How to export a NotebookLM mind map you can actually edit

NotebookLM was renamed Gemini Notebook in July 2026. Mind map export works the same under both names.

The native download, and why it disappoints

Open the mind map in the Studio panel and there is a download icon in the top-right. It gives you a PNG — the whole map as one picture at whatever size NotebookLM chose. That is fine for pasting into a slide, and useless for anything else: you cannot move a branch, recolour a node, fix a typo, or drop the structure into your own notes. The map is a screenshot, not a document.

Getting the structure out as text

The map is really a tree of headings, so the fix is to get that tree as text. In the notebook's chat, ask:

Give me a Markdown outline of this mind map: the central topic as a heading, each branch as an indented bullet, preserving the full hierarchy. Output only the outline.

You now have the structure as Markdown — re-usable anywhere, and re-buildable into a visual map. Paste it into the mind map editor: it rebuilds the map, lets you rearrange and recolour branches, and exports to SVG (vector, scales cleanly for print), PNG at 2×, or Markdown again. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

The one-click route

Asking the chat works but is a manual hop. The NotebookLM exporter extension reads the map's structure directly from the page and exports it to SVG and PNG without the chat step — useful when you do this often, or when a map is large enough that the chat summary might drop branches.

Which format for which job

• PNG — dropping the map into a slide, doc or message as-is. The native download already does this.
• SVG — printing, posters, or anything that will be resized. Vector stays sharp at any scale; export it from the editor.
• Markdown — folding the structure into your own notes, an Obsidian vault, or a document outline. Also the format to re-import for more editing later.

People also ask

Can you export a NotebookLM mind map as SVG?

Not natively — NotebookLM only offers PNG. Get the structure out as a Markdown outline (ask the chat, or use the exporter extension), open it in a mind map editor, and export SVG from there.

Why can't I edit the downloaded mind map?

The native download is a PNG image — a flat picture with no underlying structure. To edit, you need the map as data (Markdown or JSON), which the chat or the extension can produce.

Can I turn my Markdown outline back into a mind map?

Yes. The free mind map editor takes a Markdown outline — headings and indented bullets — and rebuilds the visual map, ready to rearrange and re-export.