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Retrieval Strategies API

Configure how documents are retrieved from the knowledge base.

Flag

--retrieval-strategy <strategy>
# or
--retrieval <strategy>

Available Strategies

StrategyDescription
basicSimple vector similarity search (default)
fusionMulti-query with Reciprocal Rank Fusion
recursiveDepth-limited recursive retrieval
auto_mergeMerge child chunks into parent contexts

Usage

Basic Retrieval

# Default - simple vector similarity
praisonai knowledge query "What is Python?" --retrieval basic

Fusion Retrieval

# Multiple query variations + RRF merging
praisonai knowledge query "What is Python?" --retrieval fusion

Recursive Retrieval

# Follow references between chunks
praisonai knowledge query "Explain the architecture" --retrieval recursive

Auto-Merge Retrieval

# Merge related chunks for context
praisonai knowledge query "Summarize the document" --retrieval auto_merge

Strategy Selection Guide

Use CaseRecommended Strategy
Simple factual queriesbasic
Complex multi-part questionsfusion
Hierarchical documentsrecursive
Long document summarizationauto_merge

Examples

Combining with Other Options

# Fusion retrieval with reranking
praisonai knowledge query "Compare Python and Java" \
  --retrieval fusion \
  --reranker simple

# Auto-merge with sub-question decomposition
praisonai knowledge query "What are the pros and cons?" \
  --retrieval auto_merge \
  --query-mode sub_question

Full Pipeline Example

# Complete RAG pipeline
praisonai knowledge query "How to deploy to production?" \
  --vector-store chroma \
  --retrieval fusion \
  --reranker simple \
  --index-type hybrid \
  --query-mode default

See Also