# An Open Source Implementation of Notebook LM

> Source: <https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook>
> Published: 2026-06-18 06:38:17+00:00

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](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/0-START-HERE/index.md)·

[📖 User Guide](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/3-USER-GUIDE/index.md)·

[✨ Features](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/2-CORE-CONCEPTS/index.md)·

[🚀 Deploy](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/index.md)

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](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 Desktop](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/)installed- 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](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

- Run models locally without API costs[With Ollama (Free Local AI)](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/examples/docker-compose-ollama.yml)- For development and contributions[From Source (Developers)](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/from-source.md)- All deployment scenarios[Complete Installation Guide](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/index.md)

**🤖 AI Installation Assistant**:[CustomGPT to help you install](https://chatgpt.com/g/g-68776e2765b48191bd1bae3f30212631-open-notebook-installation-assistant)**🆘 Troubleshooting**:[5-minute troubleshooting guide](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/6-TROUBLESHOOTING/quick-fixes.md)**💬 Community Support**:[Discord Server](https://discord.gg/37XJPXfz2w)**🐛 Report Issues**:[GitHub Issues](https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/issues)

Thanks to the [Esperanto](https://github.com/lfnovo/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

- Learn what Open Notebook offers[📖 Introduction](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/0-START-HERE/index.md)- Get up and running in 5 minutes[⚡ Quick Start](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/0-START-HERE/quick-start.md)- Comprehensive setup guide[🔧 Installation](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/index.md)- Step-by-step tutorial[🎯 Your First Notebook](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/0-START-HERE/first-notebook.md)

- Understanding the layout[📱 Interface Overview](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/3-USER-GUIDE/interface-overview.md)- Organizing your research[📚 Notebooks](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/3-USER-GUIDE/notebooks.md)- Managing content types[📄 Sources](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/3-USER-GUIDE/sources.md)- Creating and managing notes[📝 Notes](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/3-USER-GUIDE/notes.md)- AI conversations[💬 Chat](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/3-USER-GUIDE/chat.md)- Finding information[🔍 Search](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/3-USER-GUIDE/search.md)

- Create professional podcasts[🎙️ Podcast Generation](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/2-CORE-CONCEPTS/podcasts.md)- Customize content processing[🔧 Content Transformations](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/2-CORE-CONCEPTS/transformations.md)- AI model configuration[🤖 AI Models](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/4-AI-PROVIDERS/index.md)- Connect with Claude Desktop, VS Code and other MCP clients[🔌 MCP Integration](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/5-CONFIGURATION/mcp-integration.md)- Complete API documentation[🔧 REST API Reference](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/7-DEVELOPMENT/api-reference.md)- Password protection and privacy[🔐 Security](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/5-CONFIGURATION/security.md)- Complete deployment guides for all scenarios[🚀 Deployment](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/index.md)

**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](https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/issues) for a full list of proposed features and known issues.

**🤖 AI Installation Assistant**: We have a[CustomGPT built to help you install Open Notebook](https://chatgpt.com/g/g-68776e2765b48191bd1bae3f30212631-open-notebook-installation-assistant)- it will guide you through each step!**New to Open Notebook?** Start with our[Getting Started Guide](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/0-START-HERE/index.md)**Need installation help?** Check our[Installation Guide](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/index.md)**Want to see it in action?** Try our[Quick Start Tutorial](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/0-START-HERE/quick-start.md)

- 💬
- Get help, share ideas, and connect with other users[Discord Server](https://discord.gg/37XJPXfz2w) - 🐛
- Report bugs and request features[GitHub Issues](https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/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](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) for detailed information on how to get started.

Open Notebook is MIT licensed. See the [LICENSE](/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/LICENSE) file for details.

**Community Support**:

- 💬
[Discord Server](https://discord.gg/37XJPXfz2w)- Get help, share ideas, and connect with users - 🐛
[GitHub Issues](https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/issues)- Report bugs and request features - 🌐
[Website](https://www.open-notebook.ai)- Learn more about the project