For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.
Connect Data
Connecting data is the first step in the seven-step workflow. Add data by uploading files directly or by connecting to an external source. RootCause supports connecting to databases, data warehouses, cloud storage or APIs.
The Import Manager
Open the Sources section in the top navigation bar and click Import data. The Import Manager opens with two tabs:
Current Imports — data sources already connected to this workspace
New Import — add a new source
Filter by category: All Sources, Databases, Cloud Storage, File Upload, and APIs & Services. Alongside the external connectors, the list also offers From Organization — reuse datasets that already exist in your organization — and Web Research, which builds a table from AI-driven web research.
The Import Manager lists all available connectors. Sources marked Setup need credentials configured before use.
File Upload
File upload is the quickest way to get started. RootCause accepts tabular files (CSV, TSV, Parquet, JSON, Excel, ODS), documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Markdown, plain text), images, and video files.
In the Import Manager, click Local File Upload
Drag files onto the drop zone, or click to browse
Drop files onto the zone or click to browse. You can add multiple files at once.
Files appear in a list with names and sizes — remove any with the × button
Click Upload (n) to start the transfer
Files staged and ready. The Upload button shows the number of files queued.
Upload progress is tracked in the Import Manager's Current Imports tab. When all files show "Completed", ontology processing begins automatically in the background.
Current Imports. Each file reports its size, rows, and columns once the upload completes; View opens the imported source.
Ontology building — each column becomes a concept; columns with shared names or matching patterns across datasets are flagged for review
Data Views created — a default Data View is generated for each dataset; datasets that share an identifier column get a recommended joined view (covered in Step 3: Build 360 Table)
When processing finishes, the Sources page lists your datasets with row counts, sizes, and an analysis status; the recommended join appears on the Ontology page's Recommended Datasets panel.
Sources after processing: both datasets imported and analyzed. The journey card in the corner offers the next steps — understand why, build a report, or build an app.
Data Connectors
For live, continuously synced data, connect directly to your source system. Each connector requires credentials — click Setup next to the connector name to configure.
After connecting a source, configure its sync frequency — manual, hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. When a sync runs, all dependent Data Views and analyses update automatically.
Next steps
By the time import finishes, RootCause has already built a first-pass ontology. Step 2: Build Ontology covers how to review the auto-detected concepts, merge columns that represent the same thing, and classify identifiers and time fields.
After that, Step 3: Build 360 Table shows how to turn those datasets into a single joined table ready for causal analysis — using the recommended join RootCause has already prepared.
