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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Semantica. Use Ctrl+F to find what you need.

General

What is Semantica?

Semantica is an open-source framework for building context graphs and decision intelligence layers for AI. It transforms unstructured data — documents, APIs, databases — into structured knowledge graphs with full provenance tracking, making AI systems explainable and auditable.

What can I build with Semantica?

  • Knowledge graphs from documents and multi-source data
  • GraphRAG systems with graph-grounded retrieval
  • AI agents with structured decision history and semantic memory
  • Compliance-ready pipelines with W3C PROV-O lineage

What makes Semantica different from other frameworks?

Most frameworks stop at retrieval or generation. Semantica adds an accountability layer: every decision is recorded, every fact links to a source, and every reasoning step is explainable. It's designed for environments where you need to audit why an AI reached a conclusion.

Is Semantica free?

Yes — MIT licensed, no vendor lock-in. Some features require third-party API keys (e.g., OpenAI embeddings), but Semantica itself is free.

Installation

How do I install Semantica?

pip install semantica

See Installation for virtual environment setup, optional extras, and troubleshooting.

What Python version do I need?

Python 3.8 or higher. Python 3.11+ is recommended for best performance.

What are the system requirements?

  • Python 3.8+
  • 4 GB RAM minimum; 16 GB+ recommended for larger graphs
  • Optional GPU for embedding generation and ML inference

Getting Started

Where do I start?

  1. Installation — get set up
  2. Getting Started — core concepts and first example
  3. Quickstart Tutorial — full step-by-step pipeline
  4. Cookbook — interactive Jupyter notebooks

What data sources does Semantica support?

  • Files — PDF, DOCX, HTML, JSON, CSV, Excel, PPTX, archives
  • Web — crawl with WebIngestor, RSS feeds
  • Databases — PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake via DBIngestor / SnowflakeIngestor
  • Streams — Kafka, real-time ingestion
  • Media — image OCR, audio/video metadata

Features

Can I use my own models?

Yes. Semantica supports custom entity extraction models, embedding models, LLM providers (via LiteLLM — 100+ models), and custom pipeline processors.

Does Semantica support GPUs?

Yes. When available, GPUs are used automatically for embedding generation, ML model inference, and vector operations. Install semantica[gpu] for CUDA support.

How does Semantica handle large datasets?

  • Batching — process documents in configurable chunks
  • Parallel processing — PipelineBuilder supports configurable worker counts
  • Delta processing — update graphs incrementally without full recompute
  • Graph backends — swap in-memory NetworkX for Neo4j, FalkorDB, or Apache AGE at scale

Technical

What graph databases are supported?

Neo4j, FalkorDB, Apache AGE (PostgreSQL), Amazon Neptune, and in-memory NetworkX for development.

What export formats are available?

RDF (Turtle, JSON-LD, N-Triples, XML), Apache Parquet, ArangoDB AQL, CSV, YAML, and OWL ontologies.

Is Semantica production-ready?

Yes. v0.3.0 ships with 886+ passing tests, PipelineValidator, FailureHandler with exponential backoff, W3C PROV-O provenance, and change management with checksums. See What's New for details.

Troubleshooting

Import error: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'semantica'

Ensure you have the correct Python environment active, then:

pip list | grep semantica
pip install --upgrade semantica

Installation fails with dependency errors

pip install --upgrade pip wheel
pip install semantica

Memory errors during processing

Reduce batch sizes, enable streaming ingestion, or switch to a persistent graph backend (Neo4j, FalkorDB).

Slow embedding or inference

Install GPU support (pip install semantica[gpu]) and ensure CUDA is available on your system.

Support

Where can I get help?

How do I report a bug?

  1. Search existing issues first
  2. Open a new issue with: description, reproduction steps, expected vs actual behavior, and your environment (Python version, OS, Semantica version)

How do I contribute?

See the Contributing Guide.