How a Chirp uses its files

When you're done, your Chirp uses its files the way that suits it.

Who can do this: the account owner on any plan, and workspace admins and editors.

Choose a mode

In 4. Knowledge, under your files, choose a Knowledge mode:

• Automatic (the usual choice): while all the Chirp's files together stay under the Full-text limit (tokens), 40,000 to start with, each reply gets their full text. Above it, each reply gets the passages that best match the question. The limit box only shows with Automatic.
• Always send full text: every reply gets every file in full, however big.
• Search for best passages: every reply gets only the best-matching passages, about 7,000 tokens' worth at most.

The line under the boxes says what your settings do, such as "Each reply sends the full text (3,200 tokens)." It follows what's in the boxes; on a published Chirp, visitors get it after you publish. Token counts are estimates, about four characters per token, and a reply can carry a little more.

Which to pick

• Small files: Automatic sends them whole, so the Chirp sees everything. Nothing to change.
• Large files: Automatic switches to passages. Replies cost less and stay within what the model can read, but a question worded differently from your files may miss the right passage.
• Always send full text is thorough but every reply carries all the text, which you pay for on your OpenRouter key. Very large files can be more than the model can take, and replies then fail with "The AI service had a problem. Please try again."

How the passages are found

Chirp Builder looks for passages that share words with the question (and with the question before it), treating forms like "turn", "turns" and "turning" as the same. Passages with more of the question's words come first. It matches words, not meaning, and it works best in English: if your visitors use other words than your files do, add those words to your files.

If no passage matches, the Chirp is told your files don't cover the question and to say so rather than guess.

When changes reach visitors

• Mode and limit: on a published Chirp, they reach visitors when you click Publish changes. The bar at the top lists them as "knowledge mode" and "full-text limit". Editors can publish only if the owner allows it.
• Files: right away. Adding a file can move an Automatic Chirp over its limit, and it switches to passages at once.

If it doesn't work

• "The full-text limit must be a whole number from 1,000 to 1,000,000 tokens" when you save.
• Answers miss things that are in your files: see Check that answers come from your files.