NotebookLM Content Creation#

Creates NotebookLM Studio content (Audio Overview, Video Overview, Infographics, Slides) and monitors it to completion using a background polling loop.

Requires:

• notebooklm-mcp-cli installed: uv tool install notebooklm-mcp-cli
• Authenticated: nlm login (done on the server already)

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Studio Types#

TypeCommandFormatsLengthsAudio Overviewnlm audio createdeep_dive, brief, critique, debateshort, default, longVideo Overviewnlm studio create --type videodeep_dive, brief, critique, debateshort, default, longInfographicsnlm studio create --type infographic(default)—Slidesnlm studio create --type slidesdeep_dive—

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Workflow#

Step 1 — Notebook Selection#

List all notebooks:

bash

nlm notebook list

Parse the JSON output for id and title. Match against the user's keyword (case-insensitive substring match). If multiple match, present options with numbers.

If no notebook matches:

• Ask user: "No notebook found matching '[keyword]'. Create a new one or add more sources to an existing notebook?"
• If user confirms new notebook: create with nlm notebook create "<name>"
• Then add sources: nlm source add <notebook_id> --url <url> --wait

Step 2 — Check Existing Artifacts#

Before creating new content, check if the notebook already has generated artifacts:

bash

nlm studio status <notebook_id>

If artifacts with status: completed exist, show them to the user and ask:

"This notebook already has completed content. Download existing [type] or generate new content?"

• Download existing: go directly to download step
• Generate new: proceed to Step 3

Step 3 — Pre-Flight Confirmation (One Message, All Parameters)#

Ask all parameters at once. Write in the user's current session language.

text

Creating [Audio/Video/Infographic/Slides] Overview from "[notebook name]"

Please confirm:

① Content type: [Audio Overview / Video Overview / Infographics / Slides]
② Format: [deep_dive / brief] (default: deep_dive)
③ Length: [short / default / long] (default: default) — not available for Infographics/Slides
④ Language: [BCP-47 code, e.g., en, zh-CN] (default: notebook's detected language or en)
⑤ Output path: [path] (default: ~/ObsidianVault/Default/NotebookLM/<notebook-name>/)

Reply with any changes, or "ok" to proceed with defaults.

Step 4 — Create Content#

Based on user's confirmed parameters:

Audio or Video:

bash

nlm [audio|studio] create <notebook_id> --[format] --[length] --language <lang> --confirm

Capture the returned Artifact ID.

Infographics or Slides:

bash

nlm studio create <notebook_id> --type [infographic|slides] --confirm

Capture the returned Artifact ID.

Step 5 — Set Up Task Directory#

Create a temp directory following the polling best practices pattern:

text

/tmp/notebooklm-studio/
  <YYMMDD-HHmm>_<sanitized-notebook-name>_<studio-type>/
    task.json          ← full task metadata
    progress.json      ← poll count, artifact id, last status
    poll.log           ← each poll attempt
    error.log          ← errors
    done.flag          ← created on success
    <output file>      ← downloaded artifact

Write task.json:

json

{
  "notebook_id": "<id>",
  "notebook_name": "<name>",
  "artifact_id": "<id>",
  "studio_type": "audio",
  "output_path": "~/ObsidianVault/Default/NotebookLM/<notebook-name>/<output_filename>",
  "poll_interval_seconds": 300,
  "max_polls": 8,
  "created_at": "<ISO timestamp>"
}

Step 6 — Notify User and Launch Background Polling#

Notify the user (in current session language):

"Content generation started. I'll monitor it in the background and notify you when it's ready (typically 2–5 minutes). Poll every 5 minutes, max 40 minutes."

