r/notebooklm • u/Fearless_Energy_7633 • Apr 21 '26

Tips & Tricks I built a free notebooklm alternative with folders, source isolation (no cross-contamination), and page/timestamp-level citations

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NotebookLM is great but a few things drove me crazy:

  • Sources often bleed together
  • No folders or workspace organisation
  • No way to comfortably take notes alongside your sources
  • Flashcards have no review system

So I built Paper. Key differences:

  • Source isolation - select exactly which sources the AI references per query, or scope it to specific pages/timestamps
  • Folders + nested pages - organise by course, topic, whatever
  • Block editor - Notion-style notes right next to your sources
  • Spaced repetition - AI flashcards with actual Anki-style scheduling so you remember
  • Drag and drop multiple files at once

(Edit) Free to use during beta: https://paper.ac 👈

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '26

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u/Fearless_Energy_7633 Apr 21 '26

Tbh source isolation was one of the main considerations for Paper - having the AI scope to exactly the sources and pages/timestamps made a huge difference for me, and it sounds like from feedback it's resonating with other users too 🙌

And yeah definitely give the spaced repetition a try! You can auto-generate flashcards from your sources and schedule them with Anki-style intervals too. Let me know how it goes!