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NotebookLM as a desktop app: what exists and how to make one

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Google lists no Mac, Windows or Linux app for NotebookLM, which it renamed Gemini Notebook in July 2026; its pages list only the website and apps for Android, iPhone and iPad. A Pake app can put that website in a window of its own, with a Dock or taskbar icon, a size you choose and the option to stay above your documents. Whether it works depends on Google sign-in, which Google does not allow in embedded web views, so test the sign-in before you rely on it.

The name and the address

Google's blog post "NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook", dated July 16, 2026, announces the rename and calls it the same standalone product. Google's pages now say Gemini Notebook, and its Workspace page adds "formerly NotebookLM". People still search for NotebookLM, so this post uses that name.

The address changed too. In November 2026, notebooklm.google.com answered with a permanent redirect to notebook.google.com, whose page is headed Gemini Notebook. Build from the new address, for a reason covered under downloads below.

What Google offers on a desktop

Google's pages mention a website and a mobile app, and no desktop program. The mobile help page covers Android 10 or later plus iPhone and iPad, and says "For the full Gemini Notebook experience, it's recommended you use the desktop version", where desktop means the website in a computer's browser. The Get the app button on notebook.google.com is labelled for the mobile app, and on a computer it leads back to the website. No page checked as of November 2026 offers a download for Mac, Windows or Linux, and Google may add one, so look at the help center first.

The phone app is narrower. It supports only PDF, website, YouTube, audio and copied text as sources, has no notes, mind maps, reports or data tables yet, and saves Audio Overviews for offline listening but not as files. For files on your computer, the website is the better client.

What the web app does

Per Google's sources help page, a notebook is a collection of sources for one project, and answers come from those sources. You can add uploaded files such as PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Markdown, CSV, ePub, images and MP3 or WAV audio, plus Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, web addresses and public YouTube videos with captions. A source can hold up to 500,000 words or 200 MB, and free accounts get up to 50 sources per notebook.

The Studio panel produces notes, Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, mind maps, reports, data tables, flashcards, quizzes, slide decks and infographics. An Audio Overview comes as Deep Dive, The Brief, The Critique or The Debate, with a choice of language and, in English, of length. All of that is the website's work; a Pake window adds none of it and removes none of it.

Why wrap it

A browser tab already runs it, so the gain is layout. A Pake app gets its own Dock, taskbar or launcher entry and its own place in the window switcher, remembers its size, can sit beside the paper you are reading, and keeps its sign-in apart from your browser profile. The Gemini post describes the same trade for Google's chat product.

Check the sign-in first

Google's OAuth policy does not allow sign-in in embedded user agents, and its error reference names WKWebView, the view Pake uses on Mac, as one that can get the disallowed_useragent error. Pake's CLI FAQ calls this provider policy, not a packaging bug, and says --new-window and --multi-window do not change it. The sign-in guide goes through the failure modes.

So build the app, open it, click Sign in and see what Google says. If you reach your notebook list, carry on. If Google refuses, changing the user agent is not a supported way around it; use a browser or the phone app. Signing in elsewhere does not carry over, because the app keeps its own cookies.

Build it with the CLI

After the getting started setup, which needs Node.js 20.9 or later and Rust 1.85 or later:

npm install -g pake-cli
pake https://notebook.google.com --name NotebookLM --width 1100 --height 900 --always-on-top

--width and --height set the starting size, 1200 by 780 by default, and --always-on-top keeps the window above others; drop it if you do not want that. Add --show-system-tray --hide-on-close to keep it running after the window closes and --download-dir '~/Documents/NotebookLM' to choose where downloads land, with the quotes so ~ resolves when the app runs. On Linux, --targets takes deb, appimage, rpm or zst for x64, plus -arm64 variants, as listed in the CLI options, and the default follows your distribution. The first build takes several minutes. Do not build with --incognito, which keeps no sign-ins between launches. The always-on-top guide covers the side-by-side layout.

Build it with the Pake desktop app

The desktop app needs no Node.js or Rust. It runs on macOS 14 or later, Windows 10 version 2004 or later (x64 and ARM64), and Arch-based Linux such as Omarchy on x86_64; on Ubuntu, Fedora and other distributions use the CLI. See Install Pake.

On the Create tab, paste https://notebook.google.com into Paste a web address or search the apps below to start. Set Size (Window size on Windows) to about 1100 by 900, turn on Always on top if you want it, leave Incognito off, and click Create App. Create an app lists every option.

Uploads and downloads

Pake saves downloads to the system Downloads folder unless you set --download-dir, and, once it has notification permission, shows a notification when one fails. Its native features are granted only to the exact website origin you packaged, matching scheme, host and port. On any other origin, downloads fall back to the browser, which may display media instead of saving it, and native notifications, zoom and opening links in your system browser are unavailable. If you packaged the old notebooklm.google.com address, the app still opens, but Google redirects it to notebook.google.com, an origin the app was never granted, so every page you use runs without those features. That is why you build from the current address.

To add a file, choose Add sources on the left of a notebook and pick it in the system file dialog. The FAQ lists uploads among the features to try, so test one file of each type you need. Dragging files onto the window works the way it does in a browser and needs no setting. Test a drag and use the dialog if it does nothing.

To save an Audio Overview, generate it in the Studio panel and select Download, as Google's audio help page describes. It adds that an overview built on a Play Books ebook may not be downloadable, depending on the publisher. After the first attempt, check that the file reached your download folder.

What goes wrong

  • Google refuses the sign-in. That is the policy above. Use a browser or the phone app.
  • You are asked to sign in again after a restart. Check that Incognito is off, then quit and reopen once.
  • Downloads open in the browser or do nothing. Confirm the app was built from notebook.google.com, and rebuild if not.
  • Drag and drop does nothing. Use Add sources and the file dialog.
  • A link from a source opens your browser. That is the default for external links; Internal URL regex under Advanced, or --safe-domain in the CLI, controls what stays inside.
  • The window is blank on Wayland, or clicks do nothing in an AppImage. The FAQ suggests PAKE_LINUX_WEBKIT_SAFE_MODE=1 for a blank window and =0 when clicks do not arrive.

The website updates itself; the Pake runtime does not, so update pake-cli and rebuild with the same command, or see Manage your apps.

FAQ

Is there an official NotebookLM desktop app?

Not on any Google page checked as of November 2026; they list the website and the Android, iPhone and iPad apps.

Is NotebookLM the same as Gemini Notebook?

Yes. Google renamed it on July 16, 2026 and calls it the same standalone product.

Does the Pake window keep my notebooks offline?

No. Notebooks live on Google's servers, and the window is the website.