getContext

The getContext method retrieves documentation snippets from a specific library, ranked by relevance to your query. This is the core method for getting contextual documentation to feed to LLMs or display to users.

Method Signature

// Returns JSON array (default)
await client.getContext(
  query: string,
  libraryId: string,
  options?: GetContextOptions
): Promise<Documentation[]>

// Returns formatted text
await client.getContext(
  query: string,
  libraryId: string,
  options: GetContextOptions & { type: 'txt' }
): Promise<string>

Parameters

query

string

required

The user’s question or task. Used to rank documentation snippets by relevance.Examples:

"How do I use the useState hook?"
"How to handle form validation?"
"Setting up middleware in Express"

libraryId

string

required

Context7 library ID in the format /owner/repository.Examples:

"/facebook/react"
"/vuejs/core"
"/expressjs/express"
"/microsoft/typescript"

Get library IDs from the searchLibrary method’s results.

options

GetContextOptions

Configuration options for the request

Show properties

type

'json' | 'txt'

default:"'json'"

Response format:

"json": Returns Documentation[] array (default)
"txt": Returns formatted string ready for LLM consumption

Return Types

JSON Format (Default)

Returns an array of Documentation objects:

Documentation[]

array

Array of documentation snippets, ordered by relevance to the query

Show Documentation object

title

string

required

Title or heading of the documentation snippetExample: "Using the useState Hook"

content

string

required

The documentation content. May include markdown-formatted code blocks.Example: "The useState Hook lets you add state to function components..."

source

string

required

Source URL or identifier for the documentation snippetExample: "https://react.dev/reference/react/useState"

Text Format

Returns a pre-formatted string with all documentation snippets, ready to be inserted into an LLM prompt or displayed to users.

Examples

Basic Usage (JSON)

Get structured documentation for a specific query:

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

const client = new Context7({ apiKey: 'ctx7sk-...' });

const docs = await client.getContext(
  'How do I use React hooks?',
  '/facebook/react'
);

console.log(`Found ${docs.length} relevant documentation snippets`);

docs.forEach(doc => {
  console.log(`\nTitle: ${doc.title}`);
  console.log(`Content: ${doc.content}`);
  console.log(`Source: ${doc.source}`);
});

Explicit JSON Format

const docs = await client.getContext(
  'How to create components in Vue?',
  '/vuejs/core',
  { type: 'json' }
);

// TypeScript knows this is Documentation[]
const firstDoc = docs[0];
console.log(firstDoc.title);
console.log(firstDoc.content);

Text Format for LLMs

Get pre-formatted documentation for language model prompts:

const context = await client.getContext(
  'How do I handle errors in Express middleware?',
  '/expressjs/express',
  { type: 'txt' }
);

// Use directly in your LLM prompt
const prompt = `
Relevant documentation:
${context}

Based on the documentation above, answer this question:
${userQuestion}
`;

// Send to your LLM
const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  model: 'gpt-4',
  messages: [
    { role: 'system', content: prompt },
    { role: 'user', content: userQuestion }
  ]
});

Building a Documentation Chatbot

async function answerQuestion(question: string, framework: string) {
  // First, find the library
  const libraries = await client.searchLibrary(question, framework);
  
  if (libraries.length === 0) {
    return { error: 'Library not found' };
  }
  
  // Get relevant documentation
  const docs = await client.getContext(question, libraries[0].id);
  
  if (docs.length === 0) {
    return { error: 'No relevant documentation found' };
  }
  
  // Format response
  return {
    answer: docs.map(doc => ({
      title: doc.title,
      content: doc.content,
      source: doc.source
    })),
    library: libraries[0].name
  };
}

// Usage
const result = await answerQuestion(
  'How do I use computed properties?',
  'vue'
);

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Pattern

import { Context7 } from '@upstash/context7-sdk';
import OpenAI from 'openai';

const context7 = new Context7({ apiKey: process.env.CONTEXT7_API_KEY });
const openai = new OpenAI({ apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY });

async function ragAnswer(question: string, libraryId: string) {
  // Retrieve relevant documentation
  const context = await context7.getContext(question, libraryId, {
    type: 'txt'
  });
  
