cd /news/ai-tools/an-open-source-implementation-of-not… · home › topics › ai-tools › article
[ARTICLE · art-32213] src=github.com ↗ pub= topic=ai-tools verified=true sentiment=↑ positive

An Open Source Implementation of Notebook LM

Open Notebook, an open-source, privacy-focused alternative to Google's Notebook LM, has been released, offering self-hosted data control, support for 18+ AI providers, and advanced podcast generation. The project aims to democratize AI-powered research tools by eliminating vendor lock-in and providing full customization.

read7 min views4 publishedJun 18, 2026

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

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

Feature Open Notebook Google Notebook LM Advantage
Privacy & Control
Self-hosted, your data Google cloud only Complete data sovereignty
AI Provider Choice
18+ providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, LM Studio, etc.) Google models only Flexibility and cost optimization
Podcast Speakers
1-4 speakers with custom profiles 2 speakers only Extreme flexibility
Content Transformations
Custom and built-in Limited options Unlimited processing power
API Access
Full REST API No API Complete automation
Deployment
Docker, cloud, or local Google hosted only Deploy anywhere
Citations
Basic references (will improve) Comprehensive with sources Research integrity
Customization
Open source, fully customizable Closed system Unlimited extensibility
Cost
Pay only for AI usage Free tier + Monthly subscription Transparent and controllable

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

Docker Desktopinstalled- That's it! (API keys configured later in the UI)

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

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

)

docker compose up -d

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

  • Go to Models and choose your provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.) - Click + Add Configuration - Paste your API key and other info as needed and click Add Configuration - Click Test to test connection - Click Sync Models and check models to include - Under Default Model Assignments, click** Auto-Assign Defaults**or manually specify which models to use for what

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

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

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

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

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

Provider LLM Support Embedding Support Speech-to-Text Text-to-Speech
OpenAI ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Anthropic ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Groq ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Google (GenAI) ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Vertex AI ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
Ollama ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌
Perplexity ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
ElevenLabs ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅
Deepgram ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
Azure OpenAI ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Mistral ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
DeepSeek ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Voyage ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌
xAI ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅
OpenRouter ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌
DashScope (Qwen) ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
MiniMax ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
OpenAI Compatible* ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

*Supports LM Studio and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint

🔒 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

⚡ 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

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

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.

🤖 AI Installation Assistant: We have aCustomGPT built to help you install Open Notebook- it will guide you through each step!New to Open Notebook? Start with ourGetting Started GuideNeed installation help? Check ourInstallation GuideWant to see it in action? Try ourQuick Start Tutorial

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

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.

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

Community Support:

source & further reading
github.com — original article
── more in #ai-tools 4 stories · sorted by recency
── more on @open notebook 3 stories trending now
sponsored brought to you by zahid.host 4,200+ EU-deployed projects
reading about agents? ship yours in a single git push.

Run your AI side-project on zahid.host

EU-based hosting, git-push deploys, automatic HTTPS, no cold starts. Free tier with a custom domain — perfect for shipping the agent you just read about.

$git push zahid main
→ Live at https://your-agent.zahid.host ✓
Get free account → Pricing
from €0/mo · no card required
LIVE [news/an-open-source-imple…] indexed:0 read:7min 2026-06-18 · —