What causes "NotebookLM requires a logged-in Google session" in jackwener/OpenCLI?

Sign in to Google in the attached Chrome session and reload the NotebookLM page.

jackwener/OpenCLI · error · AuthRequiredError

NotebookLM requires a logged-in Google session

Error message

NotebookLM requires a logged-in Google session

What it means

After confirming a trusted NotebookLM URL, requireNotebooklmSession checks state.loginRequired. When the page indicates Google is not signed in, it throws AuthRequiredError for the NotebookLM domain so callers can trigger their authentication flow instead of scraping a logged-out page.

Source

Thrown at clis/notebooklm/utils.js:875

        notebook_id: notebookId,
        title: text,
        url: window.location.href,
        source: 'current-page',
      });
    }
    return rows;
  })()`));
    if (!Array.isArray(raw))
        return [];
    return raw.filter((row) => row.id && row.title);
}
export async function requireNotebooklmSession(page) {
    const state = await getNotebooklmPageState(page);
    if (!parseTrustedNotebooklmUrl(state.url)) {
        throw new CliError('NOTEBOOKLM_UNAVAILABLE', 'NotebookLM page is not available in the current browser session', `Open Chrome and navigate to ${NOTEBOOKLM_HOME_URL}`);
    }
    if (state.loginRequired) {
        throw new AuthRequiredError(NOTEBOOKLM_DOMAIN, 'NotebookLM requires a logged-in Google session');
    }
    return state;
}

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

Sign in to Google in the attached Chrome session and reload the NotebookLM page.
Retry after completing any Google re-auth/2FA prompt shown in the browser.
Use a Chrome profile that persists cookies rather than incognito or a wiped automation profile.
Handle AuthRequiredError in your tooling by pausing and prompting the user to log in interactively.

Example fix

// before: generic handling loses the auth signal
catch (e) { console.error(e.message); }

// after: route auth errors to a login flow
catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof AuthRequiredError) {
    console.error(`Please sign in to ${e.domain} in Chrome, then retry.`);
    return;
  }
  throw e;
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

const state = await getNotebooklmPageState(page);
if (state.loginRequired) {
  console.error('Sign in to Google in Chrome, then retry.');
  return;
}

Type guard

const isAuthRequired = (e) => e instanceof AuthRequiredError || (e && e.name === 'AuthRequiredError');

Try / catch

try {
  const state = await requireNotebooklmSession(page);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof AuthRequiredError) {
    console.error(`Please sign in to ${e.domain} in the attached Chrome session and retry.`);
    return;
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Use a persistent Chrome profile (not incognito) with an active Google session.
Re-check login state after long idle periods; Google sessions expire.
Avoid wiping browser data on profiles used for automation.
Route AuthRequiredError to an interactive login prompt in tooling.

When it happens

Trigger: The NotebookLM page loaded while the browser has no authenticated Google session — session cookie expired, incognito profile without login, Google signed the user out, or the page redirected to a sign-in screen detected as loginRequired.

Common situations: Cookie expiry after weeks of use, clearing browser data, switching Chrome profiles, Google forcing re-auth after a security event, or running against a fresh automation profile that never logged in.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6c1a9e7988e007d5. Report an issue: GitHub.