Configuration Guide - NotebookLM MCP HTTP Server

Advanced configuration, environment variables, security

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📋 Environment Variables

HTTP Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
HTTP_HOST	0.0.0.0	Listen IP address (0.0.0.0 = network, 127.0.0.1 = localhost)
HTTP_PORT	3000	HTTP listen port
NODE_ENV	development	Environment (development, production)

Examples:

# Localhost only (maximum security)
$env:HTTP_HOST="127.0.0.1"
$env:HTTP_PORT="3000"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

# Local network (for n8n)
$env:HTTP_HOST="0.0.0.0"
$env:HTTP_PORT="3000"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

# Custom port
$env:HTTP_PORT="8080"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

Browser Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
HEADLESS	true	Chrome headless (true = invisible, false = visible)
STEALTH_ENABLED	true	Stealth anti-detection mode
NOTEBOOKLM_UI_LOCALE	fr	UI language for selectors (fr or en)

Examples:

# Debug: see Chrome
$env:HEADLESS="false"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

# Use English UI selectors (for English Google Account)
$env:NOTEBOOKLM_UI_LOCALE="en"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

Session Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
MAX_SESSIONS	10	Maximum number of concurrent sessions
SESSION_TIMEOUT	900	Session timeout in seconds (15 min)

Examples:

# More simultaneous sessions
$env:MAX_SESSIONS="20"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

Data Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
DATA_DIR	./Data	Persistent data directory
CHROME_PROFILE_DIR	./Data/chrome_profile	Chrome profile
BROWSER_STATE_DIR	./Data/browser_state	Browser state

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🔒 Security

1. Restrict to Localhost

For local use only:

$env:HTTP_HOST="127.0.0.1"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

Advantages:

• ✅ No network access possible
• ✅ Maximum security
• ❌ n8n must be on the same machine

2. Windows Firewall

For n8n on local network, allow only the n8n server IP:

# Replace 192.168.1.100 with your n8n server IP
New-NetFirewallRule `
  -DisplayName "NotebookLM MCP (n8n only)" `
  -Direction Inbound `
  -LocalPort 3000 `
  -Protocol TCP `
  -Action Allow `
  -RemoteAddress 192.168.1.100

3. Add API Authentication (Optional)

Modify src/http-wrapper.ts after line 27:

// Authentication middleware
const API_KEY = process.env.API_KEY || 'change-me';

app.use((req, res, next) => {
  // Skip auth for health check
  if (req.path === '/health') {
    return next();
  }

  const authHeader = req.headers.authorization;
  if (authHeader !== `Bearer ${API_KEY}`) {
    return res.status(401).json({
      success: false,
      error: 'Unauthorized',
    });
  }
  next();
});

Usage:

# Start with API key
$env:API_KEY="my-super-secure-secret-token"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

In n8n, add the header:

Authorization: Bearer my-super-secure-secret-token

4. HTTPS with Reverse Proxy (Production)

Option A: Nginx

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name notebooklm.mydomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Option B: Caddy (simpler)

notebooklm.mydomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

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⚙️ Advanced Configuration

.env File (Recommended)

Create .env at the root:

# HTTP Configuration
HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0
HTTP_PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=production

# Browser Configuration
HEADLESS=true
STEALTH_ENABLED=true
NOTEBOOKLM_UI_LOCALE=fr  # or 'en' for English

# Session Configuration
MAX_SESSIONS=10
SESSION_TIMEOUT=900

# Security
API_KEY=your-secret-token

# Data Paths (optional)
DATA_DIR=./Data
CHROME_PROFILE_DIR=./Data/chrome_profile
BROWSER_STATE_DIR=./Data/browser_state

Load with:

# Install dotenv
npm install dotenv

# Modify http-wrapper.ts (first line):
import 'dotenv/config';

# Start
node dist/http-wrapper.js

Logging

The server uses the utils/logger.ts module with 4 levels:

• log.success() - Success messages (green)
• log.info() - Information (cyan)
• log.warning() - Warnings (yellow)
• log.error() - Errors (red)
• log.dim() - Secondary messages (gray)

Disable debug logs:

Modify src/session/browser-session.ts line 415:

debug: false,  // Disable debug logs

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🚀 Deployment Modes

Development Mode

npm run dev:http

• Auto-reload on code changes
• Debug logs enabled
• Chrome visible (HEADLESS=false)

Production Mode

$env:NODE_ENV="production"
$env:HEADLESS="true"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

• No auto-reload
• Minimal logs
• Chrome headless

Background Mode (Windows)

# Start
Start-Process node -ArgumentList "dist/http-wrapper.js" -WindowStyle Hidden

# Stop
Get-Process node | Where-Object {$_.Path -like "*node.exe*"} | Stop-Process

With PM2 (Recommended for Production)

# Start (PM2 is included as dev dependency)
npm run daemon:start

# Auto-restart on boot
pm2 startup
pm2 save

# Manage
npm run daemon:status    # View status
npm run daemon:logs      # View logs
npm run daemon:restart   # Restart
npm run daemon:stop      # Stop

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📊 Monitoring

Health Check Endpoint

curl http://localhost:3000/health

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "authenticated": true,
    "sessions": 2,
    "library_notebooks": 1,
    "context_age_hours": 0.5
  }
}

Automatic monitoring (cron):

# Check every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * * curl -s http://localhost:3000/health | jq -e '.success == true' || echo "Server down!"

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🔧 Configuration Troubleshooting

Problem: "EADDRINUSE: address already in use"

Cause: Port already in use

Solution:

# Change the port
$env:HTTP_PORT="3001"
node dist/http-wrapper.js

Problem: n8n cannot connect

Cause: Firewall or HOST misconfigured

Solution:

# Check config
$env:HTTP_HOST="0.0.0.0"  # Not 127.0.0.1!
node dist/http-wrapper.js

# Check firewall
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName localhost -Port 3000

Problem: "Cannot find module 'dotenv'"

Cause: .env used but dotenv not installed

Solution:

npm install dotenv

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📝 Complete Example

Production startup script (start-prod.ps1):

#!/usr/bin/env pwsh

# Configuration
$env:NODE_ENV="production"
$env:HTTP_HOST="0.0.0.0"
$env:HTTP_PORT="3000"
$env:HEADLESS="true"
$env:MAX_SESSIONS="15"
$env:SESSION_TIMEOUT="1800"  # 30 min

# Checks
if (-not (Test-Path "dist/http-wrapper.js")) {
    Write-Error "Build missing. Run: npm run build"
    exit 1
}

if (-not (Test-Path "Data/browser_state/state.json")) {
    Write-Warning "Authentication not configured. Run: npm run setup-auth"
}

# Start
Write-Host "🚀 Starting in production mode..." -ForegroundColor Green
node dist/http-wrapper.js

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Configuration validated! ✅