NotebookTools is a free Chrome extension that imports content into Google NotebookLM — YouTube videos, X posts and articles, any webpage URL, and text you highlight on the web. It uses your existing Google sign-in. No new account, no copy-paste marathon, no paywall.
If you use NotebookLM, you already know the feeling: you find a great video or a long article — and then you pause. Getting that material into your notebook still takes steps. Open another tab. Paste a link. Or manually copy quotes you want to keep.
NotebookTools exists to make that moment disappear. It sits quietly in Chrome and meets you where you already are.
The problem we kept running into
NotebookLM is excellent at what comes after you have sources — summarizing, connecting ideas, asking questions across documents. But the before part — collecting sources from the open web — was still fragmented.
YouTube lived on YouTube. Threads lived on X. Articles lived in browser tabs. Each one wanted a slightly different workflow. We wanted one extension that respected NotebookLM’s calm, research-first spirit: pick a source, pick a notebook, done.
What the extension actually does
NotebookTools adds lightweight import controls in the places you already spend time. Here is what that looks like in practice:
YouTube
On any YouTube watch page, you get a native import button. Click it, choose an existing notebook or create a new one, and the video is added as a source. One click from watching to researching.
X (Twitter)
Threads and long-form articles on X can be imported the same way. The extension pulls readable text from the page and adds it to your notebook. Useful when a thread is essentially a mini-essay you want to keep.
Webpages and highlighted text
Open the extension popup on any tab to import the current page URL. Or highlight text anywhere on the web, right-click, and choose Add to NotebookLM. That second path is perfect for a quote, a definition, or a paragraph you do not need the entire page for.
How it works under the hood (simply)
NotebookTools does not run a cloud backend and does not ask you to create a separate account. When you import something, the extension uses your existing signed-in NotebookLM session in Chrome — the same Google account you already use with NotebookLM.
Your sources go directly to NotebookLM. We do not store your notebooks, chats, or browsing history on our servers — because there are no servers in the middle. Preferences may be saved locally in Chrome on your device. You can read the full details in our privacy policy.
Who it is for
NotebookTools is for anyone who treats NotebookLM as a research hub: students pulling lecture videos and papers together, founders collecting market threads, writers archiving interviews, or curious people who want one place to ask questions across everything they have read and watched.
If that sounds like you, the extension is free — all features, no trial, no upgrade tier. Install it, open NotebookLM once to confirm you are signed in, and import your first source in seconds.
What we are not
NotebookTools is an independent project. We are not affiliated with Google or the NotebookLM team. We built this because we wanted it ourselves — a small, focused tool that does one job well: get good material into NotebookLM with less friction.
We will keep the UI minimal and the scope tight. No clutter, no dark patterns — just a faster path from the web to your notebooks.