Organize Your
NotebookLM Library
Like a Pro

Getting Started

1. Install the extension from the install page (Chrome or Edge).
2. Go to notebooklm.google.com.
3. The NLM Organizer sidebar will appear on the left side of the page.
4. If the sidebar is collapsed, click the arrow or press Alt + N.

The Sidebar

The sidebar is your command center. From top to bottom, it contains:

• Search bar — Search notebooks, folders, and tags in real time.
• Filter buttons — All Notebooks, Favorites, Recent, Duplicates (if any).
• Sort dropdown — Change how notebooks are ordered.
• Folder tree — Your folder hierarchy with notebook counts.
• Tags list — All your tags with usage counts.
• Prompt library — Your saved prompts.
• Notebook list — A scrollable list of all notebooks.

You can resize the sidebar by dragging its right edge. Your preferred width is saved automatically.

Folders

Creating a folder:

1. Click the + New Folder button in the sidebar.
2. Enter a name, pick a color and icon.
3. Optionally, select a parent folder to create a subfolder.
4. Click Save.

Assigning notebooks to a folder:

• Right-click any notebook card → choose Move to folder → select the folder.
• Or drag a notebook card and drop it onto a folder in the sidebar.

Editing or deleting: Click the menu next to any folder.

Tags

1. Click + New Tag to create a tag with a name and color.
2. Right-click a notebook card → Tags → check or uncheck tags.
3. Click any tag in the sidebar to filter notebooks by that tag.

Notebooks can have multiple tags at once, making it easy to categorize across different dimensions (e.g., by topic and by project).

Favorites & Recent

Favorites: Click the star icon on any notebook card, or right-click → Add to favorites. Click the Favorites filter in the sidebar to see only starred notebooks.

Recent: Click the Recent filter to see the 20 notebooks you've visited most recently. This is tracked automatically.

Smart Auto-Folders

Auto-assign rules automatically move notebooks into folders based on their title.

1. Edit a folder (click → Edit).
2. In the edit dialog, scroll to Auto-Assign Rules.
3. Choose a match type:
   • Contains — title contains the text (e.g., "Biology")
   • Starts with — title begins with the text
   • Regex — advanced pattern matching
4. Enter the pattern and click Add Rule.

Rules run automatically when new notebooks appear. You can also click Run Rules to apply them to all existing notebooks that aren't yet assigned to a folder.

Prompt Library

Save prompts you frequently use with NotebookLM's AI features.

1. Click + New in the Prompts section of the sidebar.
2. Enter a title, optional category, and the prompt text.
3. Click Save.

Using a prompt: Click any saved prompt to copy it to your clipboard. A green flash confirms the copy. Then paste it into NotebookLM.

Prompts are grouped by category. Use the filter input to search through large collections.

Notebook Notes

Add private notes or annotations to any notebook:

1. Right-click a notebook card → Add note.
2. Type your note in the text area and click Save.

Notebooks with notes show a small icon. Hover over it to see the note content. Right-click → Edit note to change it.

Drag & Drop

Moving notebooks: Click and drag any notebook card onto a folder in the sidebar. The folder will highlight when you hover over it. Release to assign.

Bulk move: If you have multiple notebooks selected (via checkboxes in the notebook list), dragging one will move all selected notebooks.

Reordering folders: Drag folders up or down in the sidebar to change their order.

Duplicate Detection

NLM Organizer automatically scans for notebooks with similar titles (ignoring capitalization, "(copy)" suffixes, and trailing numbers).

• If duplicates are found, a Duplicates filter button appears in the sidebar.
• Duplicate notebooks show an orange DUPE badge.
• Click the Duplicates filter to see only the duplicates, then delete the ones you don't need directly in NotebookLM.

Statistics Dashboard

Click the stats icon in the sidebar header to open the dashboard. It shows:

• Summary cards — Total notebooks, active, favorites, archived, folders, and tags.
• Notebooks per folder — A colored bar chart showing distribution.
• Tag usage — How many notebooks use each tag.
• 30-day activity timeline — A mini chart showing which days you used NotebookLM.

Import & Export

Importing sources: Click the popup icon or use Alt + I to quickly import a URL, YouTube video, or other source into NotebookLM.

Exporting data: Right-click the sidebar → Export, or use the popup menu. This exports your organizational data (folders, tags, assignments) as a JSON file for backup or transfer to another computer.

Restoring: Use Import to load a previously exported JSON file and restore your organization.

Sorting & Search

Search: Type in the search bar at the top of the sidebar (or press Alt + F). Results filter in real time across notebook titles, folder names, and tag names.

Sorting: Use the dropdown below the filter buttons to sort by:

• Default — NotebookLM's original order
• A → Z — Alphabetical ascending
• Z → A — Alphabetical descending
• Recent first — Most recently visited on top
• Oldest first — Least recently visited on top

Keyboard Shortcuts

You can customize these at chrome://extensions/shortcuts (Chrome) or edge://extensions/shortcuts (Edge).

Settings

Access settings by clicking the gear icon in the sidebar, or through the extension's options page.

Available settings:

• Panel width — Default sidebar width (also adjustable by dragging).
• Theme — Follows your system theme automatically (light/dark).
• Data management — Export all data, import a backup, or reset to defaults.