Manage external knowledge collections (textbooks, lecture notes, background material) and search them to support research. Use when user wants to upload reference material or query foundational knowledge.
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Manage external knowledge collections (textbooks, lecture notes, background material) and search them to support research. Use when user wants to upload reference material or query foundational knowledge.
Manage collections of external reference material like textbooks, lecture notes, tutorials, and background documents. These supplement your research paper collection with foundational knowledge.
What is External Knowledge?
External knowledge is any reference material that supports your research but isn't a research paper:
Textbooks (RL textbooks, statistics books, ML theory)
Lecture notes and course materials
Technical documentation
Tutorial articles and blog posts
Background reading on methods and theory
This material is organized into collections by topic, making it easy to find relevant background information.
Tools Available
Tool
Purpose
create_knowledge_collection
Create a new collection for organizing documents
list_knowledge_collections
Show all collections with document counts
delete_knowledge_collection
Remove a collection (optionally keep documents)
upload_external_knowledge
Upload a single file to a collection
search_external_knowledge
Search within external knowledge (all or specific collection)
Supported File Formats
The system converts these formats to markdown automatically:
User asks about foundational concepts not in papers
You need background understanding before analyzing papers
User references a textbook or course material
Question requires theoretical foundation
Integrating with Research Q&A
The standard Q&A tools now support scoping:
# Search everything (papers + external knowledge)
answer_research_question(
question="What are policy gradient methods?",
scope="all"
)
# Search only research papers
answer_research_question(
question="Recent advances in policy gradients",
scope="papers_only"
)
# Search only external knowledge
answer_research_question(
question="Basic definition of policy gradients",
scope="external"
)
# Search specific collection
answer_research_question(
question="Policy gradients chapter content",
scope="collection:Reinforcement Learning Textbooks"
)
Workflow Examples
Example 1: User Uploads Textbook
User: "I have the Sutton & Barto RL textbook. Can you add it to Thoth?"
1. list_knowledge_collections()
→ Check if "RL Textbooks" collection exists
2. If not: create_knowledge_collection(
name="RL Textbooks",
description="Core reinforcement learning textbooks"
)
3. Ask user: "Please provide the full path to the textbook PDF in your vault"
4. upload_external_knowledge(
file_path="[user's path]",
collection_name="RL Textbooks",
title="Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction"
)
5. Confirm: "I've added the Sutton & Barto textbook. You can now ask me
questions about RL theory and I'll reference both the textbook and
your research papers."
Example 2: Background Research
User: "What are actor-critic methods?"
1. search_external_knowledge(
query="actor-critic methods definition",
max_results=3
)
→ Get textbook explanation
2. answer_research_question(
question="actor-critic methods applications",
scope="papers_only",
max_sources=5
)
→ Get recent research usage
3. Synthesize:
"Actor-critic methods combine policy gradients with value functions
[from textbook excerpt]. Recent applications include [paper findings]..."
Example 3: Deep Learning with Background
User: "Explain the paper 'PPO Algorithm' in detail"
1. read_full_article(
article_identifier="PPO Algorithm",
agent_id="your_id"
)
→ Load the research paper
2. search_external_knowledge(
query="proximal policy optimization background trust region",
collection_name="RL Textbooks"
)
→ Get foundational context
3. Synthesize explanation using both sources:
- Paper's novel contributions
- Textbook's foundational concepts
- How the paper builds on theory
Managing Collections
Listing Collections
list_knowledge_collections()
Shows all collections with document counts. Use this to:
See what external knowledge is available
Check collection names for upload
Find collections before searching
Deleting Collections
# Keep documents but remove collection
delete_knowledge_collection(
collection_name="Old Collection"
)
# Delete collection and all documents
delete_knowledge_collection(
collection_name="Outdated Material",
delete_documents=true
)
Warning: Deleting documents also removes them from the RAG index. This is permanent.
Best Practices
Organize by topic: Create collections for distinct subject areas
Search before reading: Use search to find relevant sections, then read full articles if needed
Combine sources: Reference both external knowledge and research papers in answers
Ask for paths: Users need to provide file paths from their vault
Scope appropriately: Use scope parameters to search the right knowledge source
Common Patterns
Pattern: Foundation First
When user asks about advanced research topic:
Search external knowledge for foundational concepts
Search research papers for cutting-edge findings
Explain progression from basics to state-of-art
Pattern: Gap Filling
When research papers lack background:
Identify missing foundational knowledge
Search external collections for that background
Provide comprehensive answer with both sources
Pattern: Verification
When unsure about basic concepts:
Search external knowledge to verify understanding
Use verified understanding to interpret research papers
Ensure accurate explanations
Response Template with External Knowledge
## Answer: [Question]
[Direct answer with inline citations from both papers and external sources]
**From research papers**:
- [Author et al., Year]: [Finding from paper]
**From reference material**:
- [Textbook/Source name]: [Background concept or definition]
**How they connect**:
[Explain how the foundational knowledge relates to the research findings]
**Want more?**
- I can search for more background material
- I can find additional papers on this topic
- I can explain specific concepts in more depth
