Open source · MIT · No account
The open-source NotebookLM alternative. Chat with your PDFs, notes and web pages with cited answers, using your own OpenAI, Claude or Gemini key, or local models. Runs on your machine; your notebooks never leave your browser.
git clone https://github.com/better-vault/better-vault && cd better-vault && npm i && npm run dev
better-vault is a free, open-source alternative to Google NotebookLM (now Gemini Notebook): you add your sources, chat with them with cited answers, and turn them into study and work material, using your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Google API key or local models through Ollama and LM Studio. Everything stays on your device, in your browser or the desktop app.
Every claim points to its passage.
Your provider's own search, when you want it.
From reports to slide decks.
OpenAI, Claude, Gemini or local.
Notebooks stay on your device.
Word, PowerPoint, Anki, Excel, SVG.
Every Studio output is made from the sources you select, cites them where it can, and leaves with you as a file. A short tour plays when you get here; click anything to take over.
Most of a cell's ATP is made in the mitochondria, where ATP synthase turns the flow of protons into energy. Glycolysis adds a little more in the cytoplasm.
Biology notes.pdf
PDF · passage 2
ATP synthase in the inner membrane makes most of the cell's ATP as protons flow back through it.
Bring an API key, or run a model on your own computer. Switch provider and model for each question.
Google GeminiAPI key
OpenAIAPI key
Anthropic ClaudeAPI key
OllamaLocal
LM StudioLocal
better-vaultGoogle's NotebookLM, now called Gemini Notebook, runs only on Gemini and keeps your notebooks on Google's servers. better-vault is open source and runs on your terms.
| Feature | better-vault | NotebookLM |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | MIT | No |
| Choose your AI model | OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, local | Gemini only |
| Local, offline models | Yes | No |
| No account needed | Yes | No |
| Data stays on your device | Yes | No |
| Self-host it | Yes | No |
| Cited answers | Yes | Yes |
| Reports, flashcards, quizzes, mind maps | Yes | Yes |
| Slide decks and infographics | Yes | Yes |
| Anatomy figures and whiteboard | Yes | No |
| Audio and video overviews | No | Yes |
better-vault is young and moving fast. These are the next steps on the roadmap.
Save answers as notes, get a summary and suggested questions, and set the chat's goal and style.
DOCX, EPUB, YouTube, images and audio, plus web research that adds sources for you.
Change one slide, one section of a report or one branch of a mind map, and review a deck's outline first.
better-vault is a free, open-source alternative to Google NotebookLM. You add PDFs, web pages, notes and text files to a notebook, chat with them with cited answers, and turn them into reports, flashcards, quizzes, mind maps, slide decks and infographics, using the AI model you choose.
Yes. It is MIT-licensed and free to use and host. You pay your AI provider for what you use with your own API key, or nothing at all with a local model through Ollama or LM Studio.
Yes. better-vault works with Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's GPT and Google's Gemini models with your own API key, and you can switch models for each question.
Yes. Run better-vault on your computer and connect Ollama or LM Studio. Your sources then never leave your machine.
On your device: in your browser's IndexedDB on the web, or in a SQLite file on your computer in the desktop app. There is no account and no server database. Requests are forwarded to the provider you pick, and keys and content are never stored or logged.
Yes. better-vault is a Next.js app with no database. Run npm run build and npm start on any Node.js 20.9+ host, or deploy it to Vercel.
No. Audio and video overviews are out of scope. better-vault focuses on cited chat and written and visual outputs.
Yes. better-vault runs as a desktop app on macOS, Windows and Linux, with the same interface as the web app. It keeps notebooks in a file on your computer and updates itself.
Free and open source. Nothing to sign up for.
