Google built NotebookLM.

Now a developer built a better version that turn your own files into a private AI research assistant.

It’s called Open Notebook.

You can run it 100% locally.

First upload your PDF file, YouTube videos, Audio files, Web pages or any documents.

Then you can search anything, ask questions, generate summaries and even turn your sources into AI podcasts.

It supports 18+ AI models.

OpenAI, Claude, Ollama, LM Studio, and more.

In my opinion, Open Notebook turns your data into a private AI research system.

This is what researchers should be using.

https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook…

lfnovo/open-notebook

Source: https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook

Open Notebook

An open source, privacy-focused alternative to Google's Notebook LM!
Join our Discord server for help, to share workflow ideas, and suggest features!
Checkout our website »

📚 Get Started · 📖 User Guide · ✨ Features · 🚀 Deploy

A private, multi-model, 100% local, full-featured alternative to Notebook LM

In a world dominated by Artificial Intelligence, having the ability to think 🧠 and acquire new knowledge 💡, is a skill that should not be a privilege for a few, nor restricted to a single provider.

Open Notebook empowers you to:

• 🔒 Control your data - Keep your research private and secure
• 🤖 Choose your AI models - Support for 18+ providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, LM Studio, and more
• 📚 Organize multi-modal content - PDFs, videos, audio, web pages, and more
• 🎙️ Generate professional podcasts - Advanced multi-speaker podcast generation
• 🔍 Search intelligently - Full-text and vector search across all your content
• 💬 Chat with context - AI conversations powered by your research
• 🌐 Multi-language UI - English, Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Japanese, Russian, and Bengali support

Learn more about our project at https://www.open-notebook.ai

🆚 Open Notebook vs Google Notebook LM

Why Choose Open Notebook?

• 🔒 Privacy First: Your sensitive research stays completely private
• 💰 Cost Control: Choose cheaper AI providers or run locally with Ollama
• 🎙️ Better Podcasts: Full script control and multi-speaker flexibility vs limited 2-speaker deep-dive format
• 🔧 Unlimited Customization: Modify, extend, and integrate as needed
• 🌐 No Vendor Lock-in: Switch providers, deploy anywhere, own your data

Built With

🚀 Quick Start (2 Minutes)

Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop installed
• That’s it! (API keys configured later in the UI)

Step 1: Get docker-compose.yml

Option A: Download directly

curl -o docker-compose.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/main/docker-compose.yml

Option B: Create the file manually Copy this into a new file called docker-compose.yml:

services:
  surrealdb:
    image: surrealdb/surrealdb:v2
    command: start --log info --user root --pass root rocksdb:/mydata/mydatabase.db
    user: root
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    volumes:
      - ./surreal_data:/mydata
    restart: always

  open_notebook:
    image: lfnovo/open_notebook:v1-latest
    ports:
      - "8502:8502"
      - "5055:5055"
    environment:
      - OPEN_NOTEBOOK_ENCRYPTION_KEY=change-me-to-a-secret-string
      - SURREAL_URL=ws://surrealdb:8000/rpc
      - SURREAL_USER=root
      - SURREAL_PASSWORD=root
      - SURREAL_NAMESPACE=open_notebook
      - SURREAL_DATABASE=open_notebook
    volumes:
      - ./notebook_data:/app/data
    depends_on:
      - surrealdb
    restart: always

Step 2: Set Your Encryption Key

Edit docker-compose.yml and change this line:

- OPEN_NOTEBOOK_ENCRYPTION_KEY=change-me-to-a-secret-string

to any secret value (e.g., my-super-secret-key-123)

Step 3: Start Services

docker compose up -d

Wait 15-20 seconds, then open: http://localhost:8502

Step 4: Configure AI Provider

1. Go to Settings → API Keys
2. Click Add Credential
3. Choose your provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.)
4. Paste your API key and click Save
5. Click Test Connection → Discover Models → Register Models

Done! You’re ready to create your first notebook.

Need an API key? Get one from: OpenAI · Anthropic · Google · Groq (free tier)

Want free local AI? See examples/docker-compose-ollama.yml for Ollama setup

📚 More Installation Options

• With Ollama (Free Local AI) - Run models locally without API costs
• From Source (Developers) - For development and contributions
• Complete Installation Guide - All deployment scenarios

📖 Need Help?

