Citations

Every memory in Cortex carries a citation — a record of where the knowledge came from, who authored it, and when it was created. This ensures every answer is traceable.

Citation Structure

{
  "source": "GitHub",
  "source_url": "https://github.com/org/repo/pull/123",
  "author": "John Doe",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

How Citations Work

graph LR
    A[Original Source] -->|ingest| B[Cortex]
    B -->|store| C[Memory + Citation]
    C -->|recall| D[Agent/User]
    D -->|verify| E[Source URL]

Write-Time

When a memory is created, the citation is populated from:

1. Source identifier — The system that created the memory (GitHub, Slack, CLI)
2. Source URL — Direct link to the PR, message, or document
3. Author — The user who owns the memory
4. Timestamp — When the memory was stored

Read-Time

When memories are recalled, citations are attached to every result. This allows:

• Verification — Check the original source
• Trust — Know who said what
• Freshness — See when information was recorded

Source Types

Example Recall Response

{
  "results": [
    {
      "memory_id": "uuid",
      "title": "API Rate Limiting Policy",
      "content": "All external API endpoints must implement rate limiting...",
      "score": 0.89,
      "citation": {
        "source": "GitHub",
        "source_url": "https://github.com/company/api/pull/42",
        "author": "Sarah Chen",
        "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
      }
    }
  ]
}