Getting Started
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about using Onyx
General Questions
What kind of questions can I ask Onyx?
What kind of questions can I ask Onyx?
You can ask Onyx about general world knowledge known to the LLM,
knowledge from connected applications,
or things searchable on the web (if Web Search is configured)
How is my private data being processed?
How is my private data being processed?
Please check the Security tab to learn more.
Onyx is built with security and data privacy as a core commitment.
How do I know if Onyx is right for me?
How do I know if Onyx is right for me?
Onyx is built for teams of all sizes whether it’s a single user looking for a local Chat UI or a global enterprise
needing a unified GenAI solution for the entire workforce.
Onyx emphasizes data privacy and security as well as reliable responses by connecting to knowledge whether private
or from the web.
Can I run Onyx offline?
Can I run Onyx offline?
Yes, however Onyx needs an LLM to function properly.
You can air gap the entire system but you would need to run a local LLM.
Note that we strongly recommend using a recent and non-quantized LLM for the best experience.
Technical Issues
Why is my Onyx deployment not coming up?
Why is my Onyx deployment not coming up?
The most common culprit is under-resourcing the deployment.
Please refer to the Resourcing page to double check.
Responses are really slow, is this expected?
Responses are really slow, is this expected?
No! Onyx is intended to provide a fast and snappy experience. If the responses are slow,
it may be due to a couple issues.
- The LLM attached to the system is slow, has low throughput, or does not support streaming.
- You’ve configured locally running models that are not the default but you do not have a GPU available to the system. Typically this is from setting a local reranking or embedding model.
Knowledge and Search
Why can't Onyx find information that I know exists?
Why can't Onyx find information that I know exists?
If it’s an internal document,
it may be because the indexing of the application has not completed or because the access controls are incorrectly
set. In cases of failure, the system always defaults to least permissive.
The most common failure is that the connector is incorrectly configured.
Does Onyx keep its knowledge up to date?
Does Onyx keep its knowledge up to date?
Onyx connectors will fetch updates on a set schedule (typically 30 minutes),
this polling frequency can be configured by the admin for each connector. The documents, metadata,
and access permissions all receive updates.
Why is Onyx refusing to search the internet?
Why is Onyx refusing to search the internet?
Web Search must be configured by an admin to be usable.
It requires setting up one of the supported Search providers and also a scraper (though this is optional as Onyx
provides one built in).