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Overview

System Instructions allow you to guide how data is interpreted (ingestion) and how context is selected and used (retrieval). You can set them at three levels: vault, data source, and API key. More specific levels override or refine broader ones where applicable. This lets you keep one consistent policy for a whole vault, or vary behavior per connector or per consumer (e.g. per API key).

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Usage

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Vault level

To set up and manage vault-level instructions, go to the Context Vault settings in the Qontext app. Vault-level system instructions in the Qontext app

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Ingestion instructions

Purpose: Global rules for how data is ingested into and linked inside the vault. Example: 
This vault contains sales context for ACME Inc.
Prioritize Gong over HubSpot for meeting details.
Always link meetings to the corresponding deal and company.

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Retrieval instructions

Purpose: Default behavior for any retrieval from this vault. Example: 
This vault contains sales context for ACME Inc.
Ignore all information related to the deals in the US.
Prioritize Gong over HubSpot for meeting details.
Ignore deals where all information was recorded before 01.01.2025.

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Data source level

To set instructions for a specific data source, add the data source to your vault and enter them in the Ingestion Instructions step. See Data Sources for more information. Data source–level instructions in the Qontext app To disable, delete, or edit data source instructions later, click the three dots to the right of the respective data source. Edit data source–level instructions in the Qontext app

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Ingestion instructions

Purpose: Source-specific rules, mappings, and explanations for data from that connection. Examples by connector: HubSpot 
The following data originates from the HubSpot connection.
Ignore property "hs_internal_id".
Use "amount" instead of "dealvalue".
Meetings represent customer-facing sales calls.
Google Drive 
The following data originates from the Google Drive connection.
If there is a document with '_Final' in the name, prefer it over files with a similar name and '_version' in the name.
Ignore all files in folders containing '99_Archive'.
Notion 
The following data originates from the Notion connection.
Use page titles instead of internal identifiers.
Ignore all Meetings including 'OOO' in the title.
Gong 
The following data originates from the Gong connection.
Use call summaries instead of raw transcripts where available.
Calls represent customer-facing sales conversations.

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API key level

To set instructions for a specific API key, go to Context Access and create an API key. See Context Access. API key–level instructions in the Qontext app To add, edit, or remove API key instructions later, use the three dots next to the key in Context Access. Edit API key–level instructions in the Qontext app

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Retrieval instructions

Purpose: Use-case-specific weighting and constraints. Example: 
This API key is used for generating sales email drafts.
Prioritize context from recent emails, CRM notes, and call summaries.

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Best practices

Create instruction top-downStart with vault-level instructions for broad policy; add data-source or API-key instructions when you need finer control.
Avoid contradicting instructionsAvoid contradicting instructions across levels; more specific levels should refine, not clash with, broader ones.

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FAQ

No, setting the instructions is not required on any of the distinct levels. However, we recommend to use them, as they can significantly improve your results by guiding the ingestion and retrieval in the right direction.