• 🤖 AI Installation Assistant: CustomGPT to help you install
• 🆘 Troubleshooting: 5-minute troubleshooting guide
• 💬 Community Support: Discord Server
• 🐛 Report Issues: GitHub Issues

Star History

Provider Support Matrix

Thanks to the Esperanto library, we support this providers out of the box!

*Supports LM Studio and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint

✨ Key Features

Core Capabilities

• 🔒 Privacy-First: Your data stays under your control - no cloud dependencies
• 🎯 Multi-Notebook Organization: Manage multiple research projects seamlessly
• 📚 Universal Content Support: PDFs, videos, audio, web pages, Office docs, and more
• 🤖 Multi-Model AI Support: 18+ providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, Google, LM Studio, and more
• 🎙️ Professional Podcast Generation: Advanced multi-speaker podcasts with Episode Profiles
• 🔍 Intelligent Search: Full-text and vector search across all your content
• 💬 Context-Aware Chat: AI conversations powered by your research materials
• 📝 AI-Assisted Notes: Generate insights or write notes manually

Advanced Features

• ⚡ Reasoning Model Support: Full support for thinking models like DeepSeek-R1 and Qwen3
• 🔧 Content Transformations: Powerful customizable actions to summarize and extract insights
• 🌐 Comprehensive REST API: Full programmatic access for custom integrations
• 🔐 Optional Password Protection: Secure public deployments with authentication
• 📊 Fine-Grained Context Control: Choose exactly what to share with AI models
• 📎 Citations: Get answers with proper source citations

Podcast Feature

📚 Documentation

Getting Started

• 📖 Introduction - Learn what Open Notebook offers
• ⚡ Quick Start - Get up and running in 5 minutes
• 🔧 Installation - Comprehensive setup guide
• 🎯 Your First Notebook - Step-by-step tutorial

User Guide

• 📱 Interface Overview - Understanding the layout
• 📚 Notebooks - Organizing your research
• 📄 Sources - Managing content types
• 📝 Notes - Creating and managing notes
• 💬 Chat - AI conversations
• 🔍 Search - Finding information

Advanced Topics

• 🎙️ Podcast Generation - Create professional podcasts
• 🔧 Content Transformations - Customize content processing
• 🤖 AI Models - AI model configuration
• 🔌 MCP Integration - Connect with Claude Desktop, VS Code and other MCP clients
• 🔧 REST API Reference - Complete API documentation
• 🔐 Security - Password protection and privacy
• 🚀 Deployment - Complete deployment guides for all scenarios

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🗺️ Roadmap

Upcoming Features

• Live Front-End Updates: Real-time UI updates for smoother experience
• Async Processing: Faster UI through asynchronous content processing
• Cross-Notebook Sources: Reuse research materials across projects
• Bookmark Integration: Connect with your favorite bookmarking apps

Recently Completed ✅

• Next.js Frontend: Modern React-based frontend with improved performance
• Comprehensive REST API: Full programmatic access to all functionality
• Multi-Model Support: 18+ AI providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, LM Studio
• Advanced Podcast Generator: Professional multi-speaker podcasts with Episode Profiles
• Content Transformations: Powerful customizable actions for content processing
• Enhanced Citations: Improved layout and finer control for source citations
• Multiple Chat Sessions: Manage different conversations within notebooks

See the open issues for a full list of proposed features and known issues.

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📖 Need Help?

• 🤖 AI Installation Assistant: We have a CustomGPT built to help you install Open Notebook - it will guide you through each step!
• New to Open Notebook? Start with our Getting Started Guide
• Need installation help? Check our Installation Guide
• Want to see it in action? Try our Quick Start Tutorial

🤝 Community & Contributing

Join the Community

• 💬 Discord Server - Get help, share ideas, and connect with other users
• 🐛 GitHub Issues - Report bugs and request features
• ⭐ Star this repo - Show your support and help others discover Open Notebook

Contributing

We welcome contributions! We’re especially looking for help with:

• Frontend Development: Help improve our modern Next.js/React UI
• Testing & Bug Fixes: Make Open Notebook more robust
• Feature Development: Build the coolest research tool together
• Documentation: Improve guides and tutorials

Current Tech Stack: Python, FastAPI, Next.js, React, SurrealDB Future Roadmap: Real-time updates, enhanced async processing

See our Contributing Guide for detailed information on how to get started.

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📄 License

Open Notebook is MIT licensed. See the LICENSE file for details.

Community Support:

• 💬 Discord Server - Get help, share ideas, and connect with users
• 🐛 GitHub Issues - Report bugs and request features
• 🌐 Website - Learn more about the project

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