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4 changes: 3 additions & 1 deletion fern/products/ask-fern/ask-fern.yml
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ navigation:
contents:
- page: Custom prompts
path: ./pages/configuration/custom-prompting.mdx
- page: Locations and datasources
path: ./pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx
- page: Guidance
path: ./pages/features/guidance.mdx
- page: Documents
Expand All @@ -36,4 +38,4 @@ navigation:
- customers
layout:
- page: Overview
path: ./pages/getting-started/api-get-started.mdx
path: ./pages/getting-started/api-get-started.mdx
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
---
title: Locations and Datasources
subtitle: Configure where Ask Fern is available and what content it can access.
---

Ask Fern can be configured to appear in multiple locations and pull content from various datasources. This allows you to provide AI-powered assistance wherever your users need it and ensure access to relevant information.

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GitHub Actions / vale

[vale] reported by reviewdog 🐶 [Microsoft.Passive] 'be configured' looks like passive voice. Raw Output: {"message": "[Microsoft.Passive] 'be configured' looks like passive voice.", "location": {"path": "fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx", "range": {"start": {"line": 6, "column": 14}}}, "severity": "INFO"}

## Locations

The `location` field in your `ai-search` configuration determines where Ask Fern will be available to your users. You can specify one or more locations:

```yaml docs.yml
ai-search:
location:
- docs
- slack
- discord
```

### Available Locations

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[vale] reported by reviewdog 🐶 [Microsoft.Headings] 'Available Locations' should use sentence-style capitalization. Raw Output: {"message": "[Microsoft.Headings] 'Available Locations' should use sentence-style capitalization.", "location": {"path": "fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx", "range": {"start": {"line": 20, "column": 5}}}, "severity": "INFO"}

<ParamField path="docs" type="string">
Enables Ask Fern on your documentation site. Users will see the AI search interface directly in your docs.
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="slack" type="string">
Enables Ask Fern in Slack. Learn more about the [Slack app integration](/ask-fern/features/slack-app).
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="discord" type="string">
Enables Ask Fern in Discord. This allows your community to get AI-powered answers in your Discord server.
</ParamField>

## Datasources (coming soon)

The `datasources` field allows you to specify additional content sources that Ask Fern should index and search. This is useful when you want to include content from external websites or documentation that isn't part of your main docs.

```yaml docs.yml
ai-search:
datasources:
- url: https://example.com/additional-docs
title: Additional Documentation
- url: https://blog.example.com
title: Company Blog
```

### Website Datasources

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[vale] reported by reviewdog 🐶 [Microsoft.Headings] 'Website Datasources' should use sentence-style capitalization. Raw Output: {"message": "[Microsoft.Headings] 'Website Datasources' should use sentence-style capitalization.", "location": {"path": "fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx", "range": {"start": {"line": 47, "column": 5}}}, "severity": "INFO"}

<ParamField path="url" type="string" required>
The URL of the website to index. Ask Fern will crawl and index the content from this URL.

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[vale] reported by reviewdog 🐶 [Microsoft.GeneralURL] For a general audience, use 'address' rather than 'URL'. Raw Output: {"message": "[Microsoft.GeneralURL] For a general audience, use 'address' rather than 'URL'.", "location": {"path": "fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx", "range": {"start": {"line": 50, "column": 88}}}, "severity": "WARNING"}

Check warning on line 50 in fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx

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GitHub Actions / vale

[vale] reported by reviewdog 🐶 [Microsoft.GeneralURL] For a general audience, use 'address' rather than 'URL'. Raw Output: {"message": "[Microsoft.GeneralURL] For a general audience, use 'address' rather than 'URL'.", "location": {"path": "fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx", "range": {"start": {"line": 50, "column": 7}}}, "severity": "WARNING"}
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="title" type="string">
An optional display name for this datasource. This helps users understand where the information is coming from when Ask Fern cites content from this source.
</ParamField>

## Preview Environments

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[vale] reported by reviewdog 🐶 [Microsoft.Headings] 'Preview Environments' should use sentence-style capitalization. Raw Output: {"message": "[Microsoft.Headings] 'Preview Environments' should use sentence-style capitalization.", "location": {"path": "fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx", "range": {"start": {"line": 57, "column": 4}}}, "severity": "INFO"}

Setting `location: [docs]` enables Ask Fern on preview deployments generated with `fern generate --docs --preview`, allowing you to test the AI search functionality before publishing to production.

<Note>
Preview environments don't interfere with your production Ask Fern deployment.
</Note>

## Best Practices

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GitHub Actions / vale

[vale] reported by reviewdog 🐶 [Microsoft.Headings] 'Best Practices' should use sentence-style capitalization. Raw Output: {"message": "[Microsoft.Headings] 'Best Practices' should use sentence-style capitalization.", "location": {"path": "fern/products/ask-fern/pages/configuration/locations-and-datasources.mdx", "range": {"start": {"line": 65, "column": 4}}}, "severity": "INFO"}

<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="Start with docs location">
Begin by enabling Ask Fern on your documentation site (`location: [docs]`) to test and refine the experience before expanding to other channels like Slack or Discord.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Use descriptive titles for datasources">
Always provide a `title` for your datasources. This helps users understand the source of information when Ask Fern provides citations.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Keep datasources relevant">
Only include datasources that contain information relevant to your users' questions. Too many datasources can dilute the quality of search results.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Test with previews">
Use preview deployments to test your Ask Fern configuration, including locations and datasources, before deploying to production.
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>