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

# Readers Module

> Document readers for loading files, directories, and URLs into the knowledge base

# Readers Module

The Readers module provides concrete implementations for loading documents from various sources into the knowledge base.

## Import

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters import AutoReader, TextReader, MarkItDownReader, DirectoryReader
```

## Quick Example

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters import AutoReader

# AutoReader automatically detects source type
reader = AutoReader()

# Load from file
docs = reader.load("document.pdf")

# Load from directory
docs = reader.load("./docs/")

# Load from URL
docs = reader.load("https://example.com/page.html")
```

## Features

* Automatic source type detection and routing
* Multiple reader implementations (Text, MarkItDown, Directory, URL, Glob)
* Lazy loading of optional dependencies
* Metadata preservation for loaded documents
* Recursive directory traversal with exclusion patterns

## Classes

### `AutoReader`

Automatic reader that detects source type and routes to the appropriate reader.

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters import AutoReader

reader = AutoReader()

# Handles files, directories, URLs, and glob patterns
docs = reader.load("report.pdf")
docs = reader.load("./documents/")
docs = reader.load("https://example.com")
docs = reader.load("*.md")
```

### `TextReader`

Simple text file reader for plain text files.

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters import TextReader

reader = TextReader()
docs = reader.load("notes.txt")
```

**Supported Extensions:** `.txt`, `.text`, `.log`

### `MarkItDownReader`

Document reader using markitdown for rich document conversion.

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters import MarkItDownReader

reader = MarkItDownReader()
docs = reader.load("report.pdf")
```

**Supported Extensions:** `.pdf`, `.doc`, `.docx`, `.ppt`, `.pptx`, `.xls`, `.xlsx`, `.html`, `.htm`, `.md`, `.markdown`, `.csv`, `.json`, `.xml`, `.jpg`, `.jpeg`, `.png`, `.gif`, `.bmp`, `.tiff`, `.webp`, `.mp3`, `.wav`, `.ogg`, `.m4a`, `.flac`

<Note>
  Requires `markitdown` package: `pip install markitdown`
</Note>

### `DirectoryReader`

Recursively reads all files in a directory.

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters import DirectoryReader

reader = DirectoryReader(
    recursive=True,
    exclude_patterns=["*.pyc", "__pycache__", ".git", "node_modules"]
)
docs = reader.load("./project/")
```

**Parameters:**

| Parameter          | Type        | Default   | Description                         |
| ------------------ | ----------- | --------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `recursive`        | `bool`      | `True`    | Recursively traverse subdirectories |
| `exclude_patterns` | `List[str]` | See below | Glob patterns to exclude            |

**Default Exclusions:** `*.pyc`, `__pycache__`, `.git`, `.svn`, `node_modules`, `*.egg-info`, `.env`, `.venv`, `venv`

## Methods

### `load(source, metadata=None)`

Load documents from a source.

**Parameters:**

* `source` (str): File path, directory, URL, or glob pattern
* `metadata` (dict, optional): Additional metadata to attach to documents

**Returns:** `List[Document]` - List of loaded documents

### `can_handle(source)`

Check if the reader can handle the given source.

**Parameters:**

* `source` (str): Source to check

**Returns:** `bool` - True if the reader can handle this source

## Example: Custom Metadata

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters import AutoReader

reader = AutoReader()

# Add custom metadata to loaded documents
docs = reader.load(
    "technical_docs/",
    metadata={
        "category": "technical",
        "version": "2.0",
        "author": "engineering"
    }
)

for doc in docs:
    print(f"Source: {doc.metadata['source']}")
    print(f"Category: {doc.metadata['category']}")
```

## Example: URL Reading

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonai.adapters.readers import URLReader

reader = URLReader()
docs = reader.load("https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html")

# Content is automatically extracted from HTML
print(docs[0].content[:500])
```

## CLI Usage

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
praisonai knowledge add <source>
```

**Examples:**

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
# Add a single file
praisonai knowledge add document.pdf

# Add all files in a directory
praisonai knowledge add ./docs/

# Add files matching a pattern
praisonai knowledge add "*.pdf"

# Add from URL
praisonai knowledge add https://example.com/page.html
```

## Related

* [Vector Store Module](/docs/sdk/praisonai/vector_store) - Store loaded documents
* [Retrieval Module](/docs/sdk/praisonai/retrieval) - Retrieve documents