Getting answers from IBM documentation
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Use chat to ask questions that reference IBM and Red Hat product documentation.
This feature requires an IBM Cloud Trial, Essentials, or Standard plan. It isn't available if you are using watsonx Code Assistant Individual to access a local IBM Granite model.
Chat syntax for documentation questions
The chat syntax is:
/docs [collection:<collection_name>] <your question>
The collection_name is optional. If no collection is specified, ibm_docs is used.
Available documentation collections are:
| Collection | Source | URL reference |
|---|---|---|
ibm_docs |
IBM Documentation | https://www.ibm.com/docs |
cloud_docs |
IBM Cloud Docs | https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/ |
redhat |
Red Hat Documentation | https://docs.redhat.com/products |
ibm_redbooks |
IBM Redbooks | https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/ |
support_docs |
IBM Support content | https://www.ibm.com/support/ |
general_technical_docs |
IBM Research and SecurityIntelligence | https://research.ibm.com/ and https://securityintelligence.com/articles |
Examples
| Type | Example question |
|---|---|
| General product information | /docs what are the different IBM Cognos Analytics offerings for which IBM provides commands to? |
| Perform a task | /docs What is the command to back up a database in Db2? Enclose the command in code blocks. |
| Troubleshoot an error code | /docs collection:support_docs I am getting this error: Internal error occurred: SCAPI error: The value on row 1,029 is not a valid string while previewing a data asset using import node. Can you provide a workaround for this? |
| Query a specific collection | /docs collection:redhat What are Machine pools in Cluster administration nodes in Red Hat OpenShift dedicated? |
Tips
These tips can help improve your /docs questions.
Use the product name
Be sure to specify the product name. How to back up a database might retrieve results from Db2, but How to back up a Db2 database works better.
Version numbers
The source that watsonx Code Assistant uses contains documentation about the latest versions of IBM products. Questions about older versions might work if you specify the version number in your query.
Context
When watsonx Code Assistant answers a /docs question, it doesn't use any other context from your chat window or open files. The context is retrieved from IBM product documentation.
The response from a /docs question becomes part of your chat context. Your next chat question can use the documentation response as context to help guide watsonx Code Assistant.
For example, you can ask: /docs what is the command to back up a Db2 database. Format the command in Markdown.
When you get the response with the command, you can ask: Create a script to back up the Db2 database REVENUE and you should receive a response that uses the command syntax from the documentation.