> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.circuit.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Indexes

> What indexes are, how to create them, and how they store and organize your workspace's documents.

An **index** is the core data container in Circuit. It holds your documents and makes them searchable by AI agents. When you upload a document to an index, Circuit processes it, extracting content and analyzing structure to enable intelligent search.

## Creating an index

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to indexes">
    From your Circuit dashboard, go to the indexes section.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new index">
    Click create and provide:

    * **Name**: a clear, descriptive name (e.g., "Product Technical Manuals" or "2024 Sales Playbook")
    * **Description**: optional, but helpful for other users to understand what's in it
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure access">
    Share the index with users or [groups](/admin/groups) who need access. Assign Viewer or Admin roles as appropriate.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload documents">
    Add documents to begin building the index. See [managing documents](/admin/managing-documents) for supported file types and upload details.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How indexes work

When you add a document to an index, Circuit runs a processing pipeline:

1. **Type detection**: identifies the document format (PDF, Word, spreadsheet, CAD, etc.)
2. **Content extraction**: pulls text, tables, images, and metadata from the document
3. **Indexing**: indexes the content so agents can find and retrieve it

This process runs automatically. You can track the status of each document as it's processed.

## Index and agent relationship

Agents search indexes to answer questions. When you create an agent, you configure its **reference scope**: the set of indexes it can access. An agent can search one or many indexes.

This design lets you:

* Give a support agent access to support articles and FAQs
* Give a sales agent access to product catalogs, pricing, and competitive analysis
* Give an RFP agent access to everything: technical docs, compliance, and past proposals

## Organizing indexes

How you structure your indexes affects search quality, manageability, and security.

Prefer building fewer, larger indexes rather than splitting content into many small ones. Larger indexes give agents more context to work with and reduce overhead. The main reason to create separate indexes is to enforce **access control boundaries**: different indexes can be shared with different users, groups, and agents.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="By security boundary">
    Separate content based on who should have access:

    * "Internal Engineering Documentation" (restricted to engineering)
    * "Customer-Facing Materials" (shared with sales and support)
    * "Confidential HR Policies" (restricted to HR and leadership)

    Best for: workspaces where access control is a primary concern.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="By topic">
    Create indexes around subject areas:

    * "Product Manuals"
    * "Compliance & Certifications"
    * "Sales Playbook"
    * "Internal Procedures"

    Best for: workspaces with clear content boundaries.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="By audience">
    Organize by who uses the content:

    * "Field Engineering Knowledge"
    * "Customer-Facing Documentation"
    * "Internal Operations"

    Best for: workspaces where different teams need different information.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

For detailed guidance, see [index best practices](/admin/index-best-practices).