/llamaindex

name: llamaindex
description: Data framework for building LLM applications with RAG. Specializes in document ingestion (300+ connectors), indexing, and querying. Features vector indices, query engines, agents, and multi-modal support. Use for document Q&A, chatbots, knowledge retrieval, or building RAG pipelines. Best for data-centric LLM applications.
version: 1.0.0
author: Orchestra Research
license: MIT
tags: [Agents, LlamaIndex, RAG, Document Ingestion, Vector Indices, Query Engines, Knowledge Retrieval, Data Framework, Multimodal, Private Data, Connectors]
dependencies: [llama-index, openai, anthropic]

LlamaIndex - Data Framework for LLM Applications

The leading framework for connecting LLMs with your data.

When to use LlamaIndex

**Use LlamaIndex when:**

• Building RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) applications
• Need document question-answering over private data
• Ingesting data from multiple sources (300+ connectors)
• Creating knowledge bases for LLMs
• Building chatbots with enterprise data
• Need structured data extraction from documents

**Metrics**:

• **45,100+ GitHub stars**
• **23,000+ repositories** use LlamaIndex
• **300+ data connectors** (LlamaHub)
• **1,715+ contributors**
• **v0.14.7** (stable)

**Use alternatives instead**:

• **LangChain**: More general-purpose, better for agents
• **Haystack**: Production search pipelines
• **txtai**: Lightweight semantic search
• **Chroma**: Just need vector storage

Quick start

Installation

# Starter package (recommended)
pip install llama-index

# Or minimal core + specific integrations
pip install llama-index-core
pip install llama-index-llms-openai
pip install llama-index-embeddings-openai

5-line RAG example

from llama_index.core import VectorStoreIndex, SimpleDirectoryReader

# Load documents
documents = SimpleDirectoryReader("data").load_data()

# Create index
index = VectorStoreIndex.from_documents(documents)

# Query
query_engine = index.as_query_engine()
response = query_engine.query("What did the author do growing up?")
print(response)

Core concepts

1. Data connectors - Load documents

from llama_index.core import SimpleDirectoryReader, Document
from llama_index.readers.web import SimpleWebPageReader
from llama_index.readers.github import GithubRepositoryReader

# Directory of files
documents = SimpleDirectoryReader("./data").load_data()

# Web pages
reader = SimpleWebPageReader()
documents = reader.load_data(["https://example.com"])

# GitHub repository
reader = GithubRepositoryReader(owner="user", repo="repo")
documents = reader.load_data(branch="main")

# Manual document creation
doc = Document(
    text="This is the document content",
    metadata={"source": "manual", "date": "2025-01-01"}
)

2. Indices - Structure data

from llama_index.core import VectorStoreIndex, ListIndex, TreeIndex

# Vector index (most common - semantic search)
vector_index = VectorStoreIndex.from_documents(documents)

# List index (sequential scan)
list_index = ListIndex.from_documents(documents)

# Tree index (hierarchical summary)
tree_index = TreeIndex.from_documents(documents)

# Save index
index.storage_context.persist(persist_dir="./storage")

# Load index
from llama_index.core import load_index_from_storage, StorageContext
storage_context = StorageContext.from_defaults(persist_dir="./storage")
index = load_index_from_storage(storage_context)

3. Query engines - Ask questions

# Basic query
query_engine = index.as_query_engine()
response = query_engine.query("What is the main topic?")
print(response)

# Streaming response
query_engine = index.as_query_engine(streaming=True)
response = query_engine.query("Explain quantum computing")
for text in response.response_gen:
    print(text, end="", flush=True)

# Custom configuration
query_engine = index.as_query_engine(
    similarity_top_k=3,          # Return top 3 chunks
    response_mode="compact",     # Or "tree_summarize", "simple_summarize"
    verbose=True
)

4. Retrievers - Find relevant chunks

# Vector retriever
retriever = index.as_retriever(similarity_top_k=5)
nodes = retriever.retrieve("machine learning")

# With filtering
retriever = index.as_retriever(
    similarity_top_k=3,
    filters={"metadata.category": "tutorial"}
)

# Custom retriever
from llama_index.core.retrievers import BaseRetriever

class CustomRetriever(BaseRetriever):
    def _retrieve(self, query_bundle):
        # Your custom retrieval logic
        return nodes

Agents with tools

Basic agent

from llama_index.core.agent import FunctionAgent
from llama_index.llms.openai import OpenAI

# Define tools
def multiply(a: int, b: int) -> int:
    """Multiply two numbers."""
    return a * b

def add(a: int, b: int) -> int:
    """Add two numbers."""
    return a + b

# Create agent
llm = OpenAI(model="gpt-4o")
agent = FunctionAgent.from_tools(
    tools=[multiply, add],
    llm=llm,
    verbose=True
)

# Use agent
response = agent.chat("What is 25 * 17 + 142?")
print(response)

RAG agent (document search + tools)

from llama_index.core.tools import QueryEngineTool

# Create index as before
index = VectorStoreIndex.from_documents(documents)

# Wrap query engine as tool
query_tool = QueryEngineTool.from_defaults(
    query_engine=index.as_query_engine(),
    name="python_docs",
    description="Useful for answering questions about Python programming"
)

# Agent with document search + calculator
agent = FunctionAgent.from_tools(
    tools=[query_tool, multiply, add],
    llm=llm
)

# Agent decides when to search docs vs calculate
response = agent.chat("According to the docs, what is Python used for?")

Advanced RAG patterns

Chat engine (conversational)

from llama_index.core.chat_engine import CondensePlusContextChatEngine

# Chat with memory
chat_engine = index.as_chat_engine(
    chat_mode="condense_plus_context",  # Or "contex