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ApsaraDB RDS:RAG Agent Overview

Last Updated:Jul 30, 2026

RAG Agent is a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solution that simplifies building production-grade RAG applications. It streamlines the entire data pipeline, from ingestion and processing to retrieval. Deeply integrated with the Supabase ecosystem, RAG Agent automatically processes documents from cloud storage and supports advanced features such as multimodal parsing and knowledge graph construction. This lets you efficiently add powerful, knowledge base-driven Q&A capabilities to your applications.

Features

  • Deep integration with Supabase
    You can enable RAG Agent when you create an RDS Supabase project and manage table schemas and data through the Supabase visual interface. Additionally, it directly uses Supabase Auth, which simplifies managing user access permissions to datasets.



  • Automated data processing and embedding
    RAG Agent provides an end-to-end data processing pipeline. When you create a dataset and configure Supabase Storage as its storage backend, the agent automatically scans and syncs file updates. It then manages the entire workflow, including smart chunking, vector embedding, and knowledge graph construction, which greatly simplifies the data ingestion process.



  • Multimodal document parsing
    RAG Agent parses complex multimodal documents containing text, images, tables, and formulas. The system uses dedicated parsing models and smart chunking strategies to ensure elements such as images are correctly cited in Q&A results. The parsed intermediate files (middle.json) are also stored locally to support custom development or debugging.



  • GraphRAG and multi-mode queries
    RAG Agent supports building a knowledge graph which enhances retrieval accuracy and depth. You can choose from several query modes, including vector search, graph search, or a hybrid search that combines both, to suit different business scenarios. The system's query performance is also optimized for PostgreSQL.



Core features

  • Dataset Management: Create, query, update, and delete datasets, and view dataset statistics and health checks.

  • Document Management: Provides a unified document upload interface that supports local files and cloud storage services such as Supabase and Alibaba Cloud OSS. You can list, delete, clear, and scan documents for updates.

  • RAG Query: Query single or multiple datasets with streaming responses, using one of several built-in query modes.

    Query mode

    Use case

    Response speed

    Accuracy

    Resource consumption

    naive

    Vector search.

    Fastest

    Medium

    Lowest

    local

    Performs retrieval based on local context. Ideal for specific questions that require precise answers.

    Fast

    High

    Low

    global

    Queries the global knowledge graph. Suitable for general or conceptual questions that require a deep understanding.

    Medium

    High

    Medium

    hybrid

    Combines local and global knowledge for a hybrid search that balances accuracy and coverage.

    Medium

    High

    Medium

    mix

    Combines the naive and hybrid modes, performing both vector search and graph search.

    Medium

    High

    High

    bypass

    Bypasses RAG and sends the query directly to the large language model (LLM) for a response.

    Fast

    Depends on the LLM

    Medium

  • Knowledge Graph: Retrieve graph data and labels for a dataset, and use the front-end interface to visualize, analyze, search, and navigate it.

  • Multimodal Processing: Integrates a professional document parsing service with advanced vision models (such as Qwen-VL and GPT-4 Vision) to process complex multimodal documents containing text, images, tables, and formulas. It supports multiple languages and optical character recognition (OCR).

  • Cache Management: Provides precise, dataset-level cache management.

  • Pipeline Management: Provides real-time status updates on document processing and supports pipeline monitoring through the front-end interface.

  • Storage Management: Supports multiple storage solutions to fit your project's cost, performance, and deployment requirements.

    Storage type

    Use case

    Configuration complexity

    Performance

    Cost

    Scalability

    Local storage

    Development, testing, and small-scale deployments

    Low

    Fast read/write speeds

    Hardware costs

    Limited

    Supabase

    Enterprise production environments

    Low

    Integrates with RDS PostgreSQL and Alibaba Cloud OSS

    Cost-effective

    Very high

    Alibaba Cloud OSS

    Enterprise production environments

    Medium

    High availability and global acceleration

    Pay-as-you-go

    Very high

    Amazon S3-compatible object storage

    Large enterprises and global deployments

    Medium

    Mature object storage solution

    Multiple billing models

    Very high

  • Data isolation and security: Isolates data for each dataset using PostgreSQL schemas, providing enterprise-grade data isolation and security.

  • Monitoring and Diagnostics: Provides a comprehensive health check API, pipeline status monitoring, and robust error handling and feedback.

  • Front-end interface: Provides a front-end interface for dataset management, document management, querying, knowledge graph visualization, and interactive API documentation. It supports multiple languages and local configurations.

Enable and use RAG Agent

  1. When you create an RDS Supabase project, enable Enable RAG.

    RAG Agent includes built-in models. If you use external custom models that require public network access, you must enable Internet NAT Gateway: for the agent.

  2. After the project is created, in the RDS Supabase list, click Is set White List in the Access address column for your project.

  3. On the Basic Information page, go to the White list information section, click Create Whitelist, and add your client's IP address to the allowlist.

  4. In your browser, enter http://<Supabase public access address>/rag to open the RAG Agent login page.

    Important
    • The Supabase public access address must include the port number. For example: http://8.147.XXX.XXX:80/rag.

    • If you are logging in from an ECS instance within the same VPC as your RDS Supabase project, we recommend using the internal access address.

  5. Enter the dashboard user (the default is supabase) and your RDS Supabase project password to log in.