Bulk2NotebookLM

Add a whole folder of PDFs to a Google NotebookLM notebook in one command — instead of uploading them one at a time.

Point it at a folder, give the notebook a name, and it adds every PDF for you. It's resumable (re-run to continue after an interruption — no duplicates) and works for anything from a handful of files up to your plan's source limit.

./trips2nlm.sh --folder "/path/to/pdfs" --create "My Notebook"

📖 Non-technical? Read USER_GUIDE.md — a step-by-step walkthrough that assumes no command-line experience.

---

Features

• Folder mode — upload every .pdf in a folder (the easy path).
• Drive mode — link files straight from Google Drive by ID, no upload (advanced).
• Resumable & idempotent — remembers what it added; re-running skips done files and retries only failures. Safe to run twice; safe to top-up later.
• Create or append — make a new notebook (--create) or add to an existing one (--notebook).
• One-command setup — setup.sh installs every prerequisite and signs you in.
• Dry-run — preview exactly what will happen with --dry-run.

Requirements

• macOS (uses the nlm NotebookLM CLI; the setup script targets Homebrew).
• A Google account with NotebookLM. Note the per-notebook source cap: 50 on the free plan, 300 on Plus/Pro.

Everything else — Homebrew, jq, the nlm CLI, and Google Chrome — is installed for you by setup.sh.

Install

git clone https://github.com/holzerjm/Bulk2NotebookLM.git
cd Bulk2NotebookLM
./setup.sh          # installs prerequisites, then signs you in to NotebookLM

Verify your environment without installing anything:

./setup.sh --check

Usage

Upload a folder of PDFs into a new notebook:

./trips2nlm.sh --folder "/path/to/pdfs" --create "My Notebook"

Add a folder to an existing notebook:

./trips2nlm.sh --folder "/path/to/pdfs" --notebook <NOTEBOOK_ID>

Preview without changing anything:

./trips2nlm.sh --folder "/path/to/pdfs" --create "My Notebook" --dry-run

Advanced — link from Google Drive instead of uploading (via a tab-separated DriveFileId⇥Title manifest):

./trips2nlm.sh --manifest list.tsv --create "My Notebook" --type pdf

Run ./trips2nlm.sh --help for the full option list.

Options

Option	Description
--folder PATH	Folder of .pdf files to upload (pick this or --manifest).
--manifest FILE	Tab-separated DriveId⇥Title list to link from Drive.
--create "Title"	Create a new notebook (pick this or --notebook).
--notebook ID	Add to an existing notebook.
--type TYPE	Drive doc type for --manifest: pdf/doc/slides/sheets (default pdf).
--sleep SECONDS	Pause between files (default 0.8).
--wait	Wait for each file to finish processing.
--profile NAME	nlm sign-in profile.
--state-dir DIR	Where resume state is stored (default .trips2nlm-state/).
--dry-run	Show what would happen; change nothing.

How it works

The tool drives the nlm CLI, calling nlm source add once per file (--file for uploads, --drive for Drive links). Progress is recorded in .trips2nlm-state/<notebook>.done, so a re-run skips anything already added and writes failures to <notebook>.failed for retry.

Troubleshooting

• "You're not signed in to NotebookLM." — nlm sign-in tokens are short-lived. Run nlm login and try again. Your existing notebooks are unaffected.
• "command not found" right after setup — open a new Terminal window and cd back to the folder (newly installed tools need a fresh shell).
• Stops at 50 sources — that's the free-plan cap; upgrade or split across notebooks.

See USER_GUIDE.md for the friendly, detailed version.

License

MIT © 2026 Jan Mark Holzer