What causes "NotebookLM RPC failed${errorCode ? ` (code=${errorCode})` : ''}" in jackwener/OpenCLI?

Retry the command — transient 5xx/429 errors often clear

jackwener/OpenCLI · error · CliError

NOTEBOOKLM_RPC

NOTEBOOKLM_RPC

Error message

NotebookLM RPC failed${errorCode ? ` (code=${errorCode})` : ''}

What it means

When a batchexecute error frame's numeric code is anything other than 401/403 (or absent), extractNotebooklmRpcResult throws CliError code NOTEBOOKLM_RPC with the code interpolated when known. This covers server-side rejections of the RPC that are not auth problems — malformed request, unknown rpc id, server error, quota. The message advises retrying from a logged-in session and enabling debug logging to inspect the raw response.

Source

Thrown at clis/notebooklm/rpc.js:160

export function extractNotebooklmRpcResult(rawBody, rpcId) {
    const chunks = parseNotebooklmChunkedResponse(rawBody);
    for (const chunk of chunks) {
        if (!Array.isArray(chunk))
            continue;
        const items = Array.isArray(chunk[0]) ? chunk : [chunk];
        for (const item of items) {
            if (!Array.isArray(item) || item.length < 1)
                continue;
            if (item[0] === 'er') {
                const errorCode = typeof item[2] === 'number'
                    ? item[2]
                    : typeof item[5] === 'number'
                        ? item[5]
                        : null;
                if (errorCode === 401 || errorCode === 403) {
                    throw new AuthRequiredError(NOTEBOOKLM_DOMAIN, `NotebookLM RPC returned auth error (${errorCode})`);
                }
                throw new CliError('NOTEBOOKLM_RPC', `NotebookLM RPC failed${errorCode ? ` (code=${errorCode})` : ''}`, 'Retry from an already logged-in NotebookLM session, or inspect the raw response with debug logging.');
            }
            if (item[0] === 'wrb.fr' && item[1] === rpcId) {
                const payload = item[2];
                if (typeof payload === 'string') {
                    try {
                        return JSON.parse(payload);
                    }
                    catch {
                        throw new CliError('NOTEBOOKLM_RPC_SCHEMA', `NotebookLM RPC ${rpcId} returned malformed JSON`, 'Retry from the NotebookLM page; the internal RPC response shape may have changed.');
                    }
                }
                return payload;
            }
        }
    }
    throw new CliError('NOTEBOOKLM_RPC_SCHEMA', `NotebookLM RPC ${rpcId} returned no matching response frame`, 'Retry from the NotebookLM page; the internal RPC response shape may have changed.');
}
export async function fetchNotebooklmInPage(page, url, options = {}) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

Retry the command — transient 5xx/429 errors often clear
Run with debug logging to capture the raw batchexecute response and the error code
Update the CLI: a changed internal RPC protocol usually means a client update is needed
Confirm the notebook id/URL passed to the command is valid and accessible

Example fix

// before (blind retry loop on any failure)
try { await rpc(); } catch { await rpc(); }
// after (inspect code before deciding)
try { await rpc(); }
catch (e) {
  if (e.code === 'NOTEBOOKLM_RPC' && /code=429/.test(e.message)) await sleep(backoff);
  else throw e;
}

Defensive patterns

Strategy: retry

Validate before calling

// validate inputs that commonly cause non-auth RPC failures
if (!notebookUrl.match(/https:\/\/notebooklm\.google\.com\/notebook\/[\w-]+/)) {
  throw new Error('Invalid notebook URL/id before issuing RPC');
}

Type guard

function isNonAuthRpcError(e) {
  return e instanceof Error && e.code === 'NOTEBOOKLM_RPC' && !/\(40[13]\)/.test(e.message);
}

Try / catch

try {
  result = await callNotebooklmRpc(page, rpcId, payload);
} catch (e) {
  if (isNonAuthRpcError(e) && /code=(429|5\d\d)/.test(e.message)) {
    await sleep(backoff); // transient server-side; retry with backoff
  } else throw e;
}

Prevention

Retry transient codes (429/5xx) with exponential backoff
Update the CLI when errors persist — internal RPC ids change with frontend updates
Enable debug logging to capture raw responses and exact error codes

When it happens

Trigger: callNotebooklmRpc receives an error frame with errorCode like 400/404/429/500, or a non-numeric code, so the 401/403 branch is skipped and the generic NOTEBOOKLM_RPC CliError is thrown.

Common situations: NotebookLM changed or retired an internal RPC id (protocol drift); request payload shape invalid after a CLI/page version mismatch; server-side quota (429); transient 5xx during Google incidents.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4738d4e9482e1833. Report an issue: GitHub.