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Hippo Quickstart - 5 Minutes to Q&A 🦛

Build an AI Q&A system that answers questions from your documents with source citations.

Prerequisites

Before you start:
  • Python 3.9+ installed
  • Cerevox API key (get one here)
  • pip install cerevox completed

The 4-Step Workflow

Hippo follows a simple pattern:

Step-by-Step Implementation

1

Create a Folder

Folders organize documents into searchable knowledge bases.
Tip: Use descriptive folder names - they help with organization when you have multiple knowledge bases.
2

Upload Files

Add documents to your folder from files or URLs.
Supported formats: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, TXT, HTML, CSV, and more
Large files (100+ pages) may take 2-5 minutes to process. Use async API for better performance.
3

Create a Chat Session

Chat sessions maintain conversation context for Q&A.
Multiple chats per folder: You can create different chats for different purposes (e.g., “Customer Support”, “Internal Q&A”).
4

Ask Questions

Submit questions and get AI-powered answers with citations!
You’re done! You’ve built a RAG Q&A system with 80% cost savings! 🎉

Complete Code Example

What You Get Back

When you submit a question, Hippo returns:
string
The AI-generated answer to your question
string
The original question (as processed)
float
Confidence score (0-1) indicating answer quality
array
List of source documents with citations
  • file_name: Name of the source document
  • file_id: Unique file identifier
  • page_number: Page where information was found
  • relevance_score: How relevant this source is

Testing Your Setup

Run this verification script:

Common First Questions

  • Small files (< 10 pages): 10-30 seconds
  • Medium files (10-100 pages): 30-120 seconds
  • Large files (> 100 pages): 2-5 minutes
Files are processed automatically in the background. You can ask questions as soon as upload completes - the system will wait for indexing to finish.
Hippo pricing is based on:
  • Number of documents uploaded
  • Number of questions asked
  • Processing complexity
80% cheaper than traditional RAG with full document retrieval!Check pricing for current rates.
Supported formats:
  • Documents: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, TXT, RTF
  • Spreadsheets: XLSX, CSV
  • Web: HTML, MHTML
  • Others: Contact support for custom formats
Max file size: 100MB per file (contact for larger files)
Hippo supports 100+ languages for both documents and questions, including:
  • English, Spanish, French, German, Italian
  • Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Japanese, Korean
  • Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, and more
Same accuracy across all languages!
Yes! Cerevox is enterprise-ready:
  • Data encryption at rest and in transit
  • SOC 2 compliance (in progress)
  • Privacy controls: Delete data anytime
  • No training: Your data is never used to train models
See our privacy policy for details.

Next Steps

Folder Management

Learn to organize documents effectively

File Operations

Advanced file upload and management

Chat Sessions

Manage conversations and context

Best Practices

Optimize answer quality and costs

Need help? Join our Discord community or check out complete examples.