feat(home): add Ask mode, an agent turn grounded in the searched sources

Author: waleedlatif1

apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/knowledge-search-results/knowledge-search-results.tsx

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { useQueryStates } from 'nuqs'
 import type { WorkspaceKnowledgeSearchResult } from '@/lib/api/contracts/knowledge'
 import { matchSnippet } from '@/lib/knowledge/search/snippet'
 import { connectorDisplayName } from '@/lib/sim-search/connectors'
+import { searchedKnowledgeBases } from '@/lib/sim-search/knowledge-bases'
 import {
   highlightTerms,
   SOURCE_ROW_CLASSES,
@@ -33,8 +34,6 @@ import { useKnowledgeBasesQuery, useWorkspaceKnowledgeSearch } from '@/hooks/que
 
 const EMPTY_MEMBER_CONNECTORS: WorkspaceMemberConnector[] = []
 
-/** A search spans at most this many knowledge bases. */
-const MAX_SEARCHED_KNOWLEDGE_BASES = 20
 /** Filters appear only once a list is long and mixed enough for them to help. */
 const FILTERS_MIN_RESULTS = 10
 const DAY_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000
@@ -178,14 +177,7 @@ export function KnowledgeSearchResults({
     isPending: basesPending,
     error: basesError,
   } = useKnowledgeBasesQuery(workspaceId)
-  /**
-   * The list also carries the viewer's legacy personal bases, which have no
-   * workspace; a search names one workspace and refuses a base outside it.
-   */
-  const knowledgeBaseIds = knowledgeBases
-    .filter((kb) => kb.workspaceId === workspaceId)
-    .slice(0, MAX_SEARCHED_KNOWLEDGE_BASES)
-    .map((kb) => kb.id)
+  const knowledgeBaseIds = searchedKnowledgeBases(knowledgeBases, workspaceId).map((kb) => kb.id)
   const {
     data: results,
     isPending,

apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/suggested-actions/suggested-actions.test.tsx

@@ -128,4 +128,14 @@ describe('SuggestedActions', () => {
     expect(document.querySelector('[data-testid="search-sources"]')).not.toBeNull()
     expect(rows()).toHaveLength(0)
   })
+
+  it('shows the sources in Ask mode, which answers from them', () => {
+    mount()
+
+    act(() => useMothershipModeStore.getState().setMode('ask'))
+
+    expect(heading()).toBe('Sources')
+    expect(document.querySelector('[data-testid="search-sources"]')).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(rows()).toHaveLength(0)
+  })
 })

apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/suggested-actions/suggested-actions.tsx

@@ -234,6 +234,7 @@ const INITIAL_ACTIONS: Action[] = [
 /** Section heading per composer mode — Search reads as a connect-your-sources list. */
 const HEADINGS: Record<MothershipMode, string> = {
   build: 'Suggested actions',
+  ask: 'Sources',
   search: 'Sources',
 }
 
@@ -372,7 +373,7 @@ export function SuggestedActions({ onSelectPrompt }: SuggestedActionsProps) {
               `collapsible-up`/`-down` interpolate height alone, so a margin here
               would hold its full value through the close and then vanish on unmount,
               snapping the content below up. */}
-          {mode === 'search' && workspaceId ? (
+          {mode !== 'build' && workspaceId ? (
             <div className='pt-1.5'>
               <SearchSources workspaceId={workspaceId} />
             </div>

apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/user-input/components/mode-switcher/mode-switcher.test.tsx

@@ -78,22 +78,23 @@ describe('ModeSwitcher', () => {
     expect(button.querySelector('svg')).toBeNull()
   })
 
