Creating Your First Helper

Build AI assistants tailored to your workflow

What Are Helpers?

Helpers are AI assistants you create to work with your knowledge base. Unlike fixed chatbots, helpers evolve with your needs.

Your First Helper: v0

Every RA-H installation comes with v0, a research assistant. Use the Helpers panel to ask questions, explore topics, and discover connections in your knowledge base.

Creating a Custom Helper

Custom helper creation will be introduced later in the beta. For now, use the built-in helpers (v0 and v1).

Step 3: System Prompt

You are Paper Analyst, specialized in:
1. Extracting key insights from research papers
2. Creating structured summaries
3. Identifying connections to existing knowledge
4. Tracking citations and references

When given a paper URL or PDF:
- Extract title, authors, abstract
- Summarize key contributions
- Note methodologies
- Connect to existing nodes
- Track important citations

Helper Configuration Format

{
  "id": "v2",
  "name": "Paper Analyst",
  "model": "claude-3-sonnet",
  "temperature": 0.3,
  "tools": [
    "createNode",
    "createEdge",
    "extractPDF",
    "extractWebsite",
    "semanticSearch"
  ],
  "systemPrompt": "You are Paper Analyst...",
  "created": "2024-01-20T10:00:00Z",
  "usage": {
    "queries": 127,
    "nodesCreated": 89,
    "edgesCreated": 234
  }
}

Using Your Helper

Using the Helpers Panel

  • Select a helper (e.g., v0: Research Assistant)
  • Ask questions about your knowledge base
  • For importing, use v1: Add Stuff (YouTube, web, PDFs)

Helper Evolution

Helpers will gain new capabilities as the beta progresses. Self-modification and advanced configuration will be documented later.

Example Flows

  • Import content (v1) → Explore and link (v0)
  • Summarize notes (v0) → Create new nodes when useful

Common starter patterns:

  • Daily Logger — capture thoughts and ideas
  • Research Assistant — explore topics and connect ideas
  • Meeting Transcriber — extract and summarize meetings

Best Practices

Start simple - Begin with one or two tools, then expand as you understand your workflow.

  • Single purpose: Each helper should do one thing well
  • Clear prompts: Be specific about what you want
  • Tool selection: Only enable needed tools
  • Regular review: Check usage stats and evolve
  • Share patterns: Export helpers for others to use
Terminal/CLI usage is out of scope for the closed beta and will be documented later.

Next Steps

→ Back to Getting Started
→ Your first node