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Run notewise COMMAND --help for command-specific flags. The command set is defined in src/notewise/cli/app.py.

Main commands

Process command

Important flags: --model, --base-url, --api-key, --output, --format, --language, --target-language, --temperature, --max-tokens, --throttle, --force, --no-ui, --verbose, --quiz, --export-transcript, --timestamps, --chapter-directory-output, and --cookie-file.

Custom endpoint run overrides

Set up named custom endpoints with notewise setup, then select one through its <name>/<model-id> model name. --base-url sends only the current process run to a different OpenAI-compatible URL:
Both flags are transient: they do not update config.db or ambient environment variables. --base-url takes precedence for the request URL. An explicitly passed --api-key takes precedence for the request key; otherwise, NoteWise reuses a saved profile key only when the normalized URL is the profile’s saved origin. Supply --api-key whenever --base-url changes that origin.

Inference endpoints

Saved custom endpoints use a model name in the form <name>/<model-id>. Manage those profiles with the inference command group:
list displays each saved endpoint’s name and base URL, never its API key. add requires every shown option. It normalizes the URL, discovers models from the live endpoint, and accepts <model-id> only when discovery returns it. It then verifies the endpoint before atomically adding or replacing the named profile. update requires --base-url, --api-key, or both. Omitted URL and key values come from the saved profile, except changing --base-url also requires a new --api-key. If --model is omitted, NoteWise uses the suffix of the current default model only when it is named <name>/<model-id>; otherwise, --model is required. The resulting endpoint is live-discovered and verified before its saved profile is replaced. delete removes a saved profile without prompting, but refuses to remove a profile while the default model begins with <name>/. API keys supplied on a command line can be retained in shell history. Prefer notewise setup or direct configuration for persistent secrets.

Transcript command

Downloads one video’s transcript without any AI generation and needs no API key. Use --format json for structured output instead of the default txt, --output for a different folder, --language to repeat preferred languages, and --cookie-file for restricted videos. Playlists and batch files are not supported here; use notewise process --export-transcript instead.

Setup and auth

Update command

The update check compares the installed version with the latest GitHub release. It detects whether NoteWise is running as a standalone binary or as a Python package and prints the matching upgrade command group. Standalone binaries receive the short release installer command. Python package installs receive package-manager commands for uv tool, pipx, and python -m pip; use the one that matches how you installed NoteWise.

Exit behavior

Successful commands exit with 0. Processing failures exit with 1.
Last modified on September 13, 2026