> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://aidocs.ethanbragdon.icu/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Knowledge & Research APIs > Understand the Starfire Developer Platform model for knowledge bases, retrieval queries, embeddings, research runs, and cited reports. # Knowledge & research APIs The Developer Platform is designed to expose Starfire's retrieval and research systems as programmatic resources rather than limiting them to the web UI. ## Knowledge resources Knowledge APIs are intended to let authorized applications create or work with persistent reference collections. Conceptually, a client can work with operations such as: * create or list knowledge bases * add files or supported source URLs * inspect ingestion/indexing state * query a knowledge base * retrieve relevant source material The final route names and schemas remain part of the active Alpha contract. ## Knowledge queries A knowledge query is different from a normal model prompt. Its primary job is to retrieve material from an authorized source collection. A query can include concepts such as: * query text * result limit * filters * project or organization context * source constraints The application can then decide whether to show those results directly or pass them into a model workflow. ## Embeddings The v1 architecture includes an embeddings resource so approved developer workloads can use Starfire's configured embedding providers without binding directly to a single provider implementation. Embedding availability, dimensions, models, pricing, and limits can vary with platform configuration. ## Research resources Research APIs represent a higher-level workflow. A research request can create a long-running job that plans queries, gathers sources, evaluates claims, and returns a report or structured result. A research request can include concepts such as: * research question * depth * source limit * project context * output/report requirements ## Research status and sources Because deeper research is asynchronous, the developer model is designed around a research/run identifier. Clients can inspect run state and, where the active contract supports it, retrieve sources or the final report separately. ## Citation-aware output Research integrations should preserve enough source metadata for a consuming application to connect claims to their supporting sources. The API should not be treated as a guarantee that every retrieved source is correct. Applications that make high-stakes decisions should still inspect source quality and the relationship between the source and the claim. ## Organization ownership Knowledge bases and research runs can belong to an organization or project. API authorization must respect the same resource boundaries as the web application. Learn the retrieval architecture behind the API. See the human-facing research workflow and citation model.