> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trugen.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Knowledge Base

> Connect your documents, websites, and data so agents give accurate, grounded answers.

A Knowledge Base is a collection of your company's content — documents, FAQs, websites, and internal data — that your agents draw on when answering questions. Instead of relying on generic LLM knowledge, agents search your Knowledge Base and return answers that are accurate, brand-aligned, and up to date.

Knowledge Bases are reusable. Multiple agents and templates can attach to the same one, making it easy to keep information consistent across all your agents from one place.

## How Retrieval Works

TruGen supports two retrieval modes that control when and how the agent queries your Knowledge Base.

| Mode                | How It Works                                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Agentic RAG**     | The LLM decides when and which Knowledge Base to search based on the user's query and conversation context. More precise — only retrieves when relevant.  |
| **Traditional RAG** | Every user query is searched against all configured Knowledge Bases, and the retrieved context is always passed to the LLM. Simpler and more predictable. |

<Tip>For most use cases, **Agentic RAG** produces better results because the agent only retrieves context when it's genuinely needed — reducing noise and improving response quality.</Tip>

## Supported Content Types

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Documents" icon="file">
    Upload **PDF** or **DOCX** files. Content is extracted, chunked, and indexed automatically. Best for policies, manuals, product documentation, and structured reports.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Plain Text" icon="text">
    Paste raw text directly. Best for FAQs, scripted responses, quick reference content, or any content you want to control precisely without uploading a file.
  </Card>

  <Card title="URL & Website" icon="globe">
    Provide a URL to scrape a single page, or crawl an entire website. TruGen fetches and indexes the content automatically. Best for public documentation, help centres, or product pages.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Getting Started

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Knowledge Base">
    Go to [app.trugen.ai](https://app.trugen.ai) and click **Knowledge Base** in the left panel under **Configure**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new Knowledge Base">
    Click **Create New**. Give it a clear **Name** and **Description** — these are used by the agent to decide when to query this Knowledge Base.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your content">
    Choose from three options:

    * **Add Files** — upload a PDF or DOCX document
    * **Add Text** — paste plain text directly
    * **Add URL** — enter a webpage to scrape or a root URL to crawl the entire site

    Click **Save & Create** when done.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for indexing">
    TruGen extracts, cleans, chunks, and indexes your content. Once complete, you can attach this Knowledge Base when creating or updating an agent.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>The **Name** and **Description** fields are critical. The agent uses them to decide whether to query this Knowledge Base for a given question — be specific about what it contains and when it should be used.</Note>

## Naming Your Knowledge Base

Good names and descriptions make a big difference in retrieval accuracy. Here's an example:

```
Name: HR-Policies
Description: Use this whenever the user asks about HR policies, leave entitlements, benefits, or employee guidelines.
```

```
Name: Product-Docs
Description: Use this when the user asks about product features, setup instructions, integrations, or technical specifications.
```

## Via API

### Create a Knowledge Base

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl --request POST \
    --url https://api.trugen.ai/v1/knowledge-base \
    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    --header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
    --data '{
      "name": "HR-Policies",
      "description": "Use this whenever the user asks about HR policies, leave entitlements, benefits, or employee guidelines."
    }'
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Add a Document

Upload a file to an existing Knowledge Base using its `knowledge_base_id`:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl --request POST \
    --url https://api.trugen.ai/v1/knowledge-base/{knowledge_base_id}/document \
    --header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
    --form 'file=@/path/to/document.pdf'
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Note>Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with your key from the Developer Portal and `knowledge_base_id` with the ID returned when you created the Knowledge Base.</Note>

## What's Next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Knowledge Base API Reference" icon="book" href="/api-reference/endpoint/knowledgebasecreate">
    Full set of endpoints to create, update, and manage Knowledge Bases programmatically.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Templates" icon="shapes" href="/docs/agents/templates">
    Attach Knowledge Bases to a template so every agent inherits the right knowledge automatically.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>