  // Generate answer using the context
  const completion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
    model: 'gpt-4-turbo',
    messages: [
      {
        role: 'system',
        content: `You are a helpful assistant. Use the following documentation to answer questions accurately.\n\n${context}`
      },
      {
        role: 'user',
        content: question
      }
    ]
  });
  
  return completion.choices[0].message.content;
}

// Usage
const answer = await ragAnswer(
  'How do I optimize React performance?',
  '/facebook/react'
);

Displaying Documentation in UI

async function fetchDocs(topic: string, libraryId: string) {
  const docs = await client.getContext(topic, libraryId);
  
  return docs.map(doc => ({
    id: crypto.randomUUID(),
    title: doc.title,
    content: doc.content,
    sourceUrl: doc.source,
    // Parse markdown content for rendering
    html: markdownToHtml(doc.content)
  }));
}

// In your React component
function DocsPanel({ topic, libraryId }) {
  const [docs, setDocs] = useState([]);
  
  useEffect(() => {
    fetchDocs(topic, libraryId).then(setDocs);
  }, [topic, libraryId]);
  
  return (
    <div>
      {docs.map(doc => (
        <article key={doc.id}>
          <h3>{doc.title}</h3>
          <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: doc.html }} />
          <a href={doc.sourceUrl}>View source</a>
        </article>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

Combining Search and Context

async function smartSearch(userQuery: string, searchTerm: string) {
  // Find relevant libraries
  const libraries = await client.searchLibrary(userQuery, searchTerm);
  
  if (libraries.length === 0) {
    return { error: 'No libraries found' };
  }
  
  // Get documentation from the most relevant library
  const topLibrary = libraries[0];
  const docs = await client.getContext(userQuery, topLibrary.id);
  
  return {
    library: topLibrary,
    documentation: docs,
    alternatives: libraries.slice(1, 4) // Next 3 alternatives
  };
}

// Usage
const result = await smartSearch(
  'I need to validate form inputs',
  'react'
);

console.log(`Using: ${result.library.name}`);
console.log(`Found ${result.documentation.length} relevant docs`);

Error Handling

import { Context7Error } from '@upstash/context7-sdk';

try {
  const docs = await client.getContext(
    'How to use components?',
    '/facebook/react'
  );
  
  if (docs.length === 0) {
    console.log('No relevant documentation found for this query');
  }
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof Context7Error) {
    console.error('Context7 error:', error.message);
  } else {
    console.error('Unexpected error:', error);
  }
}

Handling Invalid Library IDs

try {
  const docs = await client.getContext(
    'How to use this?',
    '/nonexistent/library'
  );
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof Context7Error) {
    console.error('Library not found or access denied');
  }
}

Caching Documentation

class CachedContext7 {
  private cache = new Map<string, Documentation[]>();
  private client: Context7;
  
  constructor(apiKey: string) {
    this.client = new Context7({ apiKey });
  }
  
  async getContext(query: string, libraryId: string): Promise<Documentation[]> {
    const key = `${libraryId}:${query}`;
    
    if (this.cache.has(key)) {
      return this.cache.get(key)!;
    }
    
    const docs = await this.client.getContext(query, libraryId);
    this.cache.set(key, docs);
    
    // Auto-expire after 1 hour
    setTimeout(() => this.cache.delete(key), 60 * 60 * 1000);
    
    return docs;
  }
}

Server-Side API Route (Next.js)

// app/api/docs/route.ts
import { Context7 } from '@upstash/context7-sdk';
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';

const client = new Context7({ apiKey: process.env.CONTEXT7_API_KEY });

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const { searchParams } = new URL(request.url);
  const query = searchParams.get('query');
  const libraryId = searchParams.get('libraryId');
  
  if (!query || !libraryId) {
    return NextResponse.json(
      { error: 'Missing query or libraryId' },
      { status: 400 }
    );
  }
  
  try {
    const docs = await client.getContext(query, libraryId);
    return NextResponse.json({ docs });
  } catch (error) {
    return NextResponse.json(
      { error: 'Failed to fetch documentation' },
      { status: 500 }
    );
  }
}

