> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.coderabbit.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Knowledge Base overview

> How CodeRabbit enriches code reviews with context beyond the diff — learnings, code guidelines, multi-repo analysis, MCP servers, web search, and linked issues.

CodeRabbit's knowledge base is the collection of context sources it draws on to make reviews smarter than a plain diff analysis. When CodeRabbit reviews a pull request, it combines several signals: what your team has taught it, the coding rules already in your repo, related code in linked repositories, external documentation fetched from the web, connected MCP servers, and issues or past PRs that provide business context.

This section documents each context source, how to configure it, and when you need to take action to enable it.

## Context sources

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card title="Learnings" icon="brain" href="/knowledge-base/learnings" horizontal>
    Adaptive AI memory. CodeRabbit learns your team's review preferences from
    natural-language chat and applies them automatically to future reviews.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Code Guidelines" icon="file-text" href="/knowledge-base/code-guidelines" horizontal>
    Auto-detected team rules. CodeRabbit reads coding standards from
    `.cursorrules`, `CLAUDE.md`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, and other
    AI agent configuration files — no manual import required.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Multi-repo Analysis" icon="git-branch" href="/knowledge-base/multi-repo-analysis" horizontal>
    Cross-repository context. Link related repositories so CodeRabbit can detect
    breaking changes, API mismatches, and dependency issues that cross repo
    boundaries.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Servers" icon="server" href="/knowledge-base/mcp-context" horizontal>
    External tool context via the Model Context Protocol. Connect MCP servers to
    give CodeRabbit access to internal APIs, databases, or documentation systems
    during reviews.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Web Search" icon="globe" href="/knowledge-base/web-search" horizontal>
    Up-to-date external documentation. CodeRabbit searches the web to gather
    context about libraries, APIs, and standards referenced in a pull request.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Linked Issues" icon="bug" href="/issues/pr-validation" horizontal>
    Issue tracker context. CodeRabbit reads linked GitHub, GitLab, Jira, and
    Linear issues to understand the intent behind a pull request and validate
    that the changes address them.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What's on by default vs. what needs setup

| Context source         | Status                            | Notes                                                            |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Learnings              | **On by default**                 | Starts learning from your first `@coderabbitai` chat interaction |
| Code guidelines        | **On by default**                 | Reads supported config files automatically; no setup required    |
| Web search             | **On by default**                 | Enabled unless explicitly disabled                               |
| Pull request context   | **On by default**                 | Uses past PRs for context; scope configurable                    |
| GitHub / GitLab issues | **On by default (private repos)** | `auto` scope; enabled for private repos, isolated for public     |
| Multi-repo analysis    | **Needs setup**                   | Requires linking repositories in `.coderabbit.yaml` or the UI    |
| MCP servers            | **Needs setup**                   | Requires an MCP integration to be configured                     |
| Jira                   | **Needs setup**                   | Requires Jira integration and an active connection               |
| Linear                 | **Needs setup**                   | Requires Linear integration and an active connection             |

## Issue trackers and past pull requests

CodeRabbit can pull context from issue trackers and your PR history using four `knowledge_base` configuration fields:

* **`knowledge_base.issues`** — scope for GitHub and GitLab issues (`local`, `global`, or `auto`; default: `auto`)
* **`knowledge_base.jira`** — use Jira as a knowledge source (`auto`, `enabled`, or `disabled`; default: `auto`); supports `project_keys` to restrict to specific projects
* **`knowledge_base.linear`** — use Linear as a knowledge source (`auto`, `enabled`, or `disabled`; default: `auto`); supports `team_keys` to restrict to specific teams
* **`knowledge_base.pull_requests`** — scope for past PR context (`local`, `global`, or `auto`; default: `auto`)

For Jira and Linear, `auto` means the integration is active for private repositories and disabled for public ones. See [PR validation and linked issues](/issues/pr-validation) for how CodeRabbit uses this context during reviews. See the [configuration reference](/reference/configuration#knowledge-base) for all available options.

## Global configuration

### Opt out of data retention

All context sources that learn from your repository — including learnings, issues, and PR context — require CodeRabbit to retain data about your organization's usage. To disable these features and remove any stored data, set `knowledge_base.opt_out` to `true`:

```yaml .coderabbit.yaml theme={null}
# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://coderabbit.ai/integrations/schema.v2.json
knowledge_base:
  opt_out: true
```

<Warning>
  Setting `opt_out: true` immediately and irrevocably removes all stored
  knowledge base data, including learnings. Stateless sources like code
  guidelines and web search continue to work.
</Warning>

### Full configuration reference

For a complete list of `knowledge_base` options including scope values, file patterns, and integration keys, see the [Knowledge base section of the configuration reference](/reference/configuration#knowledge-base).