# NotebookLM CLI - Complete Workflow Sequences This document provides end-to-end workflow sequences for common tasks with the `nlm` CLI. ## Critical AI Behavior Rules ### Always Confirm Destructive Operations **Before executing ANY delete operation, ALWAYS ask the user for explicit confirmation.** Deletions are irreversible. Commands requiring user confirmation before AI execution: - `nlm notebook delete --confirm` - `nlm source delete --confirm` - `nlm studio delete

--confirm` - `nlm auth delete --confirm` **Example AI behavior:** ``` User: "Delete that notebook" AI: "I found notebook 'AI Research' (ID: abc123...). ⚠️ This will PERMANENTLY delete the notebook and all its sources, generated content, and history. This action cannot be undone. Do you want me to proceed with deletion?" [Wait for user confirmation before running: nlm notebook delete abc123... --confirm] ``` --- ## Workflow 1: First-Time Setup ### Goal: Authenticate and create first notebook ```bash # Step 1: Authenticate (opens Chrome) nlm login # Step 2: Verify authentication nlm login --check # Expected: "Authentication valid! Notebooks found: N" # Step 3: Create a notebook nlm notebook create "My First Notebook" # Output: Created notebook: # Step 4: Set alias for convenience nlm alias set first # Step 5: Verify nlm notebook get first ``` --- ## Workflow 2: Content Ingestion ### Goal: Add multiple sources to a notebook ```bash # Prerequisites: Authenticated, have notebook ID # Add web pages nlm source add --url "https://example.com/article1" sleep 2 # Throttle to avoid rate limits nlm source add --url "https://example.com/article2" sleep 2 # Add YouTube video nlm source add --url "https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID" sleep 2 # Add pasted text/notes nlm source add --text "My personal notes and observations about this topic..." --title "My Notes" sleep 2 # Add Google Drive document nlm source add --drive 1KQH3eW0hMBp7WKukQ1oURhnW-SdOT1qq --type doc sleep 2 # Verify all sources added nlm source list ``` --- ## Workflow 3: Research → Podcast Pipeline ### Goal: Discover sources via research and generate a podcast ```bash # Step 1: Create dedicated notebook nlm notebook create "AI Trends Research 2026" # Capture: NOTEBOOK_ID= # Step 2: Set alias nlm alias set research # Step 3: Start deep research (takes ~5 minutes) nlm research start "agentic AI and autonomous systems trends 2026" --notebook-id research --mode deep # Capture: TASK_ID= # Step 4: Monitor progress (polls until complete or timeout) nlm research status research --max-wait 300 # Step 5: View discovered sources nlm research status research --full # Step 6: Import all discovered sources nlm research import research # Or import specific sources: # nlm research import research --indices 0,2,5,7 # Step 7: Generate podcast nlm audio create research --format deep_dive --length default --confirm # Step 8: Check generation status (podcast takes 2-5 minutes) nlm studio status research # Repeat until status shows "completed" # Step 9: Get podcast URL from studio status output ``` --- ## Workflow 4: Study Materials Generation ### Goal: Create comprehensive study materials from sources ```bash # Prerequisites: Notebook with sources already added # Step 1: Verify sources exist nlm source list # Step 2: Generate study guide report nlm report create --format "Study Guide" --confirm sleep 5 # Step 3: Generate quiz (10 questions, medium difficulty) nlm quiz create --count 10 --difficulty 3 --focus "Comprehensive review" --confirm sleep 3 # Step 4: Generate flashcards nlm flashcards create --difficulty medium --focus "Important definitions" --confirm sleep 3 # Step 5: Generate mind map for visual overview nlm mindmap create --title "Topic Overview" --confirm # Step 6: Check all generated artifacts nlm studio status ``` --- ## Workflow 5: Quick Q&A Session ### Goal: Ask questions about sources ```bash # Option A: One-shot questions nlm notebook query "What are the main themes across these sources?" # Capture: CONVERSATION_ID from output # Follow-up (maintains context) nlm notebook query "Can you elaborate on the first theme?" --conversation-id # Option B: Interactive chat session nlm chat start # In REPL: # Type questions naturally # /sources - see available sources # /clear - reset conversation # /exit - exit REPL ``` --- ## Workflow 6: Drive Document Sync ### Goal: Keep Drive sources up-to-date ```bash # Step 1: Check current freshness status nlm source list --drive # Shows: Source ID, Title, Type, Fresh status # Step 2: Quick check (skip freshness API calls) nlm source list --drive -S # Step 3: Find stale sources nlm source stale # Lists sources that have been modified in Drive since import # Step 4: Sync all stale sources nlm source sync --confirm # Step 5: Sync specific sources only nlm source sync --source-ids , --confirm # Step 6: Verify all fresh nlm source stale # Should show no stale sources ``` --- ## Workflow 7: Multi-Account Management ### Goal: Work with multiple Google accounts ```bash # Step 1: Login to work account nlm login --profile work # Step 2: Login to personal account nlm login --profile personal # Step 3: List all profiles nlm login profile list # Step 4: Switch default profile nlm login switch work # Step 5: Use specific profile for commands nlm notebook list --profile work nlm notebook list --profile personal # Step 6: Create notebook in specific account nlm notebook create "Work Project" --profile work ``` --- ## Workflow 8: Content Export ### Goal: Extract and export source content ```bash # Step 1: List sources nlm source list # Step 2: Get AI summary of a source nlm source describe # Step 3: Get raw text content nlm source content # Step 4: Export to file nlm source content --output ./export/source_content.txt # Step 5: Export multiple sources (script pattern) for id in $(nlm source list --quiet); do nlm source content $id --output "./export/${id}.txt" sleep 1 done ``` --- ## Workflow 9: Presentation Preparation ### Goal: Generate presentation materials ```bash # Step 1: Create focused notebook nlm notebook create "Q4 Presentation Prep" nlm alias set pres # Step 2: Add relevant sources nlm source add pres --url "https://company.com/q4-results" nlm source add pres --drive --type slides nlm source add pres --text "Key talking points: ..." --title "Talking Points" # Step 3: Generate slide deck nlm slides create pres --format detailed --confirm sleep 5 # Step 4: Generate briefing doc nlm report create pres --format "Briefing Doc" --confirm sleep 5 # Step 5: Generate infographic for visual summary nlm infographic create pres --orientation landscape --detail standard --confirm # Step 6: Check outputs nlm studio status pres ``` --- ## Workflow 10: Notebook Sharing and Collaboration ### Goal: Share a notebook with collaborators ```bash # Step 1: Check current sharing status nlm share status # Step 2: Enable public link sharing nlm share public # Output includes the public URL # Step 3: Invite specific collaborators nlm share invite colleague@example.com --role viewer nlm share invite editor@example.com --role editor # Step 4: Disable public link when done nlm share public --off # Step 5: Verify sharing settings nlm share status ``` --- ## Workflow 11: Working with Notes ### Goal: Add and manage personal notes in a notebook ```bash # Step 1: Create a note nlm note create --content "My key observations about this topic..." --title "Key Insights" # Step 2: List all notes nlm note list # Step 3: Update a note nlm note update

