semantica/docs/reference/ingest.md

Ingest

Universal data ingestion from files, web, feeds, streams, repos, emails, and databases.

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🎯 Overview

• :material-file-document-multiple:{ .lg .middle } File Ingestion

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  Local and Cloud (S3/GCS/Azure) file processing with type detection

• :material-web:{ .lg .middle } Web Crawling

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  Scrape websites with rate limiting, robots.txt compliance, and JS rendering

• :material-rss:{ .lg .middle } Feed Monitoring

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  Consume RSS/Atom feeds with real-time update monitoring

• :material-broadcast:{ .lg .middle } Stream Processing

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  Ingest from Kafka, RabbitMQ, Kinesis, and Pulsar

• :material-source-branch:{ .lg .middle } Code Repos

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  Clone and analyze Git repositories (GitHub/GitLab)

• :material-database:{ .lg .middle } Databases

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  Ingest tables and query results from SQL databases

!!! tip "When to Use" - Data Onboarding: The entry point for all external data into Semantica - Crawling: Building a dataset from the web - Monitoring: Listening to real-time data streams - Migration: Importing legacy data from databases

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⚙️ Algorithms Used

File Processing

• Magic Number Detection: Identifying file types by binary signatures, not just extensions.
• Recursive Traversal: Efficiently walking directory trees.

Web Ingestion

• Sitemap Parsing: Discovering URLs via XML sitemaps.
• DOM Extraction: Removing boilerplate (nav/ads) to extract main content.
• Politeness: Respecting robots.txt and enforcing crawl delays.

Stream Processing

• Consumer Groups: Managing offsets and scaling consumption (Kafka).
• Backpressure: Handling high-velocity streams without crashing.

Repository Analysis

• AST Parsing: Extracting code structure (classes/functions) without executing.
• Dependency Parsing: Reading requirements.txt, package.json, etc.

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Main Classes

FileIngestor

Handles file systems and object storage.

Methods:

Method	Description
ingest_file(path)	Process single file
ingest_directory(path)	Process folder

WebIngestor

Handles web content.

Methods:

Method	Description
ingest_url(url)	Scrape page
crawl(url, depth)	Recursive crawl

StreamIngestor

Handles real-time data.

Methods:

Method	Description
consume(topic)	Start consumption

RepoIngestor

Handles code repositories.

Methods:

Method	Description
ingest_repo(url)	Clone and process

FeedIngestor

Handles RSS and Atom feeds.

Methods:

Method	Description
ingest_feed(url)	Parse feed items
monitor(url)	Watch for updates

EmailIngestor

Handles IMAP and POP3 servers.

Methods:

Method	Description
connect_imap(host)	Connect to server
ingest_mailbox(name)	Fetch emails

DBIngestor

Handles SQL databases.

Methods:

Method	Description
ingest_database(conn)	Export tables
execute_query(sql)	Run custom SQL

MCPIngestor

Handles Model Context Protocol servers.

Methods:

Method	Description
connect(url)	Connect to server
ingest_resources()	Fetch resources
call_tool(name)	Execute tool

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Convenience Functions

from semantica.ingest import ingest

# Auto-detect source type
ingest("doc.pdf", source_type="file")
ingest("https://google.com", source_type="web")
ingest("kafka://topic", source_type="stream")

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Configuration

Environment Variables

export INGEST_USER_AGENT="SemanticaBot/1.0"
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
export KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS=localhost:9092

YAML Configuration

ingest:
  web:
    user_agent: "MyBot"
    rate_limit: 1.0 # seconds
    
  files:
    max_size: 100MB
    allowed_extensions: [.pdf, .txt, .md]

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Integration Examples

Continuous Feed Ingestion

from semantica.ingest import FeedIngestor
from semantica.pipeline import Pipeline

# 1. Setup Monitor
ingestor = FeedIngestor()
pipeline = Pipeline()

def on_new_item(item):
    # 2. Trigger Pipeline on new content
    pipeline.run(item.content)

# 3. Start Monitoring
ingestor.monitor(
    "https://news.ycombinator.com/rss",
    callback=on_new_item,
    interval=300
)

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Best Practices

1. Respect Rate Limits: When crawling, always set a polite rate_limit to avoid getting banned.
2. Filter Content: Use allowed_extensions or URL patterns to avoid ingesting junk data.
3. Handle Failures: Stream ingestors should have error handlers for bad messages.
4. Use Credentials Securely: Never hardcode API keys; use Environment Variables.

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See Also

• Parse Module - Processes the raw data ingested here
• Split Module - Chunks the ingested content
• Utils Module - Validation helpers

Cookbook

• Data Ingestion
• Multi-Source Data Integration