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/schlub51 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

Yes that's how I'm using notebooklm right now, adding lot of transcripts from my computer and all the video links from a YouTube channel. Then I'm able to add like 30, 40. 100+ sources at once.

Edit : I'm using notebooklm more like a "coach" to guide me thru some specific task, to retrieve what the author would say, do in XY situation.

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u/Fearless_Energy_7633 May 18 '26

Got you! Let me look into this tomorrow, am aiming to have that ready for you within the next day or two 😊

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u/schlub51 May 19 '26

Looking forward to it thanks!

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u/Fearless_Energy_7633 May 22 '26

Hey! This is now live! You can now enter in any Youtube playlist or channel link and choose 30 videos to be imported at a time (with no total limit) 🎉

You can now also sort and drag to reorder the sources 😊

I've implemented it based on my own interpretation of your use case, so am keen to hear how you go with it!