NotebookLM API Options in 2026: Google Enterprise API, Free Libraries or a Hosted API

6 min read • October 16, 2026

Table of contents

  1. Does NotebookLM have an API?
  2. Compared
  3. Why useapi.net instead of a free library
  4. What the useapi.net NotebookLM API covers
  5. How to start
  6. Frequently asked questions

Does NotebookLM have an API?

Not for regular Google accounts. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook in July 2026, and its only official API is the Gemini Notebook Enterprise API: a Preview API for Enterprise licenses in a Google Cloud project, which manages notebooks and sources and creates Audio Overviews.

If you want to automate NotebookLM on an ordinary free or paid Google account, there are three kinds of options:

  1. Google’s Enterprise API, if your organisation buys Enterprise licenses.
  2. Free open-source libraries and local MCP servers, such as notebooklm-py and gemini-notebook-mcp-cli, which you install and run on your own machine.
  3. A hosted API, such as the useapi.net NotebookLM API (Gemini Notebook API), which runs on our servers with your own Google account, over REST and as a hosted MCP server.

This page is written by the useapi.net maintainers and compares what each option offers from its own documentation.

Compared

  useapi.net notebooklm-py gemini-notebook-mcp-cli Google Enterprise API
Hosted, nothing to install or run locally ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅
Hosted MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code ✅ ❌ (local only) ❌ (local only) ❌
Works on free and paid consumer Google accounts ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌
Sign-in without copying cookies; session kept fresh for you ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅
REST API from any language ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅
Webhook when a job finishes ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Automatic load balancing across Google accounts ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Ready-to-import n8n templates ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌
Price $15/month, every useapi.net API Free Free Enterprise licenses

From each project’s own documentation on October 16, 2026: notebooklm-py v0.8.5, gemini-notebook-mcp-cli v0.15.5, Gemini Notebook Enterprise API (Preview). useapi.net is a third-party API and is not affiliated with Google.

Why useapi.net instead of a free library

useapi.net is a third-party API and is not affiliated with Google.

  • Nothing to run on your machine. The API is hosted, so jobs keep running when your laptop is off: no Chromium download, no local server, no tunnel and no browser left open.
  • Sign in once, we keep you signed in. The guided browser setup connects your Google account once, and we keep the session fresh, with no cookies to copy or refresh. If Google ever signs it out, you get an email with a one-minute re-add link.
  • A hosted MCP server, 57 tools. Add it to Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code with one line. Nothing to install, and every notebook, source, chat and Studio output is available to your AI assistant.
  • Plain REST from any language. Call it from Node.js, Python, bash, n8n, Make or a cron job with an API token. A Postman collection and an LLM-friendly spec cover every endpoint.
  • Jobs tracked for you, with webhooks. Every podcast, video, slide deck and research run is a server-side job. Poll it, or pass replyUrl and get the finished result posted to your endpoint.
  • Several Google accounts, balanced automatically. Connect 3 accounts per subscription, up to 100; each new job goes to one that is healthy, has a free slot and still has usage left.
  • Links in, podcast out. Send URLs or text to one endpoint and get an Audio Overview, Video Overview, slide deck or quiz back, with no notebook setup.
  • Ready-made n8n workflows and an agent skill, on your free or paid Google plan, for a flat $15/month that covers every useapi.net API.

What the useapi.net NotebookLM API covers

Everything you do in NotebookLM, from code:

  • Notebooks and sources. Create, copy and share notebooks and group them in collections. Add web pages, YouTube videos, pasted text, uploaded files (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, EPUB, audio, video), Google Drive files and ebooks from your Google Play Books library.
  • Chat with citations. Ask questions grounded in your sources, with numbered citations and follow-up conversations.
  • Research. Discover sources and run Deep Research, then import the sources and the report.
  • Every Studio output. Audio Overviews (deep dive, brief, critique, debate), Video Overviews (including short and cinematic), slide decks, infographics, reports, data tables, quizzes, flashcards and mind maps, with revise, retry, copy and export.
  • Usage you can see. Each account’s live usage in Google’s 5-hour and weekly windows.

The full list is in the API reference.

How to start

  1. Get a useapi.net API token.
  2. Connect a Google account once with the guided NotebookLM setup. The free Google plan works.
  3. Turn a web page into a podcast with one call:
curl -X POST https://api.useapi.net/v1/gemini-notebook/artifacts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USEAPI_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"type": "audio", "urls": ["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11"]}'

Or add the MCP server to Claude Code with one line:

claude mcp add --transport http useapi-gemini-notebook https://api.useapi.net/v1/gemini-notebook/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"

Step-by-step tutorials: Deep Research, chat and Audio Overviews with curl, a real podcast example and RSS feeds to podcasts with n8n. Runnable code: useapi/notebooklm-api.

Start using the API

A single $15/month subscription covers every API on useapi.net — one token, all services. You connect up to 3 of your own provider accounts per service, and useapi.net handles the REST API, load balancing, and polling.

Subscribe — $15/month

Pricing, crypto payment, and volume options — full refund within the first 14 days if you have fewer than 50 successful generations.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free NotebookLM API? Google offers no free API for regular accounts. Free open-source libraries exist and run on your own machine. The useapi.net API is $15/month, works on the free Google plan, and has a full refund within 14 days if you made fewer than 50 successful generations.

Is there a NotebookLM API key? Not from Google for regular accounts. With useapi.net you use a useapi.net API token and connect your Google account once.

Can I use NotebookLM from Python? Yes. The useapi.net API is plain REST, so any HTTP client works. The examples repository has Node.js, Python and bash scripts and a Colab notebook.

Is there a NotebookLM MCP server? Yes. The hosted useapi.net NotebookLM MCP server has 57 tools and is listed in the official MCP Registry as net.useapi/gemini-notebook. You add it to Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code with one line, with nothing to install.

Do I have to copy cookies or keep a browser open? No. You sign in once through the guided setup, and we keep the session fresh. If Google ever signs the account out, you get an email with a link to re-add it.