Launch the polling script in the background:

bash

cd /tmp/notebooklm-studio/<task-dir>/
nohup bash /tmp/notebooklm-studio/poll.sh > /dev/null 2>&1 &

Step 7 — Polling Script#

Write this script to <task-dir>/poll.sh:

bash

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

TASK_DIR="/tmp/notebooklm-studio/<task-dir>"
cd "$TASK_DIR"

[[ -f done.flag ]] && echo "Already done." && exit 0

POLL_COUNT=$(grep '"poll_count"' progress.json 2>/dev/null | sed 's/[^0-9]//g') || POLL_COUNT=0
MAX_POLLS=8
INTERVAL=300

log() { echo "[$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] $*" | tee -a poll.log; }

while true; do
  POLL_COUNT=$((POLL_COUNT + 1))

  if [[ $POLL_COUNT -gt $MAX_POLLS ]]; then
    log "TIMEOUT after $MAX_POLLS polls"
    echo "Timeout" >> error.log
    exit 1
  fi

  log "[Poll $POLL_COUNT/$MAX_POLLS] Checking status..."
  RESULT=$(nlm studio status "$(grep '"notebook_id"' task.json | sed 's/.*: *"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/') 2>&1) || true
  echo "$RESULT" >> poll.log

  # Check if our artifact is completed
  ARTIFACT_STATUS=$(echo "$RESULT" | grep -A5 "\"id\": \"$(grep '"artifact_id"' task.json | sed 's/.*: *"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')\"" | grep '"status"' | sed 's/.*: *"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/' | head -1)
  log "Artifact status: '$ARTIFACT_STATUS'"

  if [[ "$ARTIFACT_STATUS" == "completed" ]]; then
    log "Completed. Downloading..."
    OUTPUT_PATH=$(grep '"output_path"' task.json | sed 's/.*: *"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')
    nlm download audio "$(grep '"notebook_id"' task.json | sed 's/.*: *"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')" --id "$(grep '"artifact_id"' task.json | sed 's/.*: *"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/')" -o "$OUTPUT_PATH" >> poll.log 2>&1 || true
    if [[ -s "$OUTPUT_PATH" ]]; then
      log "Downloaded: $OUTPUT_PATH ($(du -h "$OUTPUT_PATH" | cut -f1))"
      touch done.flag
    else
      log "Downloaded file is empty"
      echo "Empty output" >> error.log
    fi
    exit 0
  fi

  if [[ "$ARTIFACT_STATUS" == "failed" ]]; then
    log "Generation failed"
    echo "Failed" >> error.log
    exit 1
  fi

  # Save progress
  sed -i "s/\"poll_count\": [0-9]*/\"poll_count\": $POLL_COUNT/" progress.json
  log "Still in_progress. Sleeping ${INTERVAL}s..."
  sleep "$INTERVAL"
done

Initialize progress.json:

json

{
  "poll_count": 0,
  "last_poll_at": null,
  "last_poll_result": null
}

Step 8 — Completion#

When polling exits (success or failure):

On success:

• Verify file exists and has content

• Move file to confirmed output path if not already there

• Notify user in current session language:

  "✅ [Content type] ready!\n\n Notebook: [name]\n Saved to: [path]\n Size: [size]\n Polls: [N] (~[X] minutes)"

• Leave temp folder for manual inspection

On failure/timeout:

• Notify user:

  "❌ [Content type] generation did not complete.\n\nNotebook: [name]\nReason: [timeout / auth error / generation failed]\n\nOptions:\n1. Re-run with same parameters\n2. Check NotebookLM web UI manually\n3. Clean up temp folder"

• Do NOT auto-retry or delete temp folder

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Quick Reference#

bash

# List notebooks
nlm notebook list

# Check status
nlm studio status <notebook_id>

# Create audio
nlm audio create <notebook_id> --format deep_dive --length default --confirm

# Create video
nlm studio create <notebook_id> --type video --format brief --confirm

# Create infographic
nlm studio create <notebook_id> --type infographic --confirm

# Create slides
nlm studio create <notebook_id> --type slides --confirm

# Download (after getting artifact ID)
nlm download [audio|video|infographic|slides] <notebook_id> --id <artifact_id> -o <path>