notewise process accepts a YouTube video URL or a bare 11-character video ID. It fetches metadata and transcript text, generates notes with the configured LiteLLM model, writes files locally, and stores run metadata in SQLite.
Supported video inputs
| Input | Example |
|---|
| Watch URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID |
| Short URL | https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID |
| Embed URL | https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID |
/v/ URL | https://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEO_ID |
| Shorts URL | https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VIDEO_ID |
| Bare video ID | VIDEO_ID |
Basic command
notewise process "https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID"
Common options
| Option | Default | Use it for |
|---|
--model, -m | gemini/gemini-2.5-flash | Override the LiteLLM model for one run. |
--output, -o | ./output | Write files to a specific folder. |
--format, -r | md | Write md, html, pdf, docx, or a comma-separated list. |
--language, -l | en | Specifies the transcript language; this option can be repeated. |
--target-language, -L | English | Generate notes in another language. |
--temperature, -t | 0.7 | Change LLM temperature, range 0.0 to 1.0. |
--max-tokens, -k | provider default | Cap LLM output tokens. |
--throttle, -w | 0 | Add a delay between repeated LLM calls. |
--force, -f, -F | false | Ignore cache and regenerate. |
--no-ui, -n | false | Disable the Rich live dashboard. |
--verbose, -v | false | Write DEBUG diagnostics to the session log. |
--quiz, -q | false | Generate a quiz Markdown file. |
--export-transcript, -x | none | Export transcript as txt or json. |
--timestamps, -s | false | Prefix generated chapter headers with start times. |
--chapter-directory-output, -C | false | Write per-chapter Markdown files when YouTube chapters exist. |
--cookie-file, --cookies, -c | YOUTUBE_COOKIE_FILE | Read restricted videos with a Netscape cookies file. |
Live dashboard
By default, notewise process shows a Rich live dashboard while work is running. The dashboard summarizes the source, selected output folder, safe runtime flags, progress counts, active video workers, chapter workers, and recent completions or failures. Secret values are never shown: API keys are summarized as present or missing, and cookie files are displayed by safe status/basename only.
Use --no-ui when you want plain log-style terminal output instead of the live dashboard, such as in CI scripts or terminals that do not handle Rich live updates well.
Option examples
notewise process "https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID" --format md,docx
notewise process "https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID" --quiz --export-transcript json
notewise process "https://youtu.be/VIDEO_ID" --force --no-ui
Chapter-aware generation is automatic when YouTube chapters exist. By default,
the final notes are bundled into one output file. Use --chapter-directory-output
only when you want separate per-chapter Markdown files.
