Retrieval Modes

Web Grounding

ask --web "latest python release highlights"

• Uses wrapper-controlled retrieval provider logic
• Intended for freshness-sensitive prompts

Provider selection:

• --web-provider auto
• --web-provider exa
• --web-provider ddgr

Local Docs Grounding

ask --docs react_docs "how to use useMemo correctly"

Documents root defaults to ~/.local/share/ask/docs and can be changed via --docs-db or ASK_DOCS_DB.

Auto Routing

ask --auto "latest bun install process"

Heuristic behavior:

• freshness-sensitive prompts prefer web retrieval
• otherwise docs retrieval if available
• fallback to ungrounded if no backend is available