": "nb_abcd",
  "name": "n8n Documentation",
  "active": true
}

list_notebooks

No parameters. Returns the full library.

Return shape

{
  "active_notebook_id": "nb_abcd",
  "notebooks": [
    {
      "id": "nb_abcd",
      "name": "n8n Documentation",
      "url": "https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/…",
      "description": "n8n core + builtin nodes",
      "topics": ["workflow automation", "n8n"],
      "use_cases": ["building n8n workflows"],
      "tags": ["docs"],
      "use_count": 42
    }
  ]
}

get_notebook

Name	Type	Required
`id`	string	yes

Returns one entry from list_notebooks.

select_notebook

Set a notebook as the active default.

Name	Type	Required
`id`	string	yes

Return shape

{ "status": "active", "id": "nb_abcd", "name": "n8n Documentation" }

update_notebook

Name	Type	Required
`id`	string	yes
`name`	string	no
`description`	string	no
`topics`	string[]	no
`content_types`	string[]	no
`use_cases`	string[]	no
`tags`	string[]	no
`url`	string	no

Returns the updated entry.

remove_notebook

Removes the entry from the local library only — does not delete the notebook in NotebookLM.

Name	Type	Required
`id`	string	yes

search_notebooks

Searches name, description, topics, tags.

Name	Type	Required
`query`	string	yes

Returns an array of matching entries.

get_library_stats

No parameters. Returns total notebooks, total queries, top-used notebooks.

list_sessions

No parameters. Returns active sessions with age, message count, last-activity timestamp.

close_session

Name	Type	Required
`session_id`	string	yes

reset_session

Clears chat history while keeping the same session_id.

Name	Type	Required
`session_id`	string	yes

get_health

No parameters.

Return shape

{
  "status": "ok",
  "authenticated": true,
  "active_sessions": 1,
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "config": {
    "headless": true,
    "stealth_enabled": true,
    "max_sessions": 10,
    "answer_timeout_ms": 600000
  }
}

When authenticated=false the response also carries a troubleshooting_tip pointing at setup_auth / cleanup_data.

setup_auth

Opens a visible Chrome for first-time Google login.

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`show_browser`	bool	no	Default `true` for setup.
`browser_options`	object	no	Same shape as `ask_question`.

Returns immediately after the window is opened. The user has up to 10 minutes to complete the login. Verify with get_health afterwards.

re_auth

Closes all sessions, deletes saved cookies + Chrome profile, opens a fresh login window.

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`show_browser`	bool	no	Default `true`.
`browser_options`	object	no

cleanup_data

Categorised preview + delete of every NotebookLM MCP file the server can find on the system. Designed for fresh-start workflows.

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`confirm`	bool	yes	`false` = preview only. `true` = delete after preview was reviewed.
`preserve_library`	bool	no	Keep `library.json` while wiping everything else. Default `false`.

Workflow:

cleanup_data({ confirm: false, preserve_library: true }) — see what will be deleted.
Close all Chrome instances.
cleanup_data({ confirm: true, preserve_library: true }) — execute.

Resources (read-only)

URI	Purpose
`notebooklm://library`	JSON view of the full library.
`notebooklm://library/{id}`	One notebook by ID. The `{id}` template autocompletes from the library.
`notebooklm://metadata`	Deprecated. Use `notebooklm://library` instead.

The MCP server does not respond to mcp://notebooklm — that URI scheme never existed. Use notebooklm://.