# Chat with your documents, for your team only

> Canonical: https://teamonly.dev/templates/ask-the-docs

An app where your team can search and chat with your own documents: the handbook, policies and how-tos. People ask in plain words and get the passage that answers it, with a link to the page. Only your coworkers can open it.

**Made for:** Anyone who keeps answering the same questions

Screenshot: https://teamonly.dev/templates/ask-the-docs.webp (The Ask screen of the ask the docs app: the question "Can I expense a team lunch?", a short written answer with numbered citations, and the source passages from the expense policy below it)

## What your team gets

- **Upload what you already have.** Editors upload handbooks, policies and how-tos as PDF, Markdown or text files, up to 20 MB each.
- **Search in plain words.** Results show the matching passage with the words highlighted and open at the right page of the PDF or the right section of the file.
- **Written answers, if you want them.** Add your own Anthropic API key and the app answers questions in a few sentences, citing the passages it used.
- **Your documents stay in the app.** Without a key it is a search tool and nothing leaves the app. With a key, only the best matching passages, up to eight, are sent to Claude to write the answer.

## Who can do what

Only people who can open the app get this far. Inside it, the owner gives roles to coworkers by work email on the People page.

| Who | Can |
|---|---|
| Everyone who can open the app | Search, ask, read documents |
| Editors | Upload and remove documents |
| Admins | Change who is an editor or admin |
| The owner (who first deploys it) | Everything |

Who can open the app at all is set by TeamOnly: everyone at your company, or only the people you name with `npx teamonly access only`.

## Online in a few commands

You need Node.js on your computer, which Claude Code and Cursor users already have. Run these in a terminal.

1. **Make the app.** This creates a new folder called `handbook` with the whole app and installs what it needs.
2. **Try it on your computer.** It opens at `http://localhost:5173`, signed in as a test user who owns the app.
3. **Put it online.** Sign in once per computer, then deploy. You get a link like `handbook.acme.teamonly.app` that only your company can open.

```
$ npx teamonly init --template ask-the-docs handbook
✔ Created "handbook" from the ask-the-docs template
$ cd handbook && npm install
$ npm run dev
  Local: http://localhost:5173/
$ npx teamonly login
✔ Signed in as dana@acme.com
$ npx teamonly deploy
✔ Live at https://handbook.acme.teamonly.app
  Only @acme.com accounts can sign in.
```

**After the first deploy:** Open Documents and upload your files. For written answers, run `npx teamonly secrets set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` and paste a key from console.anthropic.com.

**Or just ask.** In Claude Code or Cursor, in the app's folder, type **"deploy this on TeamOnly"**. It runs the commands for you, asks for your work email and the code we send, and offers a 14-day free trial if your company has no plan yet.

## Change it by asking your AI

The template is ordinary code in your folder. Ask Claude Code or Cursor for changes in plain words, check them with `npm run dev`, then deploy again. Some ideas:

- "Add a "was this helpful?" button and show me which searches found nothing."
- "Group documents into folders like HR, IT and Finance, and let people search one folder."
- "Show when each document was last updated on the Documents page."
- "Keep a list of the questions people ask most, for editors only."

## What it costs

- The template is free. You pay for TeamOnly, which hosts it, after a 14-day free trial with no card.
- **Builder, $19 a month:** one builder and up to three apps.
- **Team, $249 a month:** any number of builders and apps, and anyone with your company email can deploy.
- Coworkers who only use the app are free. No seats to buy.

Written answers are optional and use your own Anthropic API key, so Anthropic bills you directly for each answer. Search on its own costs nothing extra.

See plans and subscribe: https://teamonly.dev/pricing#subscribe

## Read the code first

Every template is open on GitHub, with its README. Look at it before you start, or show it to IT. https://github.com/sohelsd/teamonly-templates/tree/main/templates/ask-the-docs

## Questions people ask

### Do I need an AI subscription to use it?

No. Without a key, it is a full search tool for your documents. Written answers need your own Anthropic API key, which Anthropic bills by use.

### Which files can it read?

PDF, Markdown and text files, up to 20 MB each. Save Word files, Google Docs and web pages as PDF first. Scanned PDFs that are only photos of paper have no text, so the app refuses them with a message.

### Are our documents sent to an AI?

Only if you add an Anthropic API key. Then, for each question, the app sends the best matching passages, up to eight, to Claude to write the answer. The files themselves stay in the app's own storage on TeamOnly.

### Can the answers be wrong?

They can, which is why every answer cites its passages and links to the source. Claude is told to answer only from those passages, and the app shows a note to check the source before relying on it.

### Can it read our shared drive or intranet?

Not directly. Editors upload files to the app. It can't reach servers that are only on your company's private network.

## Other templates

- [Expense approval](https://teamonly.dev/templates/expense-approval): Receipts, approvers and a monthly view for finance. `npx teamonly init --template expense-approval`
- [Inventory tracker](https://teamonly.dev/templates/inventory-tracker): Counts by location, reorder levels and low stock. `npx teamonly init --template inventory-tracker`
- [Request form](https://teamonly.dev/templates/request-form): A queue marked new, in progress or done. `npx teamonly init --template request-form`
- [Customer lookup](https://teamonly.dev/templates/customer-lookup): Search customers and share notes. `npx teamonly init --template customer-lookup`
- [All five templates](https://teamonly.dev/templates)

## Keep reading

- [How it works](https://teamonly.dev/how-it-works)
- [Internal tools](https://teamonly.dev/internal-tools)
- [Pricing](https://teamonly.dev/pricing)

Try it free for 14 days, no card: https://teamonly.dev/pricing#trial. Or subscribe: https://teamonly.dev/pricing#subscribe (Builder $19/mo, Team $249/mo, Business $899/mo)
Not ready? Get updates: https://teamonly.dev/waitlist