File share

A file share source keeps your Knowledge Base in step with a folder or a storage bucket. Aimy checks it every fifteen minutes, and new or changed files are processed and become answerable. It reads files only. It never changes anything in the folder or bucket.

If your account does have it, the steps below match what you will see on File share, under Integrations in the CONNECT section.

Two kinds of source

• Folder on this server reads a folder on the Aimy server itself. A network share works this way too: mount it on the server first, then point a source at the mount. Folders are only allowed inside the locations the server has been set up to permit. The page lists those locations. If none is set, the option is switched off and the page tells you so.
• S3 compatible bucket reads from Amazon S3 or any storage that speaks the same protocol, such as MinIO.

Add a source

1. Choose Add source at the top right.
2. Give it a Name, for example HR share.
3. Choose the Type.
4. For a folder, type the Path. For a bucket, fill in these fields.
   • Endpoint, for example https://s3.amazonaws.com.
   • Bucket and Region.
   • Prefix, which is optional. It limits the source to one part of the bucket, for example hr/policies/.
   • Access key and Secret key.
   • A last tick box for path style addresses, which is ticked by default. MinIO and most self hosted storage need it, so leave it ticked unless your provider says otherwise.
5. Under Put documents in, choose a Knowledge Base folder, or leave Knowledge base root.
6. Leave Sync this source automatically ticked if you want the fifteen minute checks. Untick it to pause the source. A paused source shows paused under its name and is skipped, even when you choose Sync now.
7. Choose Test connection. A green message tells you how many files Aimy can see. Then choose Save.

The secret key is never shown again. When you edit a source, leave the secret field as it is to keep the saved one.

What gets synced

Each source appears as a row with its name, where it points, how many documents it has added, when it last ran and its status. A count in brackets shows how many files were skipped. The status can read one of four words.

• pending. The source has never run. It becomes something else after the first check.
• running. A check is in progress. Reload the page in a moment to see the result.
• ok. The last check finished without a failure. The note says how many files were added, updated, unchanged, skipped and failed.
• error. Aimy could not read the source, or at least one file failed to download or process. The note gives the reason or the counts.

• New files are added. Files that changed are processed again and replace the old version, so you do not end up with two versions answering.
• Files that did not change are left alone.
• Files are checked the same way as a normal upload. A file is skipped if its type is not supported, it is empty, it is larger than the upload limit, a spreadsheet has too many rows, or the malware scan flags it. See Documents.

Sync now, edit and remove

• Sync now starts a run straight away, so you do not wait for the next check.
• Edit changes any setting.
• Remove stops the source. Its documents stay in the Knowledge Base unless you tick Also delete the documents it added. That removes the files and what Aimy learned from them, and it cannot be undone.

If a source shows an error

The note under the status says what happened, for example that Aimy could not reach the endpoint or could not read the folder. Check the endpoint, the keys and the path, then choose Test connection again from Edit. A folder that was valid when you saved it is checked again on every run, so it stops working if the server's allowed locations are narrowed later.