Managing a knowledge base

Handbook (docs viewer)

Every knowledge base has a handbook, a readable presentation of all content as a web page. Open it via the “Open handbook” button in the knowledge base view.

The handbook offers:

• Navigation sidebar with all topics
• Search function
• Formatted display of all Markdown content
• Embedded images and documents

Viewing, downloading and editing files

The “Files” tab shows every page and attachment of the knowledge base exactly as stored, as Markdown and word for word. This is the wording the AI finds when it searches.

• Use “Text” and “Formatted” at the top right to switch between the raw Markdown and a formatted view. Pages open formatted at first; after that your browser remembers the view you chose last.
• “Download” downloads the open file, “Download all” the whole knowledge base as a ZIP file with all folders and attachments.
• “Versions” shows when and by whom a file was changed. You can compare two versions and download any older one.

Everyone who may read the knowledge base sees this tab.

Editing files directly

With Approve access on a knowledge base of your company and a Business or Max license, you edit the files right in this tab, without the AI rephrasing anything:

• Change text: open the file and type. It is saved as soon as you leave the field.
• “Add files” uploads files into the folder of the file currently open; you can also drag them onto a folder in the tree. A file with the same name is replaced. Markdown, text, CSV, PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and images up to 5 MB are possible.
• “New folder” creates a folder. Rename and delete are behind the icons next to an entry in the tree. Move by dragging onto another folder.
• Under “Versions” you can restore an older version.

Every change appears in the history with your name, and the AI finds the new wording after about a minute. 9brains updates the handbook’s table of contents for new, moved and deleted pages automatically. If someone else changed the file while you had it open, 9brains does not save over it but asks you to reload it.

With the same permission, an agent can store, replace and delete files too, by script and without AI, for example to mirror a OneDrive folder into the knowledge base at regular intervals. Example 4 on the agents page shows how that looks.

Creating a knowledge base

You create knowledge bases from the Business license on; all members hold the group permission “Create knowledge bases” by default.

1. Go to Settings -> Knowledge
2. Click “Create knowledge base”
3. Enter a name (required field, max. 100 characters)
4. Optional: Add a description (max. 500 characters)
5. Click Create

The new knowledge base is initially empty. As soon as knowledge is added via chat, the AI automatically creates a sensible folder structure.

Who a knowledge base belongs to

Every knowledge base belongs either to you personally or to the company.

• To you personally: This is how every knowledge base you create yourself starts out. Nobody else sees it, administrators included, until you grant somebody access. That covers the contents as well as the mere name in the overview.
• To the company: This is how the knowledge base created with the workspace starts out. Administrators can manage, share and delete it. When creating one, administrators can choose this deliberately.

The General tab shows which case applies under “Ownership”, and that is where ownership changes too:

• If the knowledge base is yours, you find the “Hand over to the company” button. Afterwards every administrator can manage it and read its contents.
• If it belongs to the company, administrators can pass it to somebody via “Hand over to a person”. That person also receives full access. From then on the knowledge base disappears from every administrator’s management view, including the one who handed it over.

A knowledge base that belongs to a person can only be passed on by its owner, and only to the company. Administrators cannot hand it to a third person.

When somebody leaves the workspace, their personal knowledge bases appear in the removal dialog, where it is decided whether somebody takes them over or they are deleted along with the account.

Editing a knowledge base

For the owner of a personal knowledge base, and for administrators on company knowledge bases.

Open the knowledge base via Settings -> Knowledge -> click KB.

Tab: General

• Change name (max. 100 characters)
• Change description (max. 500 characters)
• Set visibility:
  • Company-internal: Only users with assigned permissions have access. Ideal for confidential information.
  • Public: Accessible via an individual link, suitable for support bots, FAQ pages, or kiosk terminals.

Changes are saved automatically (no separate save button needed).

Danger zone

At the bottom of the General tab you find the danger zone. Here the knowledge base can be deleted irreversibly, including all content, suggestions, and history.

Managing permissions

For the owner of a personal knowledge base, and for administrators on company knowledge bases.

Open the knowledge base and switch to the “Permissions” tab.

Access permissions

There are four levels that build on each other:

Permission	What the user can do
Read	Retrieve knowledge in chat, read handbook, view and download files, view history
Suggest knowledge	Everything from “Read” + suggest knowledge via chat (submitted for approval)
Add knowledge	Everything from “Suggest” + add knowledge directly (without approval)
Approve knowledge	Everything from “Add” + approve or reject suggestions + reorganize structure + edit files directly (Business or Max)

Adding groups or people

1. Click “Add group or person…”
2. The picker shows all existing groups and people right away, grouped by kind. You only need to type if you want to narrow the list down
3. Select the entry. Entries that already have access are greyed out and marked “Already granted”. With a lot of entries the list shows only the first ones per section and tells you to narrow down the search
4. The default permission is “Read”, change it via the dropdown

If everyone in the workspace should have access, pick the group “Alle Mitglieder” instead of individual people: it covers every member of your workspace.

Changing a permission

Click the dropdown next to the name and choose the desired permission.

Removing a permission

Click the trash icon next to the entry.

Important notes

• A personal knowledge base without any permissions is visible to its owner alone. Administrators find it neither in the overview nor through a direct link.
• If you remove yourself from the permissions list of your own knowledge base, it still remains yours: you can keep managing, handing over and deleting it, but you no longer see its content. If it should carry on without you entirely, hand it over to the company on the General tab.
• If users with the “Suggest knowledge” permission exist, at least one user with the “Approve knowledge” permission should be configured, otherwise no one can approve the suggestions. A warning is shown if this is missing.
• If the group “Alle Mitglieder” has read access, a notice is shown.

Sharing a knowledge base with other workspaces

Only for owners of the knowledge base.

Open the knowledge base and switch to the “Share” tab.

How does sharing work?

Sharing works via share codes, short codes that you can pass on to administrators of other workspaces.

Creating a share code

1. Choose the access permission the other workspace should receive (Read, Suggest, Add, or Approve)
2. Optional: Set an expiration date
3. Click “Create code”
4. Copy the generated code using the copy button

Redeeming a share code (as admin of the other workspace)

1. Go to Settings -> Knowledge
2. Scroll to “Redeem knowledge base”
3. Paste the code
4. The knowledge base appears in your list

Managing active shares

The table shows all existing shares with:

• Code (partially masked)
• Access permission
• Expiration date (or “No expiration date”)
• Whether the code has already been redeemed (incl. name of the workspace)

Click the trash icon to revoke a share.

Restructuring a knowledge base (refactoring)

Only for users with approval permission and owner status.

If a knowledge base has become cluttered over time, the AI can automatically reorganize the structure. For example, say in chat:

“Please restructure the HR knowledge base. The policies should be grouped by topic.”

The AI:

1. Analyzes the current structure
2. Reorganizes files and folders
3. Updates all references and the navigation
4. Creates an entry in the change history

Important: No content is lost in the process. Only the structure is changed, not the content itself.

Controlling the visibility of knowledge bases

Administrators only.

Administrators can hide knowledge bases without deleting them. Hidden knowledge bases:

• Are not visible to users
• Retain all content and permissions
• Can be made visible again at any time

This is useful for temporarily deactivating knowledge bases (e.g. during a revision) or for preparing them before they are made visible to everyone.

Changing the order

Administrators can change the order of knowledge bases via drag and drop. The order determines the priority in which the AI searches the knowledge bases.

System knowledge bases

Some knowledge bases are marked as system knowledge bases. These contain fundamental information about the platform itself and cannot be edited or deleted.