# API Stability and Versioning

**Status:** Active
**Last Updated:** 2026-05-15

This document describes the stability guarantees and versioning policy for `notebooklm-py`.

## Important Context

This library uses **undocumented Google APIs**. Unlike official Google APIs, there are:

- **No stability guarantees from Google**
- **No deprecation notices** before changes
- **No SLAs or support**

Google can change the underlying APIs at any time, which may break this library without warning.

## Versioning Policy

We follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/) with modifications for our unique situation:

### Version Format: `MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH`

| Change Type | Version Bump | Example |
|-------------|--------------|---------|
| RPC method ID fixes (Google changed something) | PATCH | 0.1.0 → 0.1.1 |
| Bug fixes | PATCH | 0.1.1 → 0.1.2 |
| New features (backward compatible) | MINOR | 0.1.2 → 0.2.0 |
| Public API breaking changes | MAJOR | 0.2.0 → 1.0.0 |

### Special Considerations

1. **RPC ID Changes = Patch Release**
   - When Google changes internal RPC method IDs, we release a patch
   - These are "bug fixes" from our perspective, not breaking changes
   - Users should always use the latest patch version

2. **Python API Stability**
   - Public API (items in `__all__`) is stable within a major version
   - Breaking changes require a major version bump
   - Deprecated APIs are marked with `DeprecationWarning` and documented

3. **0.x Pre-1.0 Semantics**
   - Per [SemVer §4](https://semver.org/#spec-item-4), the project is currently in 0.x and the public API is not yet considered stable.
   - **MINOR** releases (e.g. 0.4.0 → 0.5.0) **may remove** previously deprecated public APIs. Removal is preceded by at least one MINOR release of `DeprecationWarning` notice.
   - Once the project reaches 1.0.0, breaking changes will require a **MAJOR** bump as described above.

## Public API Surface

The following are considered **public API** and are subject to stability guarantees:

### Stable (Won't break without major version bump)

```python
# Version
__version__               # Package version string (read-only)

# Client
NotebookLMClient
NotebookLMClient.from_storage()
NotebookLMClient.notebooks
NotebookLMClient.sources
NotebookLMClient.artifacts
NotebookLMClient.chat
NotebookLMClient.research
NotebookLMClient.notes
NotebookLMClient.settings
NotebookLMClient.sharing
NotebookLMClient.rpc_call()

# Types
Notebook, Source, Artifact, Note
GenerationStatus, AskResult
NotebookDescription, ConversationTurn
ShareStatus, SharedUser, SourceFulltext
NotebookMetadata, SourceSummary
AccountLimits, AccountTier
ChatReference, ReportSuggestion, SuggestedTopic

# Exceptions (all inherit from NotebookLMError)
NotebookLMError                    # Base exception
RPCError, AuthError, RateLimitError, RPCTimeoutError, ServerError
NetworkError, DecodingError, UnknownRPCMethodError
ClientError, ConfigurationError, ValidationError
# Domain-specific
SourceError, SourceAddError, SourceProcessingError, SourceTimeoutError, SourceNotFoundError
NotebookError, NotebookNotFoundError
ArtifactError, ArtifactDownloadError, ArtifactNotFoundError, ArtifactNotReadyError, ArtifactParseError
ChatError

# Enums
AudioFormat, AudioLength
VideoFormat, VideoStyle
QuizQuantity, QuizDifficulty
InfographicOrientation, InfographicDetail, InfographicStyle
SlideDeckFormat, SlideDeckLength
ReportFormat
SourceType, ArtifactType, SourceStatus
ShareAccess, SharePermission, ShareViewLevel
ChatGoal, ChatResponseLength, ChatMode
DriveMimeType, ExportType

# Auth
AuthTokens
notebooklm.paths.get_storage_path()

# Logging and Correlation
notebooklm.configure_logging
notebooklm.get_request_id
notebooklm.set_request_id
notebooklm.reset_request_id
notebooklm.correlation_id

# Citation and Research Helpers
notebooklm.utils.resolve_chat_reference_passage
notebooklm.research.select_cited_sources
notebooklm.research.normalize_url
notebooklm.research.extract_report_urls

# Helpers (cookies extra) - imported from notebooklm.auth
notebooklm.auth.convert_rookiepy_cookies_to_storage_state  # requires `pip install "notebooklm-py[cookies]"` — see docs/installation.md#optional-extras-matrix

# Cookie-domain tiers - imported from notebooklm.auth
notebooklm.auth.REQUIRED_COOKIE_DOMAINS
notebooklm.auth.OPTIONAL_COOKIE_DOMAINS
notebooklm.auth.OPTIONAL_COOKIE_DOMAINS_BY_LABEL
```

