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

# Knowledge (RAG) — help

> Quick answers for using your own documents in ModuleX: set up a knowledge base, search it from a workflow, what it costs, indexing time, file types and limits, and deleting documents.

export const MediaEmbed = ({id, type = 'screenshot', caption = '', ext, ratio = '16 / 9'}) => {
  const isVideo = type === 'video' || type === 'app_video';
  const resolvedExt = ext || (isVideo ? 'mp4' : type === 'screenshot' ? 'webp' : 'svg');
  const src = 'https://media.modulex.dev/' + id + '.' + resolvedExt;
  const [status, setStatus] = useState('loading');
  const [isDev, setIsDev] = useState(false);
  const [inView, setInView] = useState(false);
  const boxRef = useRef(null);
  useEffect(() => {
    if (typeof window === 'undefined') return;
    const h = window.location.hostname;
    setIsDev(h === 'localhost' || h === '127.0.0.1' || h.endsWith('.mintlify.app'));
  }, []);
  useEffect(() => {
    if (inView) return;
    if (typeof IntersectionObserver === 'undefined') {
      setInView(true);
      return;
    }
    const el = boxRef.current;
    if (!el) return;
    const io = new IntersectionObserver(entries => {
      if (entries.some(e => e.isIntersecting)) {
        setInView(true);
        io.disconnect();
      }
    }, {
      rootMargin: '300px'
    });
    io.observe(el);
    return () => io.disconnect();
  }, [inView]);
  if (status === 'missing') {
    if (!isDev) return null;
    return <div style={{
      display: 'flex',
      flexDirection: 'column',
      justifyContent: 'center',
      gap: '0.4rem',
      padding: '1rem 1.25rem',
      margin: '1.25rem 0',
      width: '100%',
      aspectRatio: ratio,
      boxSizing: 'border-box',
      border: '1px dashed rgba(128,128,128,0.45)',
      borderRadius: '0.75rem',
      background: 'rgba(128,128,128,0.06)',
      color: 'currentColor',
      fontSize: '0.85rem',
      lineHeight: 1.45
    }}>
        <div style={{
      display: 'flex',
      alignItems: 'center',
      gap: '0.5rem',
      opacity: 0.75
    }}>
          <span aria-hidden="true">🎬</span>
          <code style={{
      fontSize: '0.75rem'
    }}>{id}</code>
          <span style={{
      fontSize: '0.65rem',
      textTransform: 'uppercase',
      letterSpacing: '0.04em',
      padding: '0.1rem 0.4rem',
      borderRadius: '0.4rem',
      background: 'rgba(128,128,128,0.18)'
    }}>
            {type}
          </span>
        </div>
        <div style={{
      opacity: 0.9
    }}>{caption || 'Media not uploaded yet.'}</div>
        <div style={{
      fontSize: '0.7rem',
      opacity: 0.5
    }}>
          Upload to R2 as <code>{id}.{resolvedExt}</code> — preview only, hidden in production.
        </div>
      </div>;
  }
  const mediaStyle = {
    display: status === 'loaded' ? 'block' : 'none',
    width: '100%',
    height: 'auto',
    borderRadius: '0.75rem'
  };
  const media = isVideo ? <video src={inView ? src : undefined} autoPlay loop muted playsInline preload="metadata" onLoadedData={() => setStatus('loaded')} onError={() => setStatus('missing')} style={mediaStyle} /> : <img src={inView ? src : undefined} alt={caption} onLoad={() => setStatus('loaded')} onError={() => setStatus('missing')} style={mediaStyle} />;
  return <figure style={{
    margin: '1.25rem 0'
  }}>
      <div ref={boxRef} style={status === 'loaded' ? {
    width: '100%'
  } : {
    width: '100%',
    aspectRatio: ratio,
    borderRadius: '0.75rem',
    background: 'rgba(128,128,128,0.06)'
  }}>
        {media}
      </div>
      {status === 'loaded' && caption ? <figcaption style={{
    marginTop: '0.5rem',
    textAlign: 'center',
    fontSize: '0.85rem',
    opacity: 0.7
  }}>
          {caption}
        </figcaption> : null}
    </figure>;
};

Short answers to the questions people ask most about connecting your own documents to ModuleX so your chats and workflows can answer from them. For the full detail, follow the link in each answer.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Knowledge overview" icon="book-open" href="/platform/knowledge/overview">
    Manage the knowledge bases that power retrieval across chats and workflows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How knowledge & RAG works" icon="diagram-project" href="/concepts/knowledge-rag">
    The mental model: ingest, embed, retrieve, and answer from your own content.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Managing documents" icon="file-lines" href="/platform/knowledge/documents">
    Upload, watch processing, and remove documents and their chunks.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Build a RAG knowledge base" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/guides/build-a-knowledge-base">
    A step-by-step walkthrough from empty base to first answer.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Knowledge (RAG)

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I set up a knowledge base?">
    Create a knowledge base in the app, then upload documents to it. Each file is parsed, split into chunks, and indexed automatically — no setup beyond the upload. Creating and managing knowledge bases needs an owner or admin role. See [Knowledge overview](/platform/knowledge/overview) for the walkthrough.

    <MediaEmbed id="MX-MEDIA-4550" type="screenshot" caption={"the knowledge base screen in the ModuleX app, with the create-base action and an uploaded document list"} />
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I use knowledge in a workflow?">
    Add a [Knowledge node](/workflow-builder/nodes/knowledge), pick the knowledge base it should search, and give it a search query. The node returns the matching passages so a later node can answer from them. You can also ask questions in [chat with your knowledge](/platform/chat/knowledge-chat).

    <MediaEmbed id="MX-MEDIA-4551" type="screenshot" caption={"a Knowledge node selected on the workflow canvas with its knowledge base and query fields shown"} />
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does knowledge search cost credits?">
    For ModuleX-managed knowledge, yes — each search and each document you add draws down credits (one credit each, plus the model cost of embedding the text). If you bring your own embedding key (BYOK), that usage is billed by your provider and is not charged in ModuleX credits. See [Credits & metering](/billing/credits).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is my first search slow or empty?">
    A newly uploaded document has to finish indexing before it can be searched — it moves from `pending` to `processing` to `completed`. Until it reaches `completed`, its content will not show up in results. Once indexing finishes, later searches are fast. You can watch each document's status in [Managing documents](/platform/knowledge/documents).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What can I upload, and how much?">
    Common document types are supported: `pdf`, `docx`, `doc`, `txt`, `md`, `html`, `csv`, `json`, `xlsx`, and `pptx`. The per-file size cap and the number of knowledge bases you can create depend on your plan, not a single fixed limit — see [Managing documents](/platform/knowledge/documents) and [Plans & pricing](/billing/plans).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I delete documents?">
    Yes — remove a document from its knowledge base and its indexed chunks are deleted with it. Deleting is permanent, so the content stops appearing in results right away. See [Managing documents](/platform/knowledge/documents).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Note>
  Knowledge bases, documents, and search all require an owner or admin role on the organization. If a teammate cannot see or change a knowledge base, check their role under [Account & access](/help/account-access).
</Note>

## Related help

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Credentials & integrations" icon="plug" href="/help/credentials-integrations">
    Connect a provider key for BYOK embeddings or external vector stores.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Billing, plans & credits" icon="credit-card" href="/help/billing-credits">
    What managed search and ingest cost, and how usage is measured.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Errors & troubleshooting" icon="circle-question" href="/help/errors-troubleshooting">
    What a `402` or `403` means and how to clear it.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>