-  it('lists both modes and checks the active one', () => {
+  it('lists every mode and checks the active one', () => {
     mount()
     openMenu()
 
     const rows = items()
-    expect(rows.map((row) => row.textContent)).toEqual(['Build', 'Search'])
+    expect(rows.map((row) => row.textContent)).toEqual(['Build', 'Ask', 'Search'])
     expect(rows[0].querySelector('svg')).not.toBeNull()
     expect(rows[1].querySelector('svg')).toBeNull()
+    expect(rows[2].querySelector('svg')).toBeNull()
   })
 
   it('switches the shared mode and reports the change', () => {
     mount()
     openMenu()
 
     act(() => {
-      items()[1].dispatchEvent(new MouseEvent('click', { bubbles: true, button: 0 }))
+      items()[2].dispatchEvent(new MouseEvent('click', { bubbles: true, button: 0 }))
     })
 
     expect(useMothershipModeStore.getState().mode).toBe('search')

apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/components/user-input/components/mode-switcher/mode-switcher.tsx

@@ -28,14 +28,15 @@ import {
 
 const MODE_LABELS: Record<MothershipMode, string> = {
   build: 'Build',
+  ask: 'Ask',
   search: 'Search',
 }
 
 /**
- * The composer's Build / Search switcher: a label-only `Chip` in its `round`
+ * The composer's Build / Ask / Search switcher: a label-only `Chip` in its `round`
  * shape — chip chrome throughout (`--text-body` label, `--surface-hover` on
  * hover, no text-color shift), fully round to sit in the toolbar's row of
- * round controls — opening a two-row menu that checks the active mode, as
+ * round controls — opening a menu that checks the active mode, as
  * `ChipDropdown` does.
  */
 export const ModeSwitcher = memo(function ModeSwitcher() {

apps/sim/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/home.tsx

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import { useQueryState, useQueryStates } from 'nuqs'
 import { usePostHog } from 'posthog-js/react'
 import { requestJson } from '@/lib/api/client/request'
 import { createWorkflowContract } from '@/lib/api/contracts'
+import type { KnowledgeBaseData } from '@/lib/api/contracts/knowledge/base'
 import {
   LandingPromptStorage,
   type LandingWorkflowSeed,
@@ -33,6 +34,10 @@ import {
   type MothershipSendMessageDetail,
 } from '@/lib/mothership/events'
 import { captureEvent } from '@/lib/posthog/client'
+import {
+  searchedKnowledgeBases,
+  withSearchedKnowledgeContexts,
+} from '@/lib/sim-search/knowledge-bases'
 import { persistImportedWorkflow } from '@/lib/workflows/operations/import-export'
 /**
  * Imported from its own folder, not the components barrel: the workflow copilot
@@ -57,6 +62,7 @@ import {
   searchQueryParam,
 } from '@/app/workspace/[workspaceId]/home/search-params'
 import { useFolders } from '@/hooks/queries/folders'
+import { useKnowledgeBasesQuery } from '@/hooks/queries/kb/knowledge'
 import { useMarkMothershipChatRead } from '@/hooks/queries/mothership-chats'
 import { useWorkflows } from '@/hooks/queries/workflows'
 import { getWorkspaceFilesQueryOptions, useWorkspaceFiles } from '@/hooks/queries/workspace-files'
@@ -87,6 +93,9 @@ import type {
 
 const logger = createLogger('Home')
 
+/** Stable empty list, so a missing base list never rebuilds what reads it. */
+const EMPTY_KNOWLEDGE_BASES: KnowledgeBaseData[] = []
+
 /**
  * The resource preview panel pulls in the file-viewer stack (rich-markdown
  * editor, CSV/PDF viewers). It only renders once a chat has messages, so it is
@@ -182,6 +191,12 @@ export function Home({ chatId, userName, userId }: HomeProps) {
     if (initialSearchQuery) useMothershipModeStore.getState().setMode('search')
   }, [initialSearchQuery])
   const composerMode = useMothershipModeStore((state) => state.mode)
+  /** The bases an Ask turn is grounded in; read through a ref so a list refresh never rebuilds the submit handler. */
+  const { data: knowledgeBases = EMPTY_KNOWLEDGE_BASES } = useKnowledgeBasesQuery(workspaceId)
+  const knowledgeBasesRef = useRef(knowledgeBases)
+  useEffect(() => {
+    knowledgeBasesRef.current = knowledgeBases
+  }, [knowledgeBases])
   const hasCheckedLandingStorageRef = useRef(false)
   const initialViewInputRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
   const initialViewUserInputRef = useRef<UserInputHandle>(null)
@@ -473,7 +488,8 @@ export function Home({ chatId, userName, userId }: HomeProps) {
        * Search mode answers with documents, not a turn of the agent, and only
        * a query can be answered: attachments alone have nothing to search for.
        */
-      if (useMothershipModeStore.getState().mode === 'search') {
+      const mode = useMothershipModeStore.getState().mode
+      if (mode === 'search') {
         if (trimmed) setSearchQuery(trimmed)
         return
       }
@@ -483,30 +499,39 @@ export function Home({ chatId, userName, userId }: HomeProps) {
       }
 
