> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.knowbase.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.knowbase.ai/chat/chat-with-a-file.md).

# Chat with a File

## How it works

1. Go to the **Library** and click on any file
2. The file opens with a chat panel on the right
3. Type your question and press Enter
4. Knowbase searches the file and returns an answer with **source citations**

## Source citations

Every answer includes numbered citations like **\[1]**, **\[2]**. Click a citation to jump to the exact section of the document where the answer was found.

* **PDFs** — jumps to the page and highlights the text
* **Videos/Audio** — seeks to the timestamp
* **YouTube** — jumps to the moment in the video

## Follow-up questions

The conversation remembers context. You can ask follow-ups without repeating yourself:

> **You:** What are the key findings? **Knowbase:** The study found three main results... \[1]\[2] **You:** Tell me more about the second one.

## Tips

* Be specific — "What was the Q3 revenue?" works better than "Tell me about the finances"
* Use Thinking Mode for questions that require reasoning across multiple sections


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# 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://docs.knowbase.ai/chat/chat-with-a-file.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`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.