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What does "NotebookLM Invalid URL" mean?

The "Invalid URL" error means NotebookLM cannot process the link format you pasted. Common causes:

  • Shortened URLs (bit.ly, t.co) that redirect before resolving
  • YouTube Shorts URLs (/shorts/) or playlist URLs instead of individual video links
  • URLs with broken encoding or special characters
  • Redirect chains that do not resolve to a direct page

To fix it: paste the complete direct URL of the page or video. For YouTube, use the standard format: youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID. Remove tracking parameters (?utm_source=..., ?ref=...) if the URL is long — clean URLs process most reliably. If you pasted a Shorts link, find the full video URL from the video's share menu instead.