> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://notara.gitbook.io/notara-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://notara.gitbook.io/notara-docs/libraries/documents.md). # Managing Documents Documents are the building blocks of a library. Each document has a title, content, load policy, and optional source metadata (where it came from and how it refreshes). ## Supported File Types When uploading documents, Notara accepts: | Format | Extension | Notes | | -------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Markdown | `.md` | Best format — renders cleanly, easy to update | | Plain text | `.txt` | Treated as markdown | | PDF | `.pdf` | Text is extracted; images and charts in PDFs are not read | | Word document | `.docx` | Text and headings extracted via mammoth | | Unknown binary | (any other) | Rejected — must be one of the types above | PDFs and DOCX files have their text extracted on upload. The extracted text is stored as the document's content. If you update the source file, re-upload it to refresh the content. ## Adding Documents ### Upload a File 1. Open the library in the dashboard. 2. Click **+ Add Document → Upload File**. 3. Drag and drop or click to browse. Select a `.md`, `.txt`, `.pdf`, or `.docx` file. 4. The file is processed and the extracted text is stored. 5. Set the title (defaults to the filename) and load policy. 6. Click **Save**. ### Paste Text 1. Click **+ Add Document → Paste Text**. 2. Enter a title and paste your content into the editor. 3. Markdown is rendered in the preview panel. 4. Set the load policy and click **Save**. ### Crawl a URL (Firecrawl) 1. Click **+ Add Document → Crawl URL**. 2. Enter the URL you want to crawl (e.g., `https://docs.yourapi.com`). 3. Notara uses the Firecrawl connector to fetch and extract the page content. 4. For documentation sites with multiple pages, enable **Crawl subpages** to follow links up to a configurable depth. 5. Extracted content is stored as a document (or multiple documents, one per page, for crawls). > **Firecrawl must be enabled**: the Crawl URL option requires the Firecrawl platform connector to be active. It's available on all Pro plan workspaces with no additional setup. ### Research with Perplexity 1. Click **+ Add Document → Research Topic**. 2. Enter a research question or topic (e.g., "Competitor X's pricing as of 2026"). 3. Notara uses Perplexity to synthesize a current answer with citations. 4. The result is stored as a document. You can edit it before saving. > **Perplexity must be enabled**: the Research option requires the Perplexity connector to be active. ## Load Policies Every document has a load policy that determines when and how it appears in the agent's context: ### `spine` — Always Present Spine documents are injected into every agent turn, up to the context budget. They're the documents the agent should always have in mind — core reference material it constantly draws on. **Use for:** * Company overview and values * Key people and team structure * Product descriptions or glossary * A short runbook the agent needs constantly **Budget:** spine documents are injected in priority order until the budget is used. Keep the total spine document size under \~20,000 tokens (roughly 15,000 words) to stay within a reasonable budget. ### `on_demand` — Retrieved When Relevant On-demand documents are not injected by default. Instead, the agent performs a semantic search when it needs information and retrieves the most relevant documents. This is how you scale a library to hundreds of documents without overwhelming the context window. **Use for:** * API reference documentation * Meeting notes archive * Runbooks (most of which won't be needed on any given turn) * Research documents ### `never` — Private Documents with the `never` policy are stored in Notara but never shown to the agent — not via spine injection, not via semantic search, and not via MCP resources. They're for human reference only: internal notes, sensitive data, drafts you're not ready to make agent-visible. **Use for:** * Notes about a sensitive situation * Financial projections not yet shared * Draft documents in progress ## Updating and Deleting Documents To update a document: click it in the library, edit the content or re-upload the file, and click **Save**. The manifest is regenerated automatically. To delete a document: click it, then click **Delete**. Deletion is immediate and permanent. The manifest is regenerated. ## Regenerating the Manifest The manifest regenerates automatically when you add, update, or delete a document. To trigger a manual regeneration (e.g., after a bulk import), click **Regenerate Manifest** in the library header. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://notara.gitbook.io/notara-docs/libraries/documents.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.