       prepareResourceViewForAgentTurn()
-      sendMessage(trimmed || 'Analyze the attached file(s).', fileAttachments, contexts)
+      /** Ask is a turn of the agent grounded in the searched sources. */
+      const turnContexts =
+        mode === 'ask'
+          ? withSearchedKnowledgeContexts(
+              contexts,
+              searchedKnowledgeBases(knowledgeBasesRef.current, workspaceId)
+            )
+          : contexts
+      sendMessage(trimmed || 'Analyze the attached file(s).', fileAttachments, turnContexts)
     },
     [workspaceId, chatId, prepareResourceViewForAgentTurn, sendMessage, setSearchQuery]
   )
 
   /** An emptied search box returns to the sources; nothing else reads the cleared query. */
   const clearSearch = useCallback(() => setSearchQuery(''), [setSearchQuery])
 
-  /** Summarize on a result: hand the document to the agent in Build mode. */
+  /** Summarize or Answer on a result: hand the question to the agent in Ask mode. */
   const handleSummarize = useCallback(
     (prompt: string) => {
-      useMothershipModeStore.getState().setMode('build')
+      useMothershipModeStore.getState().setMode('ask')
       setSearchQuery('')
       handleSubmit(prompt)
     },
     [handleSubmit, setSearchQuery]
   )
   /**
-   * A chat that already exists opens in Build: its transcript is a
-   * conversation, and search results never join it. A new chat keeps whatever
-   * mode the person used last.
+   * A chat that already exists never opens in Search: its transcript is a
+   * conversation, and search results never join it. Build and Ask both carry
+   * over, so a follow-up question stays grounded in the sources.
    */
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (chatId) useMothershipModeStore.getState().setMode('build')
+    const store = useMothershipModeStore.getState()
+    if (chatId && store.mode === 'search') store.setMode('build')
   }, [chatId])
   const showSearchResults = composerMode === 'search' && searchQuery.trim().length > 0
   const searchResults = showSearchResults ? (

apps/sim/lib/posthog/events.ts

@@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ export interface PostHogEventMap {
   /** The chat composer's mode switcher picked a different mode. */
   chat_mode_changed: {
     workspace_id: string
-    mode: 'build' | 'search'
+    mode: 'build' | 'ask' | 'search'
   }
 