--content "Updated observations..." # Step 4: Notes are included in queries nlm notebook query "What are my personal notes about?" # Step 5: Delete a note (after user confirms) nlm note delete

--confirm ``` --- ## Workflow 12: Downloading and Exporting Artifacts ### Goal: Download generated content locally or export to Google Docs/Sheets ```bash # Step 1: Check available artifacts nlm studio status # Step 2: Download audio podcast nlm download audio --output ./downloads/podcast.mp3 # Step 3: Download report nlm download report --output ./downloads/report.md # Step 4: Download quiz in different formats nlm download quiz --output quiz.json --format json nlm download quiz --output quiz.html --format html nlm download flashcards --output cards.html --format html # Step 5: Export data table to Google Sheets nlm export sheets

--title "Extracted Data" # Step 6: Export report to Google Docs nlm export docs

--title "My Report" ``` --- ## Workflow 13: Cleanup and Deletion ### Goal: Clean up notebooks and artifacts **⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always confirm with user before executing delete commands!** ```bash # Step 1: List existing notebooks nlm notebook list # Step 2: Get notebook details before deletion nlm notebook get nlm source list nlm studio status # Step 3: Delete specific artifact (after user confirms) # AI: "Are you sure you want to delete artifact X from notebook Y?" nlm studio delete

--confirm # Step 4: Delete specific source (after user confirms) # AI: "Are you sure you want to delete source X?" nlm source delete --confirm # Step 5: Delete entire notebook (after user confirms) # AI: "This will permanently delete notebook X and ALL its contents. Proceed?" nlm notebook delete --confirm # Step 6: Clean up aliases nlm alias delete ``` --- ## Workflow 14: Scripting and Automation ### Goal: Automate repetitive tasks ```bash #!/bin/bash # Example: Daily research automation # Configuration NOTEBOOK_ID="abc123..." QUERY="latest AI news $(date +%Y-%m-%d)" # Ensure authenticated nlm login --check || nlm login # Start fast research nlm research start "$QUERY" --notebook-id $NOTEBOOK_ID --mode fast # Wait for completion nlm research status $NOTEBOOK_ID --max-wait 60 # Get task ID from status TASK_ID=$(nlm research status $NOTEBOOK_ID --max-wait 0 2>&1 | grep -oE 'task_id=[^ ]+' | cut -d= -f2) # Import all sources nlm research import $NOTEBOOK_ID $TASK_ID # Generate brief audio summary nlm audio create $NOTEBOOK_ID --format brief --length short --confirm # Check status nlm studio status $NOTEBOOK_ID ``` --- ## Rate Limiting Guidelines To avoid hitting API rate limits: | Operation Type | Recommended Delay | |---------------|-------------------| | Source add | 2 seconds | | Content generation | 5 seconds | | Research operations | 2 seconds | | Query operations | 2 seconds | | Batch operations | 10 seconds | **Daily limits (free tier):** ~50 queries/operations per day. --- ## Error Recovery Patterns ### Pattern: Re-authentication on failure ```bash # Try command, re-auth if fails nlm notebook list || (nlm login && nlm notebook list) ``` ### Pattern: Retry with backoff ```bash retry_command() { local max=3 delay=5 for ((i=1; i<=max; i++)); do "$@" && return 0 sleep $delay delay=$((delay * 2)) done return 1 } retry_command nlm audio create $NOTEBOOK_ID --confirm ``` ### Pattern: Check before generate ```bash # Ensure sources exist before generating SOURCE_COUNT=$(nlm source list $NOTEBOOK_ID --quiet | wc -l) if [ "$SOURCE_COUNT" -gt 0 ]; then nlm audio create $NOTEBOOK_ID --confirm else echo "Error: No sources in notebook" fi ```