Docker Deployment

Run NotebookLM MCP Server in a Docker container for isolated, reproducible deployments.

Quick Start

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

# Build and start
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop
docker-compose down

Using Docker CLI

# Build image
docker build -t notebooklm-mcp .

# Run container
docker run -d \
  --name notebooklm-mcp \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -p 6080:6080 \
  -v notebooklm-data:/data \
  -e HEADLESS=true \
  -e STEALTH_ENABLED=true \
  -e NOTEBOOKLM_UI_LOCALE=fr \
  notebooklm-mcp

Ports

Port	Description
3000	HTTP REST API
6080	noVNC web interface (for authentication)

First-Time Authentication via noVNC

Docker includes a noVNC server for visual browser access, required for initial Google authentication.

Step 1: Open noVNC

Open in your browser:

http://localhost:6080/vnc.html

Step 2: Trigger Authentication

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/setup-auth \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"show_browser": true}'

Step 3: Login in noVNC

1. The Chromium browser appears in the noVNC window
2. Complete Google login
3. Authentication is saved automatically
4. Browser closes when done

Verify Authentication

curl http://localhost:3000/health
# → {"success":true,"data":{"authenticated":true,...}}

Alternative: Copy Existing Credentials

If you've already authenticated locally:

# Copy from local machine to container
docker cp ~/.local/share/notebooklm-mcp/. notebooklm-mcp:/data/

# Restart container
docker restart notebooklm-mcp

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
HTTP_PORT	3000	HTTP server port
HTTP_HOST	0.0.0.0	HTTP server host
HEADLESS	true	Run browser headless
STEALTH_ENABLED	true	Enable anti-detection
NOTEBOOKLM_DATA_DIR	/data	Data directory path
NOTEBOOKLM_UI_LOCALE	fr	UI language (fr/en)
AUTO_LOGIN_ENABLED	false	Enable auto-login
ENABLE_VNC	true	Enable noVNC server
NOVNC_PORT	6080	noVNC web port

Custom Configuration

Edit docker-compose.yml to customize:

environment:
  - HEADLESS=true
  - NOTEBOOKLM_UI_LOCALE=en
  - AUTO_LOGIN_ENABLED=true

Data Persistence

All data is stored in the /data volume:

/data/
├── library.json          # Notebook library
├── chrome_profile/       # Chrome profile (Google session)
├── browser_state/        # Browser state backup
├── accounts.json         # Account configuration
├── accounts/             # Per-account data
│   └── account-xxx/
│       ├── credentials.enc.json
│       ├── quota.json
│       └── state.json
└── encryption.key        # Encryption key

Backup

# Backup data volume
docker run --rm \
  -v notebooklm-mcp-data:/data:ro \
  -v $(pwd):/backup \
  alpine tar czf /backup/notebooklm-backup.tar.gz -C /data .

# Restore
docker run --rm \
  -v notebooklm-mcp-data:/data \
  -v $(pwd):/backup \
  alpine tar xzf /backup/notebooklm-backup.tar.gz -C /data

NAS Deployment (Synology, QNAP)

Build and Export

# On your local machine
npm run build
docker build -t notebooklm-mcp:latest .
docker save notebooklm-mcp:latest | gzip > notebooklm-mcp.tar.gz

Upload and Deploy

# Upload to NAS
scp notebooklm-mcp.tar.gz user@nas:/volume1/docker/

# SSH to NAS and load
ssh user@nas
docker load < /volume1/docker/notebooklm-mcp.tar.gz

# Run container
docker run -d \
  --name notebooklm-mcp \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -p 6080:6080 \
  -v /volume1/docker/notebooklm/data:/data \
  -e HEADLESS=true \
  -e STEALTH_ENABLED=true \
  -e NOTEBOOKLM_UI_LOCALE=fr \
  notebooklm-mcp:latest

Authenticate via noVNC

1. Open http://nas-ip:6080/vnc.html
2. Run setup-auth command
3. Complete Google login in VNC window

Resource Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
Memory	512 MB	2 GB
CPU	1 core	2 cores
Disk	500 MB	2 GB

Chromium uses significant memory. Adjust limits in docker-compose.yml:

deploy:
  resources:
    limits:
      memory: 4G
    reservations:
      memory: 1G

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

# Check logs
docker logs notebooklm-mcp

# Check container status
docker ps -a

Browser issues

If Chromium fails to launch:

1. Ensure sufficient memory (minimum 512MB)
2. Check logs for errors
3. Try rebuilding: docker build --no-cache -t notebooklm-mcp .

noVNC not accessible

1. Verify port 6080 is exposed
2. Check firewall rules
3. Verify container is running: docker ps

Authentication issues

# Check health endpoint
curl http://localhost:3000/health

# If not authenticated, use noVNC method above

Permission issues

# Fix volume permissions
docker run --rm -v notebooklm-mcp-data:/data alpine chown -R 1000:1000 /data

Production Deployment

With Reverse Proxy (nginx)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name notebooklm.example.com;

    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_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }

    # noVNC (restrict access!)
    location /vnc {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:6080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        # Add authentication here!
    }
}

Security Considerations

1. Don't expose port 6080 publicly - noVNC gives browser access
2. Use a reverse proxy with authentication for production
3. Regular backups of the data volume
4. Monitor container health using the healthcheck endpoint

Architecture

Docker Container
├── Node.js HTTP Server (port 3000)
├── Xvfb (:99) - Virtual display
├── x11vnc - VNC server
├── websockify/noVNC (port 6080) - Web VNC
└── Chromium browser

User → noVNC (6080) → VNC → Xvfb → Chromium
User → HTTP API (3000) → Node.js → Chromium