A fresh drop from r/PromptEngineering: Notestack, an open source alternative to NotebookLM, just shipped an MCP server.
The creator launched the tool a couple of days back. Now it connects straight to Claude, which means the whole thing moves from “another app to learn” to “something your chat can just do.”
What’s new
Notestack is a research tool built around your own source material. The pitch is a more focused, open source take on NotebookLM, with better audio, more video editing options, and chat that stays grounded in what you uploaded. Instead of the model pulling from the whole internet and guessing, it works from the PDFs, articles, notes, and links you hand it.
The new piece is the MCP server. It lets you attach Notestack to Claude and generate outputs without leaving the chat window. If you have never used MCP before, think of it as a plug that lets Claude reach into another tool and use it on your behalf. You do not copy and paste between tabs. Claude calls the tool, the tool does the work, and the result lands back in your conversation.
Here is what it can produce, per the creator:
- Mind constellations (mind maps)
- Audio overviews and podcasts
- Slide decks
- Research reports
- Quizzes, and more
That list covers most of what people actually do with a pile of research. You read, you summarize, you present, you test yourself or your team. Having all of it behind one connection is the real draw.
The twist
Most research tools make you live inside their app. You upload, you click around, you export. Then you open another tool to reformat the export, and another one to turn it into something shareable.
This flips it. Claude becomes the front door. You stay in the chat you already use, and Notestack does the heavy lifting behind it. Ask for a slide deck and it shows up. Ask for an audio overview and you get one. That is real leverage if your day already runs through Claude. You keep your prompts, your habits, and your context. The only thing that changes is how much Claude can reach.
Picture a few cases where this gets practical. A founder drops in competitor pricing pages and asks for a short deck for Monday’s meeting. A student uploads lecture notes and asks for a quiz plus a podcast-style recap for the commute. A consultant feeds in client interviews and asks for a research report with the main themes pulled out. Same setup each time, different output.
Mini-workflow (based on how the creator describes it)
- 📚 Load your source material into Notestack at notestack.ai. Start with five to ten solid documents rather than fifty random ones.
- 🔌 Attach the Notestack MCP server to Claude. Follow the setup steps the creator provides, and confirm the connection shows up in your Claude tools before you move on.
- 💬 Ask Claude for what you need: a report, a podcast-style overview, a deck, or a quiz. Be specific about audience and length, for example “a ten-slide deck for a non-technical manager.”
- 🎧 Review the output, then ask for a different format from the same sources.
That last step is where it gets fun. One pile of sources can turn into a briefing, a study quiz, and a deck without re-uploading anything. You can also iterate in plain language, like “make the podcast shorter” or “focus the quiz on the pricing section,” and keep refining without starting over.
Pro tips
- Spot-check the grounding. One commenter said this could replace half the tabs in their browser, but only if it really stays grounded in the sources. That is the right test. Pick a claim from the output, trace it back to your material, and do it for two or three claims, not just one.
- Start with one format. Try a research report first, then move to audio or slides once you trust the results. Text is the easiest format to check, so it builds confidence fastest.
- Keep your sources tight. Grounded chat works best when the material is relevant, so skip the junk. Duplicates and off-topic files only give the tool more ways to drift.
- Name your audience in the prompt. A deck for executives and a deck for beginners should look very different, and the tool can only match that if you say so.
- Save your best prompts. Once a request works well, reuse it as a template for the next project.
A fair note
This is a fresh launch with a small amount of discussion so far. The feature list comes from the creator’s own post, so test it on your own material before you build a workflow around it. Check audio quality, slide layout, and accuracy on something low stakes first, and keep a human eye on anything that goes to a client or a class.
If you want an open source option in the NotebookLM lane that plugs into Claude, this one is worth a look. Go try it at notestack.ai and tell Captain YAR what you build with it! 🚀
A Opensource research tool with a proper MCP server, NotebookLM alternative
by u/phicreative1997 in PromptEngineering