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CodeTracked since May 19, 2026

Emit DeprecationWarning when safe_index falls back via NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0

The PR makes NotebookLM emit a DeprecationWarning whenever decode is run with NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0 and safe_index uses soft-mode fallback, turning a previously implicit compatibility path into an explicit, visible transition signal tied to a documented retirement plan.

safe_indexNOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODEDeprecationWarningstrict mode

What Happened

  • The PR makes NotebookLM emit a DeprecationWarning whenever decode is run with NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0 and safe_index uses soft-mode fallback, turning a previously implicit compatibility path into an explicit, visible transition signal tied to a documented retirement plan.
  • The PR makes NotebookLM emit a DeprecationWarning whenever decode is run with NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0 and safe_index uses soft-mode fallback, turning a previously implicit compatibility path into an explicit, visible transition signal tied to a documented retirement plan.
  • 1 evidence item attached for review.

What is Different

Before

Scattered source updates, isolated context, and manual follow-up across multiple feeds.

Now

Implemented warning logic so a fallback triggered by NOTEBOOKLM_STRICT_DECODE=0 is explicitly reported, and added unit tests verifying warning, successful soft-mode traversal, and strict-mode silence so behavior is controlled and regression-resistant.

Why Track This

Why It Matters

Developers running NotebookLM with strict decode disabled will now see a visible warning during inference/configuration fallbacks, which makes risky deprecation behavior explicit instead of hidden and gives teams time to migrate before the soft-mode path is retired. This should reduce surprise failures and debugging time when environments still depend on deprecated decode behavior; watchers should track warning frequency, log filtering, and whether CI/ops alerting treats the new warning as an actionable migration item before v0.6.0.

Impact

Developers running NotebookLM with strict decode disabled will now see a visible warning during inference/configuration fallbacks, which makes risky deprecation behavior explicit instead of hidden and gives teams time to migrate before the soft-mode path is retired. This should reduce surprise failures and debugging time when environments still depend on deprecated decode behavior; watchers should track warning frequency, log filtering, and whether CI/ops alerting treats the new warning as an actionable migration item before v0.6.0.

What To Watch Next

  • Watch whether safe_index becomes a repeated pattern.
  • Track follow-up changes around AI IDE.
  • Compare future signals against this evidence trail.
  • Re-check risk flags: deprecation_warning_ignored, fallback_path_used_without_migration.
Open Topic TimelineOpen Technical EventOpen Original Sourcedeprecation_warning_ignored / fallback_path_used_without_migration / log_monitoring_gap / silent_config_drift

Supporting Evidence

GITHUB PULL REQUESTHigh Trust

teng-lin/notebooklm-py PR #861: feat(rpc): warn on safe_index soft mode fallback

Adds explicit deprecation signaling and focused tests for safe_index soft-mode fallback plus strict-mode no-warning behavior, with docs/changelog updates for the opt-out lifecycle.