### Internal helpers exported for compatibility

The following symbols appear in `notebooklm/__all__` so that downstream code can
import them via `from notebooklm import ...`, but they are **not** covered by
the stability guarantee above. They support narrow integration use cases
(typed exception handling and warning filters) and may be
renamed, narrowed, or removed in a future minor release. Prefer the stable
surface when possible.

```python
CitedSourceSelection      # Chat citation payload — internal shape, exposed for typing
AuthExtractionError       # Specialized AuthError raised by browser-based login
NotebookLimitError        # Raised when account notebook quota is exhausted
UnknownTypeWarning        # Warning category emitted when .kind falls back to UNKNOWN
```

### Internal (May change without notice)

```python
# These are NOT part of the public API:
notebooklm.rpc.*          # RPC protocol internals, except the documented RPCMethod import path for NotebookLMClient.rpc_call()
notebooklm._core.*        # Core infrastructure
notebooklm._*.py          # All underscore-prefixed modules
notebooklm.auth.*         # Auth internals (except documented AuthTokens, cookie conversion, and cookie-domain constants)
```

For raw-RPC power-user calls, import the method enum explicitly:
```python
from notebooklm.rpc import RPCMethod
```

### Strict-decode default (since PR 13.9a)

Schema-drift helpers (notably :func:`notebooklm.rpc.safe_index`) **raise**
:class:`~notebooklm.exceptions.UnknownRPCMethodError` by default when Google's
batchexecute response shape does not match what the decoder expects. Pre-flip
the default was warn-and-return-``None``; the soft-mode opt-in lives at
``NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0`` for one release window so downstream code that
relies on the legacy sentinel can migrate at its own pace before the env
var is retired. Since v0.5.0, using that fallback emits ``DeprecationWarning``
when drift occurs, in addition to the structured log warning.

Stability implications:

- **Exception type is stable.** ``UnknownRPCMethodError`` is a subclass of
  ``DecodingError`` and ``RPCError`` (both public-API exceptions). Code that
  already catches ``RPCError`` continues to handle drift correctly under the
  new default.
- **No silent shape changes.** Methods that previously returned ``None`` /
  empty values on drift may now raise. Callers that treated ``None`` as a
  valid sentinel must add an ``except UnknownRPCMethodError`` branch *or*
  opt out via ``NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0`` for one release while migrating.
- **Removal of opt-out.** The ``NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0`` opt-out path is
  scheduled for retirement in v0.6.0 once downstream call sites have migrated; see
  `docs/adr/0011-schema-validation-policy.md` for the policy and timeline.

See [`docs/configuration.md#decoder-strictness`](configuration.md#decoder-strictness)
for the env-var contract and
[`docs/adr/0011-schema-validation-policy.md`](adr/0011-schema-validation-policy.md)
for the design rationale behind the default flip.

## Deprecation Policy

1. **Deprecation Notice**: Deprecated features emit `DeprecationWarning`
2. **Documentation**: Deprecations are noted in docstrings and CHANGELOG
3. **Removal Timeline**: Deprecated features are removed in the next major version. While the project is in 0.x, removal may instead occur in the next MINOR release after at least one MINOR cycle of `DeprecationWarning` (see "0.x Pre-1.0 Semantics" above).
4. **Migration Guide**: Breaking changes include migration instructions

### Currently Deprecated

See [`docs/deprecations.md`](deprecations.md) for the canonical list of
APIs deprecated in v0.5.0 and scheduled for removal in v0.6.0.

