# KnowX Knowledge Base

> A searchable knowledge base for EmDash: categories, article feedback, and a report of what readers search for.

Source: https://emdashcmseverything.com/plugins/knowx-knowledge-base/

- Category: knowledge base
- Status: available
- Version: 0.2.1
- Price: Unknown
- Compatibility: Not stated in the public registry profile
- License: MIT
- Maintainer: Wbcom Designs
- Download: https://plugins.emdashcms.com/plugins/@vapvarun.bsky.social/knowx
- Repository: https://github.com/wbcomdesigns/emdash-knowx
- Published: 2026-10-21

## Description

KnowX turns an EmDash site into a help center. Visitors search for an answer, browse topics, and say whether an article helped. You see which searches find nothing and which articles get more No votes than Yes.

## What you get

- **Help home.** A search box and topic cards. When you have more than one top-level category, each card shows a name, a short description and an icon you pick.
- **Articles.** Table of contents, copy-link on headings, copy on code, previous and next, last updated date, optional version badge.
- **Search.** EmDash's own search, limited to the content types you tick. Instant results as you type, plus a results page. Each result says what kind of content it is.
- **FAQ.** Its own page, with FAQ data for search engines.
- **Was this helpful.** Yes or No on each article. After a No you can ask for a short comment.
- **Still need help.** A contact button after an empty search and after a No vote. You set one link. Hidden when that setting is empty.
- **Insights and Searches.** Weak articles by name, comments as plain text, top searches, searches that found nothing.
- **Dashboard card.** Empty searches this week, and the least helpful article.

## How it fits together

KnowX is the engine: routes, storage and the admin screens. An EmDash plugin cannot add pages to your site, so the public pages ship as a site kit you copy in once. See Installation.

Guests search, read, and vote when the host gives EmDash the visitor's address (Cloudflare, or `trustedProxyHeaders`). Elsewhere guests see a sign-in link to vote, and members vote as usual.

## Installation

## Before you install

**1. Your site needs a sandbox runner.** Registry plugins run in a sandbox. Until the site has one, Admin, Plugins shows "No plugins configured" and there is no Registry in the menu.

- **Node:** in your site, run `npm install @emdash-cms/sandbox-workerd workerd`, then add `sandboxRunner: "@emdash-cms/sandbox-workerd/sandbox",` inside `emdash()` in `astro.config.mjs`.
- **Cloudflare:** add `import  from "@emdash-cms/cloudflare";` and `sandboxRunner: sandbox(),`. It needs the Workers Paid plan, the `worker_loaders` binding named `LOADER` (uncomment it in your Wrangler config) and an R2 bucket as `storage: r2(...)`, or the install stops with "Storage error while installing plugin". Then run `npm run deploy`.

Stop the dev server and start it again. **Registry** now shows in the admin menu.

**2. The plugin is the engine. Visitor pages come from its site kit.** A registry plugin cannot add pages to your site. Until you copy the kit, its addresses (for example `/docs/`) show your site's 404 page. That is expected. The kit copy below takes one command.

**3. You need Node 22.16 or later** for the `npx emdash seed` step.

Checked on EmDash 1.3.1 with the `blog` template, on Node and on Cloudflare Workers (registry install).

## Install

1. Admin, Registry, search **KnowX**, Install, then accept the permissions.
2. From your site's root folder:

   ```bash
   kit="$(mktemp -d)" &&
     git clone --depth 1 \
       --branch v0.2.1 \
       https://github.com/wbcomdesigns/emdash-knowx \
       "$kit/emdash-knowx" &&
     "$kit/emdash-knowx/scripts/add-to-site.sh" .
   ```

3. Restart the dev server.
4. In Admin, Menus, add `/docs/` and `/docs/faq/`.
5. Open KnowX, Insights, then add articles in Content, Help articles.

Run step 2 again after every update. Guide: https://github.com/wbcomdesigns/emdash-knowx/blob/v0.2.1/docs/website/getting-started/install.md

## FAQ

**Why is `/docs/` a 404 after install?**
The plugin cannot create pages. Run the two kit lines from the Installation tab, then restart the dev server.

**Votes or search log fail after a registry install?**
Copy the current site kit. Older kits called `/plugins/knowx/` only. A registry install uses a generated id. The current kit tries that id, then the name.

**Can guests vote and search?**
Search and reading, always. Voting, when the host gives EmDash the visitor's address (Cloudflare, or `trustedProxyHeaders`); elsewhere guests see a sign-in link and members vote.

**Does search look through posts and pages?**
Only the content types you tick on Settings. Help articles are on by default. A type with search turned off in its collection will not return results.

**Does it send email?**
No. The contact button is a link you set: a page, an http(s) address, or a mailto address.

**Does it work in dark mode?**
Yes. The kit colours follow your site theme.

**Is there a paid version?**
No. Everything here is free.

**Can I put a search box inside an article?**
Not from the registry install. That needs a trusted install, and it is not part of this release.

## Changelog

## 0.2.1

After updating from 0.1.x, Insights shows its upgrade progress until it is done.

- Fix      - Insights no longer shows "None yet" while votes from 0.1.x are still being brought over.
- Fix      - A Yes or No click before the page script loads is kept and sent. Copy the kit again.

## 0.2.0

Every help page, vote, search and admin screen now fits Cloudflare's limit of 10 requests per plugin call.

- New      - Each article keeps running Yes and No counts, updated with the vote.
- New      - A Searches screen holds Top searches and Searches with no results.
- New      - Data from 0.1.x is brought over a step at a time as Insights opens.
- Improve  - Was this helpful answers clicks at once and shows the vote is being sent. Copy the kit again.
- Fix      - On Cloudflare a vote no longer shows "Something went wrong" after it was saved.
- Fix      - On Cloudflare Insights, Settings and their actions no longer fail on a busy site.
- Fix      - The setup card says where to create the content types on a site without SQLite.

## 0.1.5

- Security: guests vote and searches are counted only when the host gives EmDash the visitor's address; elsewhere guests sign in to vote. Search log capped at 5000 terms.
- New: one command copies the kit and creates the content types. Insights shows a Set up visitor pages card, and Top searches has find and paging.
- Fix: Insights counts every search and vote; help pages line up with the theme frame; dark mode buttons pass 4.5:1.

Older versions: https://github.com/wbcomdesigns/emdash-knowx/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

To copy the kit for this version, from your site's root folder:

```bash
kit="$(mktemp -d)" &&
  git clone --depth 1 \
    --branch v0.2.1 \
    https://github.com/wbcomdesigns/emdash-knowx \
    "$kit/emdash-knowx" &&
  "$kit/emdash-knowx/scripts/add-to-site.sh" .
```