# How do I keep citations when copying from NotebookLM?

Source: https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-keep-citations-when-copying-from-notebooklm  
Section: Questions  
Last verified: November 2026  
Plan: Free

You cannot by copy and paste: the numbered citation chips in NotebookLM are interactive elements, so they vanish from pasted text. Export instead. NotebookLM Ultra Exporter writes the citation markers into the file and can turn them into footnotes that name each cited source.

## What to know

- Works for notes, reports and the chat.
- Footnotes identify the source NotebookLM cited; they are not formatted academic references.
- For a reference list, use the bibliography tool in the Sources panel.

> Google changes these menus often. The item's own menu in your notebook shows what is built in today.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do citations link back to the passage?

In NotebookLM, yes. In an exported file they name the source; the click-to-passage behaviour exists only inside the notebook.

## Related guides

- [Turn NotebookLM citations into footnotes](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/features/citations-to-footnotes)
- [Export NotebookLM chat history to Word](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/export/chat-history-to-word)
- [Cite NotebookLM sources in APA style](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/export/bibliography-to-apa)
- [How do I export or download sources from NotebookLM?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-export-notebooklm-sources)
- [How do I export a NotebookLM data table to Excel?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-export-a-notebooklm-data-table-to-excel)
- [How do I export NotebookLM to Markdown?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-export-notebooklm-to-markdown)