open-notebook/README.md

Open Notebook

An open source, privacy-focused alternative to Google's Notebook LM!
Join our Discord server for help, to share workflow ideas, and suggest features!
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📚 Get Started · 📖 User Guide · ✨ Features · 🚀 Deploy

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A private, multi-model, 100% local, full-featured alternative to Notebook LM

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 16+ 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

Learn more about our project at https://www.open-notebook.ai

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⚠️ IMPORTANT: v1.0 Breaking Changes

If you're upgrading from a previous version, please note:

• 🏷️ Docker tags have changed: The latest tag is now frozen at the last Streamlit version
• 🆕 Use v1-latest tag for the new React/Next.js version (recommended)
• 🔌 Port 5055 required: You must expose port 5055 for the API to work
• 📖 Read the migration guide: See MIGRATION.md for detailed upgrade instructions

New users: You can ignore this notice and proceed with the Quick Start below using the v1-latest-single tag.

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🆚 Open Notebook vs Google Notebook LM

Feature	Open Notebook	Google Notebook LM	Advantage
Privacy & Control	Self-hosted, your data	Google cloud only	Complete data sovereignty
AI Provider Choice	16+ 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
Context Control	3 granular levels	All-or-nothing	Privacy and performance tuning
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	Comprehensive with sources	Basic references	Research integrity
Customization	Open source, fully customizable	Closed system	Unlimited extensibility
Cost	Pay only for AI usage	Monthly subscription + usage	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

Built With

🚀 Quick Start

Docker Images Available:

• Docker Hub: lfnovo/open_notebook:v1-latest-single
• GitHub Container Registry: ghcr.io/lfnovo/open-notebook:v1-latest-single

Both registries contain identical images - choose whichever you prefer!

Choose Your Setup:

🏠 Local Machine Setup Perfect if Docker runs on the same computer where you'll access Open Notebook. mkdir open-notebook && cd open-notebook docker run -d \ --name open-notebook \ -p 8502:8502 -p 5055:5055 \ -v ./notebook_data:/app/data \ -v ./surreal_data:/mydata \ -e OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here \ -e SURREAL_URL="ws://localhost:8000/rpc" \ -e SURREAL_USER="root" \ -e SURREAL_PASSWORD="root" \ -e SURREAL_NAMESPACE="open_notebook" \ -e SURREAL_DATABASE="production" \ lfnovo/open_notebook:v1-latest-single Access at: http://localhost:8502

🌐 Remote Server Setup Use this for servers, Raspberry Pi, NAS, Proxmox, or any remote machine. mkdir open-notebook && cd open-notebook docker run -d \ --name open-notebook \ -p 8502:8502 -p 5055:5055 \ -v ./notebook_data:/app/data \ -v ./surreal_data:/mydata \ -e OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here \ -e API_URL=http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:5055 \ -e SURREAL_URL="ws://localhost:8000/rpc" \ -e SURREAL_USER="root" \ -e SURREAL_PASSWORD="root" \ -e SURREAL_NAMESPACE="open_notebook" \ -e SURREAL_DATABASE="production" \ lfnovo/open_notebook:v1-latest-single Replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with your server's IP (e.g., 192.168.1.100) or domain Access at: http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8502

⚠️ Critical Setup Notes:

Both ports are required:

• Port 8502: Web interface (what you see in your browser)
• Port 5055: API backend (required for the app to function)

API_URL must match how YOU access the server:

• ✅ Access via http://192.168.1.100:8502 → set API_URL=http://192.168.1.100:5055
• ✅ Access via http://myserver.local:8502 → set API_URL=http://myserver.local:5055
• ❌ Don't use localhost for remote servers - it won't work from other devices!

Using Docker Compose (Recommended for Easy Management)

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  open_notebook:
    image: lfnovo/open_notebook:v1-latest-single
    # Or use: ghcr.io/lfnovo/open-notebook:v1-latest-single
    ports:
      - "8502:8502"  # Web UI
      - "5055:5055"  # API (required!)
    environment:
      - OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here
      # For remote access, uncomment and set your server IP/domain:
      # - API_URL=http://192.168.1.100:5055
      # Database connection (required for single-container)
      - SURREAL_URL=ws://localhost:8000/rpc
      - SURREAL_USER=root
      - SURREAL_PASSWORD=root
      - SURREAL_NAMESPACE=open_notebook
      - SURREAL_DATABASE=production
    volumes:
      - ./notebook_data:/app/data
      - ./surreal_data:/mydata
    restart: always

