Open Notebook (Self-Hosted NotebookLM Alternative)
Deploy and drive Open Notebook — an open-source NotebookLM alternative — to ingest sources, search, summarize, and generate podcasts entirely through its REST API.
Docs & OfficeIntermediate★ 33,030⑂ 3,248AI score 9/10Last updated: Aug 9, 2026
What it does
- Teaches Claude how to stand up Open Notebook with Docker Compose and operate it through its REST API.
- Covers notebooks, source ingestion (PDFs, video, audio, web pages, Office docs), notes, source-cited chat, full-text and vector search, 1–4 speaker podcast generation, and custom content transformations — each with working Python request examples.
- Includes credential registration and model discovery across 16+ providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Ollama, Groq, Mistral, and more).
Who it's for
- Researchers and analysts handling large document sets who need data to stay on their own infrastructure.
- Developers building an internal knowledge base with automated Q&A and summarization.
- Anyone wanting zero-cost document analysis via local models like Ollama.
Example uses
- Create a "Cancer Genomics" notebook, ingest an arXiv URL plus 10 PDFs, then run vector search and auto-generate summary notes.
- Open a chat session scoped to all notebook sources and ask "Which biomarkers predict immunotherapy response?" for a cited answer.
- Turn the week's research into a two-host podcast episode and download the generated audio.
· · · Install guide · · ·
Try it now, no install
Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.
Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills/HEAD/skills/open-notebook/SKILL.md What I want: (describe your task here)
If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.
↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.
Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
- Download the ZIP with the button below.
- In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
- Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
Install in Claude Code
Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code
Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart. Copy the skills/open-notebook folder from the GitHub repo K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills into my ~/.claude/skills/open-notebook/. When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.
Install with a command instead
git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills.git && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r scientific-agent-skills/skills/open-notebook ~/.claude/skills/⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.
- Install and start Docker Desktop.
- Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills.git - Copy the skill:
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r scientific-agent-skills/skills/open-notebook ~/.claude/skills/ - Launch the server:
curl -o docker-compose.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/main/docker-compose.yml, thenexport OPEN_NOTEBOOK_ENCRYPTION_KEY="your-secret-key"anddocker-compose up -d. - Open http://localhost:8502 and add at least one AI provider key under Settings > API Keys.
- Set
OPEN_NOTEBOOK_URL(e.g. http://localhost:5055) and, if auth is enabled,OPEN_NOTEBOOK_PASSWORDin your environment. - Restart Claude Code and try: "Ingest this PDF into Open Notebook and summarize it."
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT