Knowledge folders and files

Knowledge folders and knowledge files are how you bring unstructured business content—SOPs, policies, compliance rules—into Atlan as governed, discoverable assets. You access them by searching in All assets.

Knowledge folder

A knowledge folder is a container asset that groups related documents together. You use a knowledge folder to represent a domain or a policy area—for example, a folder for all finance SOPs or all compliance policies—and then upload the relevant files into it.

Folders can be created by users or by AI agents. Agent-created folders are generated automatically as part of an agentic workflow and are separate from folders you create manually.

Knowledge file

A knowledge file is an individual document uploaded into a knowledge folder. Files are typically standard operating procedures, policies, or compliance rules that encode business logic in natural language rather than in a data model or schema.

The system checks for duplicates on upload. If a file with the same name already exists in the folder, the upload is blocked and the existing file is retained.

Once a file is uploaded, you can preview its contents directly from the file's profile page without downloading it. Context agents also process the file automatically in the background—extracted glossary terms, business rules, and skill files appear in the catalog as linked assets after processing completes.

Relationship between folders and files

When you upload a file, it belongs to a single folder. The folder gives you one place to browse all documents for a given domain without searching across the catalog.

AI agents can reference the same knowledge file across multiple folders as part of their workflows. This is distinct from user-uploaded files, which are always scoped to one folder.

Extracted terms and business rules

After a knowledge file is processed, the extracted glossary terms and business rules appear directly on the file's profile page. You can review them there without leaving the file view.

Access

Access to knowledge folders and files is governed by your Persona configuration. If you can't see or create knowledge folders, contact your Atlan administrator to review your Persona permissions.