> ## 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

> Give your agents access to your documents, FAQs, and web content — grounded answers via Retrieval-Augmented Generation.

A **Knowledge Base** is a collection of your content — documents, plain text, and websites — that your agents search when answering questions. Instead of relying on generic LLM knowledge, agents retrieve from your Knowledge Base and answer with information that's accurate, brand-aligned, and up to date.

Knowledge Bases are **reusable**. Multiple agents and templates can attach to the same one, so you 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 — the agent retrieves only when it's genuinely needed, which reduces noise and improves 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 anything you want to control precisely without a file upload.
  </Card>

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

Full format and size limits: see [Adding Content](/docs/agents/knowledge/uploading).

## The three-step lifecycle

Every Knowledge Base moves through three phases:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create">
    Set the name, description, and (optionally) initial content. See [Creating a Knowledge Base](/docs/agents/knowledge/creating).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add content">
    Upload documents, paste text, or point at URLs. TruGen extracts, cleans, chunks, and indexes each piece automatically. See [Adding Content](/docs/agents/knowledge/uploading).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attach to agents">
    Reference the Knowledge Base by ID from one or more agents (or a template). Agents pick up changes on the next session. See [Attaching to Agents](/docs/agents/knowledge/attaching).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Creating a Knowledge Base" icon="plus" href="/docs/agents/knowledge/creating">
    Create your first KB in the Studio or via the API.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Adding Content" icon="upload" href="/docs/agents/knowledge/uploading">
    Supported formats, size limits, and how content is processed.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>