---
title: Dify
icon: /images/dify-logo.svg
description: Mount a Dify Knowledge dataset as a read-only virtual filesystem.
---

The Dify resource exposes completed Dify Knowledge documents as text files
mounted at a prefix such as `/knowledge/`. Each file is assembled from the
document's completed, enabled segments.

For API key setup, see [Dify Setup](/python/setup/dify).

## Config

```python
import os

from mirage import MountMode, Workspace
from mirage.resource.dify import DifyConfig, DifyResource

config = DifyConfig(
    api_key=os.environ["DIFY_API_KEY"],
    base_url=os.environ.get("DIFY_BASE_URL", "https://api.dify.ai/v1"),
    dataset_id=os.environ["DIFY_DATASET_ID"],
    slug_metadata_name=os.environ.get("DIFY_SLUG_METADATA_NAME", "slug"),
)
resource = DifyResource(config=config)
ws = Workspace({"/knowledge/": resource}, mode=MountMode.READ)
```

The resource is read-only and does not support snapshots.

## Filesystem Layout

Dify documents are mapped to paths using the configured slug metadata field.
The default metadata field name is `slug`. If a document has no configured slug
metadata, Mirage falls back to the Dify document name.

```text
/knowledge/
  README.md
  guides/
    quickstart.md
    api.md
  policies/
    support.md
```

Example mapping:

| Dify document | Metadata | Mirage path |
| ------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `Quickstart` | `slug=guides/quickstart.md` | `/knowledge/guides/quickstart.md` |
| `README.md` | no slug | `/knowledge/README.md` |

### Creating Slug Metadata in Dify

In the Dify Knowledge UI, open a document and add a metadata item whose name
matches `slug_metadata_name`. The default name is `slug`.

```text
name: slug
value: guides/quickstart.md
```

For a custom Dify metadata name:

```python
config = DifyConfig(
    api_key=os.environ["DIFY_API_KEY"],
    base_url=os.environ.get("DIFY_BASE_URL", "https://api.dify.ai/v1"),
    dataset_id=os.environ["DIFY_DATASET_ID"],
    slug_metadata_name="path",
)
```

Then use:

```text
name: path
value: guides/quickstart.md
```

Mirage reads `doc_metadata` from Dify and uses this value as the document's
virtual path below the mount prefix.

Use these rules for slug metadata values:

- Use `/` to create folders.
- Do not use empty segments, `.`, or `..`.
- Keep each slug metadata value unique across the dataset.
- Do not use a path that is also needed as a folder. For example, `guides` and `guides/quickstart.md` cannot both be document paths.

Only visible documents are included:

- `enabled` is `true`
- `indexing_status` is `completed`
- `archived` is `false`

## Reading Documents

`cat`, `head`, `tail`, and `grep` read Dify document segments. Segment content
is joined with a single newline between chunks.

```bash
ls /knowledge/
find /knowledge/ -type f
cat /knowledge/guides/quickstart.md
head -n 20 /knowledge/guides/quickstart.md
grep -i "billing" /knowledge/guides/quickstart.md
wc /knowledge/guides/quickstart.md
```

## Search

The `search` command calls Dify's dataset retrieval API. Use it when meaning
matters more than exact text matching.

```bash
search "how do I reset my password" /knowledge/
search --method hybrid --top-k 5 "billing policy" /knowledge/policies/
search --method semantic --threshold 0.4 "quickstart" /knowledge/guides/*.md
```

Supported methods:

| Method | Dify retrieval mode |
| ------ | ------------------- |
| `semantic` | semantic search |
| `fulltext` | full text search |
| `hybrid` | hybrid search |
| `keyword` | keyword search |

`top-k` is capped at `100`. `threshold` must be between `0` and `1`.

Results are emitted one retrieval hit per block:

```text
/knowledge/policies/refunds:0.82
Refunds are allowed within 30 days.
```

Mirage uses the configured slug metadata field to derive the path, and falls
back to the Dify document name when that metadata is missing. Multiple hits
from the same document remain separate records.

Scoped search uses Dify metadata filtering. Documents with the configured slug
metadata field are filtered by that field; name-based documents are filtered by
`document_name`, which requires Dify Built-in Fields to be enabled in dataset
metadata.

### Scoped Search Requirements

Mirage converts a scoped search path into Dify metadata filters:

| Mirage target | Dify metadata filter |
| ------------- | -------------------- |
| Document with configured slug metadata | `<slug_metadata_name> in [...]` |
| Document without configured slug metadata | `document_name in [...]` |
| Folder or glob | `<slug_metadata_name>` / `document_name` filters for all matched files |

To make scoped search reliable:

1. Add the configured slug metadata field to every document.
1. Enable Dify **Built-in Fields** in the dataset metadata settings.
1. Ensure `document_name` is available if you rely on name-based paths.

If Built-in Fields are disabled, scoped search against documents without the
configured slug metadata field may return empty results even though `cat`,
`grep`, and `find` can still see the same file.

## Cache

The resource uses Mirage's index cache for the virtual tree. Directory listings
and path resolution reuse the cached document tree until the index expires or
the workspace is recreated. If documents are edited directly in Dify, repeated
operations can temporarily see cached paths and metadata.

Document content is still read from Dify when commands materialize file data.

## Example

```python
import asyncio
import os

from dotenv import load_dotenv

from mirage import MountMode, Workspace
from mirage.resource.dify import DifyConfig, DifyResource

load_dotenv(".env.development")

config = DifyConfig(
    api_key=os.environ["DIFY_API_KEY"],
    base_url=os.environ.get("DIFY_BASE_URL", "https://api.dify.ai/v1"),
    dataset_id=os.environ["DIFY_DATASET_ID"],
    slug_metadata_name=os.environ.get("DIFY_SLUG_METADATA_NAME", "slug"),
)
resource = DifyResource(config=config)


async def main() -> None:
    ws = Workspace({"/knowledge/": resource}, mode=MountMode.READ)

    r = await ws.execute("ls /knowledge/")
    print(await r.stdout_str())

    r = await ws.execute("find /knowledge/ -type f | head -n 10")
    print(await r.stdout_str())

    r = await ws.execute('search --method hybrid --top-k 5 "getting started" /knowledge/')
    print(await r.stdout_str())


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())
```

A runnable version is available at
`examples/python/dify/dify.py`.

## Shell Commands

| Command | Notes |
| ------- | ----- |
| `ls` | List folders and documents |
| `cat` | Read full document text from completed segments |
| `head` / `tail` | Read the first or last lines/bytes |
| `grep` | Exact or regex matching over streamed document text |
| `find` | Search the virtual tree by name, type, depth, and size |
| `wc` | Count lines, words, bytes, characters, and max line length |
| `search` | Semantic/full-text/hybrid/keyword retrieval through Dify |