### Removed in v0.5.0

The following v0.3-era deprecations completed their removal cycle in v0.5.0:

| Removed | Replacement | Notes |
|---------|-------------|-------|
| `Source.source_type` | `Source.kind` | Returns `SourceType` str enum |
| `Artifact.artifact_type` | `Artifact.kind` | Returns `ArtifactType` str enum |
| `Artifact.variant` | `Artifact.kind` | Use `.is_quiz` / `.is_flashcards` |
| `SourceFulltext.source_type` | `SourceFulltext.kind` | Returns `SourceType` str enum |
| `notebooklm.StudioContentType` | `ArtifactType` | Str enum for user-facing code |
| `notebooklm.DEFAULT_STORAGE_PATH` | `notebooklm.paths.get_storage_path()` | Module-level constant replaced by helper |
| `notebooklm.rpc.types.StudioContentType` | `ArtifactType` | Internal raw code alias removed |
| `notebooklm.rpc.StudioContentType` | `ArtifactType` | Internal re-export removed |
| `notebooklm.cli.language_cmd.save_config` | `_save_config` | Private low-level write primitive only |

### Deprecated for a future major release

| Deprecated | Replacement | Notes |
|------------|-------------|-------|
| `NotebooksAPI.share()` | `client.sharing.set_public()` | Compatibility wrapper around the sharing API |

### Permanent aliases

`RPCError.rpc_id` and `RPCError.code` are permanent backward-compatibility
aliases for `RPCError.method_id` and `RPCError.rpc_code`. Exception diagnostic
aliases are exempt from the standard deprecation cycle because removal can mask
the original exception inside `except` handlers. New code should prefer the
canonical attribute names, but existing exception handlers may keep using the
aliases.

## Migration Guides

### Migrating from v0.3.x to v0.4.0

Version 0.4.0 is backward compatible with v0.3.x. Notable additions:

- **Multi-account profiles** - Existing single-account setups continue to work as the implicit default profile. Your existing `~/.notebooklm/storage_state.json` is auto-detected — no manual migration is required. New accounts can be added via `notebooklm profile create <name>`.
- **`[cookies]` optional extra** - To reuse cookies from your existing browser, install with `pip install "notebooklm-py[cookies]"` (requires `rookiepy`; full extras matrix: [docs/installation.md#optional-extras-matrix](installation.md#optional-extras-matrix)).
- **Deprecation removal deferred** - The deprecated attributes originally scheduled for v0.4.0 (`Source.source_type`, `Artifact.artifact_type`, `Artifact.variant`, `SourceFulltext.source_type`, `StudioContentType`, `DEFAULT_STORAGE_PATH`) were deferred to v0.5.0. In v0.5.0 and later, use the replacements listed in [Removed in v0.5.0](#removed-in-v050).

### Migrating from v0.2.x to v0.3.0

Version 0.3.0 introduced attributes that were deprecated until their v0.5.0
removal. The historical migration examples below show the replacement surface.

#### 1. `Source.source_type` → `Source.kind`

**Before (removed in v0.5.0):**
```python
source = await client.sources.list(notebook_id)[0]
if source.source_type == "pdf":
    print("This is a PDF")
```

**After (recommended):**
```python
from notebooklm import SourceType

source = await client.sources.list(notebook_id)[0]

# Option 1: Use enum comparison (recommended)
if source.kind == SourceType.PDF:
    print("This is a PDF")

# Option 2: Use string comparison (str enum supports this)
if source.kind == "pdf":
    print("This is a PDF")
```

**Available `SourceType` values:**
`GOOGLE_DOCS`, `GOOGLE_SLIDES`, `GOOGLE_SPREADSHEET`, `PDF`, `PASTED_TEXT`, `WEB_PAGE`, `YOUTUBE`, `MARKDOWN`, `DOCX`, `CSV`, `IMAGE`, `MEDIA`, `UNKNOWN`

#### 2. `Artifact.artifact_type` → `Artifact.kind`

**Before (removed in v0.5.0):**
```python
artifact = await client.artifacts.list(notebook_id)[0]
if artifact.artifact_type == 1:
    print("This is an audio artifact")
```

