Open Notebook is a Self-hosted Free Privacy-First Alternative to Google's Notebook LM That Works Offline

Hazem Abbas

05 Jan 2026 — 6 min read

What is Open Notebook?

Open Notebook is a free, private tool you run on your own computer. It lets you chat with AI models without sending your data to the cloud. Unlike Google’s Notebook LM, which stores your notes and chats online and uses big AI models from Google, Open Notebook works completely offline. You keep full control.

It supports many AI models, helps organize ideas, and protects your privacy. Think of it as your personal thinking space, safe and always under your control. Perfect for writers, researchers, and anyone who values their digital freedom.

Why It is the best alternative for Google's NotebookLM?

Self-Hosted Data Sovereignty: Complete privacy and control over sensitive research data with on-premise or cloud Docker deployment options, ensuring no third-party data access.
Universal LLM Integration: Connect with 16+ leading AI model providers including OpenAI and Anthropic, or run offline local LLMs via Ollama and LM Studio for cost-effective analysis.
Open-Source NotebookLM Alternative: A fully extensible platform offering a comprehensive REST API, zero vendor lock-in, and transparent usage tracking compared to closed proprietary systems.
Custom AI Podcast Generation: Advanced text-to-audio engine allowing for up to 4 distinct speakers, custom character profiles, and full script editing capabilities for deep-dive audio summaries.
Multi-Modal Content Analysis: Centralized knowledge base that processes and cross-references PDFs, audio files, video transcripts, and web clippings in a single workspace.
Hybrid RAG Search Architecture: High-precision retrieval system utilizing both vector embeddings and full-text search to provide accurate, context-aware citations and answers.

Features

Self-Hosted Privacy Deploy the platform locally or on your private cloud infrastructure. It operates with zero telemetry and no data mining, ensuring your data remains strictly yours.
Universal Library Ingest a wide variety of formats, including PDFs, YouTube URLs, audio files, Word documents, and web clippings, into a single, searchable knowledge base.
Hybrid Notes A flexible workspace designed to blend manual writing with AI-generated insights and citations, bridging the gap between human creativity and machine assistance.
Multi-Project Architecture Organize your work into distinct, isolated notebooks, allowing you to keep disparate projects (like coding documentation and academic research) completely separate.

AI & Intelligence Features

Bring Your Own Model (BYO-Model) Connect to over 16 different AI providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini, or run entirely offline using local Ollama instances.
Deep Reasoning Support Native support for advanced "Thinking Models" such as DeepSeek-R1 and Qwen3, optimized for complex problem-solving tasks.
Hybrid Search A dual-layer retrieval system that combines vector embeddings with full-text search to locate specific information with high precision.
Podcast Generator Transform static written research into dynamic, multi-speaker audio discussions with the ability to edit and control the script.

For Power Users Features

Automated Transformations Configure custom actions to automatically summarize, extract dates, or translate content immediately upon ingestion.
Full API Access Every feature available in the user interface is accessible programmatically via a comprehensive REST API, enabling deep integration with other tools.
Enterprise Security Optional password authentication layers allow for secure public-facing deployments.

For Healthcare Professionals: Medical Intelligence Without the Surveillance

In the medical field, privacy isn't just a preference; it is a legal imperative (HIPAA, GDPR) and an ethical vow. The biggest barrier to adopting AI in hospitals and clinics hasn't been a lack of interest, it's been the risk of data leakage. You simply cannot paste a patient's complex history or pre-publication clinical trial data into a public chatbot without risking your license.

Open Notebook solves the "Compliance vs. Innovation" deadlock by bringing the infrastructure to you.

Because it runs entirely self-hosted via Docker, you can create a veritable "digital clean room." By connecting it to local, offline models via Ollama or LM Studio, you can ingest hundreds of medical journals, case studies, and unstructured patient notes into a searchable knowledge graph. The system allows you to cross-reference symptoms against rare disease papers or summarize years of clinical notes to spot trends, all while ensuring that not a single byte of data leaves your hospital's intranet.

This is more than just a productivity tool; it is a secure "Second Opinion" engine that operates with absolute confidentiality. It allows physicians and researchers to harness the reasoning capabilities of modern AI without becoming a data point for big tech.

Install it Locally

You can easily install it locally using Docker!

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

You can also use Docker-Compose, by running the following 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

Completed Features

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