# Organize research with notebooks (https://docs.commonplot.co/en/user/notebooks/)

Notebooks are how you organize content in commonplot. A notebook matches one topic or research question and holds the resources it needs, the documents you write, AI chats, and audio overviews. When you ask AI inside a notebook, it can read all of this directly.

## When to create a notebook [#when-to-create-a-notebook]

- **For a research or writing project**, such as "AI agent market report, Q3 2026", use a private notebook.
- **For a long-running reading list on a topic**, such as "Good LLM evaluation papers", make it public and share it on your profile.

Names phrased as a question or an outcome are easier to find later: "Taiwan semiconductor export trends" is clearer than "Semiconductors".

## Create and edit [#create-and-edit]

Choose **Create** → **New notebook**, or create one from the Notebooks tab on your profile. Fill in:

- **Name**
- **Description** (optional)
- **Make private**: when on, the notebook stays off your public profile. New notebooks are private by default.

![The New notebook dialog](https://docs.commonplot.co/images/en/new-notebook-dialog.png/)

Later, open **Notebook options** in the resources rail and choose **Edit** to change the name, description, or visibility, or **Copy public link** to share a public notebook.

The Free plan allows up to 30 notebooks; Pro has no limit.

## The notebook layout [#the-notebook-layout]

A notebook has three areas:

![Notebook layout: resources rail, overview, and AI rail](https://docs.commonplot.co/images/en/ai-answer.jpg/)

1. **Resources rail (left)**: the notebook's resources, documents, and outputs. Filter by **All / Documents / Resources**, or use **Search this notebook**.
2. **Main area (center)**: the notebook overview (documents, resources, and recent chats), or the resource you're reading or the document you're editing.
3. **AI rail (right)**: **Chat** and **Studio** tabs. Dock the AI rail, switch it to a floating window, or collapse it.

## Add resources [#add-resources]

In the resources rail, choose **Add** → **Add resource** to paste links or upload PDFs and images, the same way as in [Save articles, papers, and videos](https://docs.commonplot.co/en/user/saving/). When saving from Discover, you can also pick this notebook under **Choose save destination**.

AI can read the full content once **Imports** shows **Ready to read**.

## Remove a resource [#remove-a-resource]

Choose **Remove resource** to take an item out of this notebook. It stays in your saved resources.

## Documents and outputs [#documents-and-outputs]

Choose **Add** → **New document** in the resources rail, or ask AI to write one; either way the document lives in this notebook. Audio overviews and generated files also appear under the **Documents** filter.

- [Write and publish documents](https://docs.commonplot.co/en/user/documents/)
- [Create an audio overview](https://docs.commonplot.co/en/user/audio-overview/)

## Delete a notebook [#delete-a-notebook]

Choose **Delete** under **Notebook options** to permanently delete the notebook and the documents in it. Its resources stay in your saved resources.

## What a public notebook shows [#what-a-public-notebook-shows]

Visitors to your public notebook see its name, description, resource list, and the documents you have shared. Private documents, AI chats, and uploaded files stay private.