Documentation

Knowledge Base

Search manufacturer technical documentation directly from AVIP Assistant using the /kb command.

Overview

The Knowledge Base gives you instant access to manufacturer documentation — hardware specs, programming guides, FAQs, troubleshooting steps, and configuration references — without leaving AVstackr. It's available on both the Project Details and Schematics pages through AVIP Assistant.

Available Manufacturers

  • Biamp — Tesira, Devio, Parle, Vocia, and other product families. Covers DSP programming, audio conferencing, Dante networking, and control integration.
  • Crestron — Control systems, SIMPL Windows programming, hardware cards, signal definitions, and system architecture.

More manufacturers will be added over time.

Using the /kb Command

Starting a Session

Type /kb in the AVIP Assistant chat to start a knowledge base session. You'll see a list of available manufacturers:

You:  /kb
Bot:  Select a knowledge base:
        1. Biamp (1,286 articles)
        2. Crestron (3,533 articles)

Select a manufacturer by typing its number or name:

You:  1
Bot:  Biamp Knowledge Base active. Ask me anything about Biamp products.
      Type /kb exit to leave, /kb switch to change manufacturer.

Quick Select

Skip the menu by specifying the manufacturer directly:

You:  /kb biamp

Asking Questions

Once a knowledge base session is active, your questions are automatically searched against the manufacturer's documentation. AVIP Assistant answers using the most relevant articles and cites its sources:

You:  How do I configure network settings on a TesiraFORTE?
Bot:  Open the device's network settings and set a static IP address [1].
      Then save the configuration and restart the device [2].
      2 articles cited
      ● TesiraFORTE Network Configuration
      ● Tesira FAQ

Follow-up questions stay within the same manufacturer context and keep their subject, so you can dig deeper into a topic naturally. A question like "and how do I save a new one?" is searched as a question about whatever you were just asking about. A question with several parts is searched part by part, so each part finds its own articles, and the answer is written from everything those parts found.

If the knowledge base has no article that matches your question, AVIP Assistant says so instead of guessing. If your question names a product the knowledge base has no articles about, it says that too. Otherwise it answers from the documentation it has and cites it, even when no single article is about your exact question.

Switching Manufacturers

Type /kb switch to change to a different manufacturer without leaving the knowledge base mode.

Exiting

Type /kb exit to leave the knowledge base session and return to normal AVIP Assistant mode.

Where It's Available

  • Project Details page — Open the AVIP Assistant panel and type /kb
  • Schematics page — Open the copilot panel and type /kb

Source Cards

Each article's text is divided into passages. The search looks for the passages that match your question, by meaning and by matching words, and ranks each passage on its own. Each answer is written from the passages that rank highest, so a detail deep inside a long article can be found. Every phrase taken from an article is followed by a numbered marker such as [1]. The number matches an article in the source list under the answer.

After each answer, AVIP Assistant shows the articles it found. Each source card row includes:

  • ● Green dot — the answer cited this article.
  • ● Grey dot — the search found this article, but the answer did not cite it.
  • Score — how relevant the search judged the article to your question, or keyword match when the article was found by matching words instead.

The header above the source list shows one of these:

  • N articles cited — every paragraph and list item is backed by at least one article.
  • N articles cited · part of the answer has no citation — at least one paragraph or list item in the answer is not backed by any article. Treat that part with care.
  • No articles cited — the answer did not quote any article.
  • Answer could not be verified — the answer stopped early after some text had arrived, so what you see could not be checked against the articles. No credits are used. If the answer fails before any text arrives, for example because the answer service is not available, you see a short error message instead, and no credits are used.

Documentation Mode in the Schematics Copilot

In the schematics copilot, a /kb session answers from documentation only. A banner reads "Documentation mode — /kb exit to draw". While it is showing, the copilot does not place devices or draw wires, even if you ask it to. Type /kb exit to return to drawing.

Viewing Full Articles

Click any source card to preview the article in a floating panel. The panel shows the article's summary and its content. To open the article on its own page, click "Open full article" in the panel footer — it opens in a new tab.

Credits

In a /kb session, searching the knowledge base is free — it searches passages of the article text that were indexed in advance. Each /kb answer uses 2 credits. A question that finds no articles, or an answer that could not be verified, uses none.

A knowledge base search made through the MCP server or the REST API uses 1 credit when it returns passages. A search that returns no passage, names an unknown manufacturer or fails uses none.

Outside a /kb session, AVIP Assistant and the schematics copilot can search the documentation while they answer a message. That search is part of the message's own price and is not charged again.

The current rates are listed on the Credits page.