Start with: docker compose up -d

What gets created:

open-notebook/
├── docker-compose.yml # Your configuration
├── notebook_data/     # Your notebooks and research content
└── surreal_data/      # Database files

🆘 Quick Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"Unable to connect to server"	Set API_URL environment variable to match how you access the server (see remote setup above)
Blank page or errors	Ensure BOTH ports (8502 and 5055) are exposed in your docker command
Works on server but not from other computers	Don't use localhost in API_URL - use your server's actual IP address
"404" or "config endpoint" errors	Don't add /api to API_URL - use just http://your-ip:5055
Still having issues?	Check our 5-minute troubleshooting guide or join Discord

How Open Notebook Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Your Browser                                           │
│  Access: http://your-server-ip:8502                     │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
         ┌───────────────┐
         │   Port 8502   │  ← Next.js Frontend (what you see)
         │   Frontend    │    Also proxies API requests internally!
         └───────┬───────┘
                 │ proxies /api/* requests ↓
                 ▼
         ┌───────────────┐
         │   Port 5055   │  ← FastAPI Backend (handles requests)
         │     API       │
         └───────┬───────┘
                 │
                 ▼
         ┌───────────────┐
         │   SurrealDB   │  ← Database (internal, auto-configured)
         │   (Port 8000) │
         └───────────────┘

Key Points:

• v1.1+: Next.js automatically proxies /api/* requests to the backend, simplifying reverse proxy setup
• Your browser loads the frontend from port 8502
• The frontend needs to know where to find the API - when accessing remotely, set: API_URL=http://your-server-ip:5055
• Behind reverse proxy? You only need to proxy to port 8502 now! See Reverse Proxy Guide

Star History

🛠️ Full Installation

For development or customization:

git clone https://github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook
cd open-notebook
make start-all

📖 Need Help?

• 🤖 AI Installation Assistant: We have a CustomGPT built to help you install Open Notebook - it will guide you through each step!
• New to Open Notebook? Start with our Getting Started Guide
• Need installation help? Check our Installation Guide
• Want to see it in action? Try our Quick Start Tutorial

Provider Support Matrix

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	❌	❌	✅	✅
Azure OpenAI	✅	✅	❌	❌
Mistral	✅	✅	❌	❌
DeepSeek	✅	❌	❌	❌
Voyage	❌	✅	❌	❌
xAI	✅	❌	❌	❌
OpenRouter	✅	❌	❌	❌
OpenAI Compatible*	✅	❌	❌	❌

*Supports LM Studio and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint

✨ Key Features

Core Capabilities

• 🔒 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: 16+ 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

Advanced Features

• ⚡ 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

Three-Column Interface

1. Sources: Manage all your research materials
2. Notes: Create manual or AI-generated notes
3. Chat: Converse with AI using your content as context

📚 Documentation

Getting Started

• 📖 Introduction - Learn what Open Notebook offers
• ⚡ Quick Start - Get up and running in 5 minutes
• 🔧 Installation - Comprehensive setup guide
• 🎯 Your First Notebook - Step-by-step tutorial

User Guide

• 📱 Interface Overview - Understanding the layout
• 📚 Notebooks - Organizing your research
• 📄 Sources - Managing content types
• 📝 Notes - Creating and managing notes
• 💬 Chat - AI conversations
• 🔍 Search - Finding information

Advanced Topics

• 🎙️ Podcast Generation - Create professional podcasts
• 🔧 Content Transformations - Customize content processing
• 🤖 AI Models - AI model configuration
• 🔧 REST API Reference - Complete API documentation
• 🔐 Security - Password protection and privacy
• 🚀 Deployment - Complete deployment guides for all scenarios

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🗺️ Roadmap

Upcoming Features

• 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

Recently Completed ✅

• Next.js Frontend: Modern React-based frontend with improved performance
• Comprehensive REST API: Full programmatic access to all functionality
• Multi-Model Support: 16+ 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.

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🤝 Community & Contributing

Join the Community

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

Contributing

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.

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📄 License

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

📞 Contact

Luis Novo - @lfnovo

Community Support:

• 💬 Discord Server - Get help, share ideas, and connect with users
• 🐛 GitHub Issues - Report bugs and request features
• 🌐 Website - Learn more about the project

🙏 Acknowledgments

Open Notebook is built on the shoulders of amazing open-source projects:

• Podcast Creator - Advanced podcast generation capabilities
• Surreal Commands - Background job processing
• Content Core - Content processing and management
• Esperanto - Multi-provider AI model abstraction
• Docling - Document processing and parsing

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