# Open Notebook - Start Here

**Open Notebook** is a privacy-focused AI research assistant. Upload documents, chat with AI, generate notes, and create podcasts—all with complete control over your data.

## Choose Your Path

### 🚀 I want to use OpenAI (Fastest)
**5 minutes to running.** GPT, simple setup, powerful results.

→ [OpenAI Quick Start](quick-start-openai.md)

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### ☁️ I want to use other cloud AI (Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter, etc.)
**5 minutes to running.** Choose from 17+ AI providers.

→ [Cloud Providers Quick Start](quick-start-cloud.md)

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### 🏠 I want to run locally (Ollama or LMStudio, completely private)
**5 minutes to running.** Keep everything private, on your machine. No costs.

→ [Local Quick Start](quick-start-local.md)

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## What Can You Do?

- 📄 **Upload Content**: PDFs, web links, audio, video, text
- 🤖 **Chat with AI**: Ask questions about your documents with citations
- 📝 **Generate Notes**: AI creates summaries and insights
- 🎙️ **Create Podcasts**: Turn research into professional audio content
- 🔍 **Search**: Full-text and semantic search across all content
- ⚙️ **Transform**: Extract insights, analyze themes, create summaries

## Why Open Notebook?

| Feature | Open Notebook | Notebook LM |
|---------|---|---|
| **Privacy** | Self-hosted, your control | Cloud, Google's servers |
| **AI Choice** | 17+ providers | Google's models only |
| **Podcast Speakers** | 1-4 customizable | 2 only |
| **Cost** | Completely free | Free (but your data) |
| **Offline** | Yes  | No |

## Prerequisites

- **Docker**: All paths use Docker (free)
- **AI Provider**: Either a cloud API key OR use free local models (Ollama)

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## Next Steps

1. Pick your path above ⬆️
2. Follow the 5-minute quick start
3. Create your first notebook
4. Start uploading documents!

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**Need Help?** Join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/37XJPXfz2w) or see [Full Documentation](../index.md).