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Overview

Follow these best practices to maximize the value of Context7 in your AI-powered development workflow.

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Use Rules for Automatic Invocation

Instead of typing use context7 in every prompt, set up a rule to automatically invoke Context7 for code-related questions.
This is the single most impactful change you can make to improve your Context7 experience.
Add a rule to your AI coding assistant:
  • Cursor: Cursor Settings > Rules
  • Claude Code: Create a CLAUDE.md file
  • Other clients: Check your client’s documentation for rule configuration
Example rule: 
Always use Context7 MCP when I need library/API documentation, code generation, setup or configuration steps without me having to explicitly ask.
See the Using Rules guide for detailed setup instructions.

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Specify Library IDs for Faster Results

If you know exactly which library you want to use, include its Context7 ID in your prompt. This allows Context7 to skip the library-matching step and directly retrieve documentation. 
Implement basic authentication with Supabase. use context7
Benefits:
  • Faster response times
  • More accurate documentation retrieval
  • No ambiguity when multiple libraries have similar names

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Finding Library IDs

Library IDs follow the format /owner/repository. You can find them by:
  1. Searching on context7.com
  2. Using the resolve-library-id MCP tool
  3. Checking the library’s GitHub repository URL
Library IDs are case-sensitive and must include the leading slash.

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Request Specific Versions

For version-specific documentation, mention the version in your prompt: 
How do I set up Next.js 14 middleware? use context7
Context7 will automatically match the appropriate version documentation.
See the Specifying Versions guide for more details on version syntax.

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Write Clear, Specific Prompts

The quality of Context7’s responses depends on your prompt clarity.

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Good Prompts

Create a Next.js middleware that checks for a valid JWT in cookies
and redirects unauthenticated users to `/login`. use context7
Why it’s good: Clearly states the technology (Next.js), the specific task (middleware with JWT validation), and the desired behavior.
Configure a Cloudflare Worker script to cache JSON API
responses for five minutes. use context7
Why it’s good: Identifies the platform (Cloudflare Workers), the action (caching), and specific requirements (JSON, 5 minutes).
How do I implement real-time subscriptions with Supabase v2? use context7
Why it’s good: Specifies the library, feature, and version.

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Prompts to Avoid

How do I use React? use context7
Problem: Too broad. Specify what you want to do with React (hooks, components, routing, etc.).
Fix this authentication bug. use context7
Problem: No indication of which library or framework you’re using.
How do I set up MongoDB and also create a React app and deploy to Vercel? use context7
Problem: Too many topics at once. Break into separate prompts for better results.

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Use the Right API Key

While Context7 works without an API key, you’ll get significantly better performance with one.

Without API Key

  • Lower rate limits
  • Slower responses
  • No usage analytics

With API Key

  • Higher rate limits
  • Faster responses
  • Usage tracking
  • Priority support
Get a free API key at context7.com/dashboard

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SDK Best Practices

If you’re building with the Context7 SDK:

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Use Environment Variables

Store your API key in environment variables:
.env
CONTEXT7_API_KEY=ctx7sk-...

import { Context7 } from "@upstash/context7-sdk";

const client = new Context7();
// API key is automatically loaded from CONTEXT7_API_KEY env var

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Choose the Right Response Type

// For structured processing (default)
const docs = await client.getContext(
  "How do I use hooks?",
  "/facebook/react"
);
// Returns: Array of { title, content, url }

// For direct LLM consumption
const context = await client.getContext(
  "How do I use hooks?",
  "/facebook/react",
  { type: "txt" }
);
// Returns: Plain text string ready for prompt injection

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Search Before Querying

Always search for the library first to get the correct ID: 
// 1. Search for the library
const libraries = await client.searchLibrary(
  "I need to build a UI with components",
  "react"
);

// 2. Use the library ID to get documentation
const docs = await client.getContext(
  "How do I use hooks?",
  libraries[0].id
);

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Performance Tips

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Cache Results When Possible

If you’re building an application with the SDK, cache documentation results to reduce API calls: 
const cache = new Map();

async function getCachedContext(query: string, libraryId: string) {
  const key = `${libraryId}:${query}`;
  
  if (cache.has(key)) {
    return cache.get(key);
  }
  
  const result = await client.getContext(query, libraryId);
  cache.set(key, result);
  return result;
}
If you need documentation for multiple related topics, make separate focused queries rather than one broad query: 
// Good: Focused queries
const authDocs = await client.getContext(
  "How do I implement authentication?",
  "/supabase/supabase"
);

const storageDocs = await client.getContext(
  "How do I upload files to storage?",
  "/supabase/supabase"
);

// Less ideal: One broad query
const docs = await client.getContext(
  "How do I use authentication and storage?",
  "/supabase/supabase"
);

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Stay Updated

Context7 regularly adds new libraries and improves existing documentation.
If you don’t see your library on Context7, you can submit it to the registry.

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