# Knowledge Sync and Documents URL: /knowledge-sync-and-documents Type: concept Description: Understand how Stylo syncs knowledge content, what document and file states mean, and how to keep a knowledge base healthy. Keywords: sync, documents, files, sync status, indexing After you connect or upload content, Stylo turns it into a searchable knowledge base — but only the content that finishes syncing and indexing is actually used in replies. This page shows you how to tell what's current, what's still processing, and what Stylo is really drawing on. How knowledge bases are created [#how-knowledge-bases-are-created] The current knowledge base wizard supports these source types: * **Zendesk** * **Notion** * **URL** * **File Upload** The wizard walks through three steps: 1. Choose a name and source. 2. Configure the selected source. 3. Review the summary and choose whether **Auto-sync** should be enabled. This matters because document behavior depends on the source type you chose. A file-upload knowledge base behaves differently from a connected Zendesk, Notion, or URL source. What you can monitor [#what-you-can-monitor] Inside a knowledge base, Stylo gives you separate views for: * **Overview** for sync status and source summary * **Documents** for indexed content * **Files** for uploaded file management * **Settings** for knowledge-base-specific behavior {/* TODO(docs): Screenshot of a knowledge base detail page showing the Overview, Documents, Files, and Settings tabs. Tracked in public/images/README.md. */} Read the sync status first [#read-the-sync-status-first] The **Overview** tab includes a **Sync Status** card. This is the fastest way to tell whether your knowledge base is current or stuck. Stylo shows three main sync states: * **Idle** when the knowledge base is not actively syncing * **Syncing** when documents are being processed * **Error** when the sync failed When a sync is running, Stylo also shows: * Progress through the document count * How many documents have been processed * How many failed during the run If a sync has completed before, Stylo also shows **Last synced** time. Know what auto-sync means [#know-what-auto-sync-means] Each knowledge base is created with an **Auto-sync** choice in the setup wizard. * When auto-sync is enabled, Stylo is set up to keep that source updated automatically * When auto-sync is disabled, changes in the source may not appear until a sync is triggered This matters most for connected sources like Zendesk, Notion, or URL-based knowledge bases. It is less important for one-time file uploads. Understand the difference between files and documents [#understand-the-difference-between-files-and-documents] Stylo separates uploaded files from indexed documents. * **Files** are the raw uploaded assets, such as PDF, DOCX, or TXT files * **Documents** are the indexed records Stylo searches and uses for retrieval This distinction matters because a file can exist before processing finishes, while documents represent the content that is actually available for search and grounding. File uploads and processing states [#file-uploads-and-processing-states] For a **File Upload** knowledge base, the **Files** tab lets you upload: * `.pdf` * `.docx` * `.txt` After upload, each file gets a processing state: * **Pending** when the file has been accepted but not started * **Processing** when Stylo is actively working on it * **Completed** when the file finished processing * **Error** when processing failed If a file fails, Stylo surfaces the processing error in the file row. {/* TODO(docs): Screenshot of the Files tab showing pending, processing, completed, and error file states. Tracked in public/images/README.md. */} For non-file-upload knowledge bases, the files view is not the main way content enters Stylo. In those cases, the sync process pulls content from the connected source instead. When to use the Documents tab [#when-to-use-the-documents-tab] Use the **Documents** tab when you want to inspect what Stylo has indexed, not just what was uploaded. The Documents view lets you: * Browse indexed documents * Expand a document to preview its content * Search within the knowledge base * Filter documents by type * Edit document labels and content tags This is the best place to verify whether important content is present and whether it looks usable for retrieval. Source documents and Q&A documents [#source-documents-and-qa-documents] The Documents tab supports three filters: * **All** * **QA** * **Source** These filters matter because Stylo stores more than one document type in the same knowledge base: * **Source** documents are the original synced or uploaded content * **QA** documents are AI-generated question-and-answer pair documents If you want to audit the original source material, use **Source**. If you want to review the generated Q\&A layer, use **QA**. The search box on the Documents tab searches within that knowledge base and returns scored results. This is a practical way to verify that the content you expect is actually retrievable. Editing labels and content tags [#editing-labels-and-content-tags] From the Documents tab, you can edit: * **Labels** * **Content Tags** Use these when you want to improve how a document is categorized or described for your team. {/* TODO(docs): label/content-tag edits don't trigger an immediate re-embed, so they may not affect retrieval right away. Confirm the timing before documenting it as a search-quality control. */} Delete carefully [#delete-carefully] Stylo lets you delete both files and entire knowledge bases. * Deleting a **file** removes the file and deletes the indexed document created from that file * Deleting a **knowledge base** removes its documents and files This is useful for cleanup, but it is also destructive. Use deletion when content is outdated, duplicated, or should no longer be searchable. Practical health checks [#practical-health-checks] Use this sequence when response quality drops or a sync looks wrong: 1. Open the knowledge base **Overview** and check **Sync Status**. 2. If the status is **Error**, review the error before assuming the content is current. 3. Open **Files** to confirm uploaded files finished processing. 4. Open **Documents** to confirm the expected content appears in the index. 5. Search within the knowledge base to see whether the content is findable. When this page matters most [#when-this-page-matters-most] This page is especially useful when: * A newly uploaded file is not appearing in AI-grounded responses yet * A synced source looks stale * You need to confirm whether the problem is with the raw file, the sync run, or the indexed document layer * You want to clean up duplicate or low-value content Related [#related] * [Knowledge Base](/knowledge-base) * [Context Engine Settings](/context-engine-settings) * [Query Mapping](/query-mapping)