Type Definitions

GetContextOptions

interface GetContextOptions {
  /**
   * Response format
   * - "json": Returns Documentation[] array (default)
   * - "txt": Returns formatted text string
   */
  type?: 'json' | 'txt';
}

Documentation

interface Documentation {
  /** Title of the documentation snippet */
  title: string;
  
  /** The documentation content (may include code blocks in markdown format) */
  content: string;
  
  /** Source URL or identifier for the snippet */
  source: string;
}

Best Practices

Write Specific Queries

More specific queries return more targeted documentation:

// Less effective - too vague
await client.getContext('React', '/facebook/react');

// More effective - specific question
await client.getContext(
  'How do I use useEffect for data fetching?',
  '/facebook/react'
);

Choose the Right Format

Use JSON when you need to process or display documentation:

const docs = await client.getContext(query, libraryId); // JSON by default

// Process each snippet individually
const titles = docs.map(doc => doc.title);

Use text format when feeding directly to LLMs:

const context = await client.getContext(query, libraryId, { type: 'txt' });

// Ready for LLM prompt
const prompt = `Context: ${context}\n\nQuestion: ${question}`;

Handle Empty Results

const docs = await client.getContext(query, libraryId);

if (docs.length === 0) {
  // Try a broader query or different library
  const alternativeDocs = await client.getContext(
    'general introduction',
    libraryId
  );
}

Process Markdown Content

Documentation content may include markdown. Process it for display:

import { marked } from 'marked';

const docs = await client.getContext(query, libraryId);

const processedDocs = docs.map(doc => ({
  ...doc,
  html: marked(doc.content)
}));

Common Library IDs

Here are some frequently used library IDs:

React: /facebook/react
Vue: /vuejs/core
Express: /expressjs/express
TypeScript: /microsoft/typescript
Next.js: /vercel/next.js
Svelte: /sveltejs/svelte

Use the searchLibrary method to discover library IDs programmatically.

Next Steps

Search Libraries

Learn how to find library IDs using searchLibrary

Client Configuration

Advanced client configuration options

Get Started

MCP Server

SDK

AI SDK Integration

Guides

Method Signature

Parameters

Return Types

JSON Format (Default)

Text Format

Examples

Basic Usage (JSON)

Explicit JSON Format

Text Format for LLMs

Building a Documentation Chatbot

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Pattern

Displaying Documentation in UI

Combining Search and Context

Error Handling

Handling Invalid Library IDs

Caching Documentation

Server-Side API Route (Next.js)

Type Definitions

GetContextOptions

Documentation

Best Practices

Write Specific Queries

Choose the Right Format

Handle Empty Results

Process Markdown Content

Common Library IDs

Next Steps

Search Libraries

Client Configuration

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

MCP Server

SDK

AI SDK Integration

Guides

​Method Signature

​Parameters

​Return Types

​JSON Format (Default)

​Text Format

​Examples

​Basic Usage (JSON)

​Explicit JSON Format

​Text Format for LLMs

​Building a Documentation Chatbot

​RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Pattern

​Displaying Documentation in UI

​Combining Search and Context

​Error Handling

​Handling Invalid Library IDs

​Caching Documentation

​Server-Side API Route (Next.js)

​Type Definitions

​GetContextOptions

​Documentation

​Best Practices

​Write Specific Queries

​Choose the Right Format

​Handle Empty Results

​Process Markdown Content

​Common Library IDs

​Next Steps

Search Libraries

Client Configuration

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Method Signature

Parameters

Return Types

JSON Format (Default)

Text Format

Examples

Basic Usage (JSON)

Explicit JSON Format

Text Format for LLMs

Building a Documentation Chatbot

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Pattern

Displaying Documentation in UI

Combining Search and Context

Error Handling

Handling Invalid Library IDs

Caching Documentation

Server-Side API Route (Next.js)

Type Definitions

GetContextOptions

Documentation

Best Practices

Write Specific Queries

Choose the Right Format

Handle Empty Results

Process Markdown Content

Common Library IDs

Next Steps