Open Notebook

Overview

Open Notebook is an open-source, AI-powered note-taking and research platform that respects your privacy. It combines AI with privacy controls, designed for researchers, students, and professionals. It is an open-source implementation of Notebook LM with more flexibility and features, supporting multi-model AI, content integration, and podcast generation.

Key Features

• Privacy-first self-hosted: your data stays under your control with no cloud dependencies.
• Multi-model AI support: 18+ providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, LM Studio, and more.
• Multi-modal content support: PDFs, videos, audio, web pages, Office docs, and more.
• Professional podcast generation: advanced multi-speaker podcasts with Episode Profiles.
• Intelligent search and context-aware chat: full-text and vector search across all content, with AI conversations powered by your research.

Use Cases

• Research and knowledge management for researchers and professionals.
• Learning and note-taking for students and self-taught learners.
• Generating podcasts from notes for engaging content creation.

Getting Started

• Quick start with Docker: download docker-compose.yml, set your encryption key, start services with docker compose up -d, then configure your AI provider in the UI. See the README for full instructions.

Deployment & Requirements

• Requires Docker Desktop and docker-compose. Uses SurrealDB as the database. Can be deployed locally, in the cloud, or on-premises. Supports optional password protection for public deployments.

Before You Adopt

• License: MIT. Review its terms before using, modifying, or distributing the project.
• The encryption key must be changed from the default placeholder to secure API keys.
• Citations are currently basic and will improve in future releases.