**After (recommended):**
```python
from notebooklm import ArtifactType

artifact = await client.artifacts.list(notebook_id)[0]

# Option 1: Use enum comparison (recommended)
if artifact.kind == ArtifactType.AUDIO:
    print("This is an audio artifact")

# Option 2: Use string comparison (str enum supports this)
if artifact.kind == "audio":
    print("This is an audio artifact")
```

**Available `ArtifactType` values:**
`AUDIO`, `VIDEO`, `REPORT`, `QUIZ`, `FLASHCARDS`, `MIND_MAP`, `INFOGRAPHIC`, `SLIDE_DECK`, `DATA_TABLE`, `UNKNOWN`

#### 3. `Artifact.variant` → `Artifact.kind` or helpers

**Before (removed in v0.5.0):**
```python
if artifact.artifact_type == 4 and artifact.variant == 2:
    print("This is a quiz")
```

**After (recommended):**
```python
# Option 1: Use .kind
if artifact.kind == ArtifactType.QUIZ:
    print("This is a quiz")

# Option 2: Use helper properties
if artifact.is_quiz:
    print("This is a quiz")
if artifact.is_flashcards:
    print("These are flashcards")
```

#### Why These Changes?

1. **Stability**: The `.kind` property abstracts internal integer codes that Google may change
2. **Usability**: String enums work in comparisons, logging, and serialization
3. **Future-proofing**: Unknown types return `UNKNOWN` with a warning instead of crashing

## What Happens When Google Breaks Things

When Google changes their internal APIs:

1. **Detection**: Automated RPC health check runs nightly (see below)
2. **Investigation**: Identify changed method IDs using browser devtools
3. **Fix**: Update `rpc/types.py` with new method IDs
4. **Release**: Push patch release as soon as possible

### Automated RPC Health Check

A nightly GitHub Action (`rpc-health.yml`) monitors all 35+ RPC methods for ID changes.

**What it verifies:**
- The RPC method ID we send matches the ID returned in the response envelope
- Example: `LIST_NOTEBOOKS` sends `wXbhsf` → response must contain `wXbhsf`

**What it does NOT verify:**
- Response data correctness (E2E tests cover this)
- Response schema validation (too fragile across 35+ methods)
- Business logic (out of scope for monitoring)

**Why this design:**
- Google's breaking change pattern is silent ID changes, not schema changes
- Error responses still contain the method ID, so we detect mismatches even on API errors
- A mismatch means `rpc/types.py` needs updating, triggering a patch release

**On mismatch detection:**
- GitHub Issue auto-created with `bug`, `rpc-breakage`, and `automated` labels
- Report shows expected vs actual IDs and which `RPCMethod` entries need updating

**Manual trigger:** `gh workflow run rpc-health.yml`

### How to Report API Breakage

1. Check [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/teng-lin/notebooklm-py/issues) for existing reports
2. If not reported, open an issue with:
   - Error message (especially any RPC error codes)
   - Which operation failed
   - When it started failing
3. See [RPC Development Guide](rpc-development.md) for debugging

### Self-Recovery

If the library breaks before we release a fix:

1. Open browser devtools on NotebookLM
2. Perform the failing operation manually
3. Find the new RPC method ID in Network tab
4. Temporarily patch your local copy:
   ```python
   # In your code, before using the library
   from notebooklm.rpc import RPCMethod

   RPCMethod.SOME_METHOD._value_ = "NewMethodId"
   ```

## Upgrade Recommendations

### Stay Current

```bash
# Always use latest patch version
pip install --upgrade notebooklm-py
```

### Pin Appropriately

```toml
# pyproject.toml - recommended
dependencies = [
    "notebooklm-py>=0.1,<1.0",  # Accept patches and minors
]

# requirements.txt - for reproducibility
notebooklm-py==0.1.0  # Exact version (but update regularly!)
```

### Test Before Upgrading

```bash
# Test in development first
pip install notebooklm-py==X.Y.Z
pytest
```

## Questions?

- **Bug reports**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/teng-lin/notebooklm-py/issues)
- **Discussions**: [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/teng-lin/notebooklm-py/discussions)
- **Security issues**: See [SECURITY.md](../SECURITY.md)