Open Notebook is an open-source AI note-taking and research platform built around privacy. You collect sources such as links, PDFs, text files, slide decks and YouTube videos, then use AI to summarize, generate insights and organize your notes. A podcast generator turns notes into episodes with customizable voices, speakers and formats. Users decide what information the AI can access and which models to use, which keeps control over workflows and data with the person doing the research.
Open Notebook is aimed at researchers, students and professionals who want an AI partner for learning without handing all of their context to large vendors. It suits people with a long reading backlog, independent thinkers who want to form their own ideas, and privacy-conscious users who prefer to choose their own models. Developers and learning-science enthusiasts can take part by contributing code, testing beta releases, or sharing workflows through the project's Discord and GitHub.
A graduate student can drop in papers, web links and lecture slides, then ask for summaries and connections between sources. Someone with hundreds of saved links can catalog them for later and get AI notes on each. A professional preparing for a commute can convert research notes into a short podcast with chosen speakers. Users who care about confidentiality can restrict what the AI sees and select a model that fits their policy. Because the code is open, teams can inspect how content is handled and adapt it to their own workflows.