   /**

apps/sim/lib/sim-search/knowledge-bases.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import {
+  MAX_SEARCHED_KNOWLEDGE_BASES,
+  searchedKnowledgeBases,
+  withSearchedKnowledgeContexts,
+} from '@/lib/sim-search/knowledge-bases'
+
+const base = (id: string, workspaceId: string | null = 'ws-1') => ({
+  id,
+  name: `Base ${id}`,
+  workspaceId,
+})
+
+describe('searchedKnowledgeBases', () => {
+  it('keeps only the bases of the named workspace, capped', () => {
+    const bases = [
+      base('legacy', null),
+      base('other', 'ws-2'),
+      ...Array.from({ length: MAX_SEARCHED_KNOWLEDGE_BASES + 1 }, (_, i) => base(`kb-${i}`)),
+    ]
+    const searched = searchedKnowledgeBases(bases, 'ws-1')
+    expect(searched).toHaveLength(MAX_SEARCHED_KNOWLEDGE_BASES)
+    expect(searched.every((kb) => kb.workspaceId === 'ws-1')).toBe(true)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('withSearchedKnowledgeContexts', () => {
+  it('attaches every searched base after the contexts the person chose', () => {
+    expect(
+      withSearchedKnowledgeContexts(
+        [{ kind: 'file', fileId: 'f-1', label: 'notes.md' }],
+        [base('kb-1')]
+      )
+    ).toEqual([
+      { kind: 'file', fileId: 'f-1', label: 'notes.md' },
+      { kind: 'knowledge', knowledgeId: 'kb-1', label: 'Base kb-1' },
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('does not attach a base the person already mentioned', () => {
+    const mentioned = { kind: 'knowledge' as const, knowledgeId: 'kb-1', label: 'Mine' }
+    expect(withSearchedKnowledgeContexts([mentioned], [base('kb-1'), base('kb-2')])).toEqual([
+      mentioned,
+      { kind: 'knowledge', knowledgeId: 'kb-2', label: 'Base kb-2' },
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('returns the bases alone when nothing was chosen', () => {
+    expect(withSearchedKnowledgeContexts(undefined, [base('kb-1')])).toEqual([
+      { kind: 'knowledge', knowledgeId: 'kb-1', label: 'Base kb-1' },
+    ])
+  })
+})

apps/sim/lib/sim-search/knowledge-bases.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import type { KnowledgeBaseData } from '@/lib/api/contracts/knowledge/base'
+import type { ChatContext } from '@/stores/panel/types'
+
+/** A search, or an answer drawn from one, spans at most this many knowledge bases. */
+export const MAX_SEARCHED_KNOWLEDGE_BASES = 20
+
+type SearchedKnowledgeBase = Pick<KnowledgeBaseData, 'id' | 'name' | 'workspaceId'>
+
+/**
+ * The bases a workspace search covers. The list also carries the viewer's
+ * legacy personal bases, which have no workspace; a search names one workspace
+ * and refuses a base outside it.
+ */
+export function searchedKnowledgeBases<T extends SearchedKnowledgeBase>(
+  bases: readonly T[],
+  workspaceId: string
+): T[] {
+  return bases.filter((kb) => kb.workspaceId === workspaceId).slice(0, MAX_SEARCHED_KNOWLEDGE_BASES)
+}
+
+/**
+ * The contexts an Ask turn carries: every searched base, attached the way an
+ * `@` mention attaches one, so the agent answers from the same documents the
+ * Search panel shows. A base the person already mentioned is not attached twice.
+ */
+export function withSearchedKnowledgeContexts(
+  contexts: readonly ChatContext[] | undefined,
+  bases: readonly SearchedKnowledgeBase[]
+): ChatContext[] {
+  const mentioned = new Set<string>()
+  for (const context of contexts ?? []) {
+    if (context.kind === 'knowledge' && context.knowledgeId) mentioned.add(context.knowledgeId)
+  }
+  const attached: ChatContext[] = bases
+    .filter((kb) => !mentioned.has(kb.id))
+    .map((kb) => ({ kind: 'knowledge', knowledgeId: kb.id, label: kb.name }))
+  return [...(contexts ?? []), ...attached]
+}

apps/sim/stores/mothership-mode/store.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { create } from 'zustand'
 import { devtools } from 'zustand/middleware'
 
-export const MOTHERSHIP_MODES = ['build', 'search'] as const
+export const MOTHERSHIP_MODES = ['build', 'ask', 'search'] as const
 
 export type MothershipMode = (typeof MOTHERSHIP_MODES)[number]
 
@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ interface MothershipModeState {
 const initialState: Pick<MothershipModeState, 'mode'> = { mode: 'build' }
 
 /**
- * The chat composer's mode — Build (default) or Search — read by the input's
- * mode switcher and by the suggested actions beneath the input.
+ * The chat composer's mode — Build (default), Ask, or Search — read by the
+ * input's mode switcher and by the suggested actions beneath the input. Ask is
+ * a turn of the agent grounded in the searched sources; Search answers with
+ * documents and no turn at all.
  *
  * A store rather than `Home` state because `Home` remounts per chat
  * (`key={chatId}`) and the new-chat → `/chat/[chatId]` handoff must carry the