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Perplexity AI Data Source

The Perplexity AI connector enables you to generate responses using Perplexity's Chat Completions API, allowing you to leverage Perplexity's advanced search and reasoning capabilities for building AI-powered applications. This connector is particularly useful for applications that need to integrate real-time web search, build question-answering systems, create AI assistants with up-to-date information, or leverage Perplexity's advanced reasoning for complex queries. Follow the instructions below to create a new data flow that ingests data from a Perplexity AI source in Nexla.
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Perplexity AI

Create a New Data Flow​

  1. To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Then, select the desired flow type from the list, and click the Create button.

  2. Select the Perplexity AI connector tile from the list of available connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to the Perplexity AI API, and click Next; or, create a new Perplexity AI credential for use in this flow.

  3. In Nexla, Perplexity AI data sources can be created using pre-built endpoint templates, which expedite source setup for common Perplexity AI API endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Perplexity AI API endpoint, making source configuration easy and efficient.
    • To configure this source using a template, follow the instructions in Configure Using a Template.

    Perplexity AI sources can also be configured manually, allowing you to ingest data from Perplexity AI API endpoints not included in the pre-built templates or apply further customizations to exactly suit your needs.
    • To configure this source manually, follow the instructions in Configure Manually.

Configure Using a Template​

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure data sources to ingest data from common Perplexity AI API endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Perplexity AI API endpoint, making data source setup easy and efficient.

Endpoint Settings​

  • Select the endpoint from which this source will fetch data from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Available endpoint templates are listed in the expandable boxes below. Click on an endpoint to see more information about it and how to configure your data source for this endpoint.

    Generate Chat Completion

    This endpoint generates a response from Perplexity based on user input. Use this endpoint when you need to get AI-powered answers, perform real-time web searches, or leverage Perplexity's advanced reasoning capabilities for complex queries.

    • Enter the Perplexity model to use in the Model field. The default value is sonar, which is Perplexity's primary model. You can specify other available models if needed.
    • Optionally, enter a system message in the System Message field. This provides instructions to guide the model's behavior. The default value is You are a helpful assistant.
    • Enter the user message or prompt in the User Message field. This is the query or question you want Perplexity to answer. This is a required field.
    • Optionally, specify the temperature for text generation in the Temperature field. Temperature controls the randomness of the output (0-1). Lower values make the output more deterministic, while higher values make it more creative. The default value is 0.7.
    • Optionally, specify the top_p (nucleus sampling) parameter in the Top P field. This controls the diversity of the output (0-1). The default value is 1.
    • Optionally, specify the maximum number of tokens in the response in the Max Tokens field. This limits the length of the generated response. The default value is 256.

    The Generate Chat Completion endpoint uses POST requests to send queries to the Perplexity AI API and returns AI-generated responses with real-time web search capabilities. Perplexity's models can search the web and synthesize information to provide accurate, up-to-date answers. For more information about the Generate Chat Completion endpoint, refer to the Perplexity AI API Documentation.

Endpoint Testing​

Once the selected endpoint template has been configured, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current settings. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Configure Manually​

Perplexity AI data sources can be manually configured to ingest data from any valid Perplexity AI API endpoint. Manual configuration provides maximum flexibility for accessing endpoints not covered by pre-built templates or when you need custom API configurations.

With manual configuration, you can also create more complex Perplexity AI sources, such as sources that use chained API calls to fetch data from multiple endpoints or sources that require custom authentication headers or request parameters.

API Method​

  1. To manually configure this source, select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen.

  2. Select the API method that will be used for calls to the Perplexity AI API from the Method pulldown menu. The most common methods are:

    • POST: For sending completion requests to the API (most Perplexity AI endpoints use POST)

API Endpoint URL​

  1. Enter the URL of the Perplexity AI API endpoint from which this source will fetch data in the Set API URL field. This should be the complete URL including the protocol (https://) and any required path parameters. Perplexity AI API endpoints typically follow the pattern {base_url}/chat/completions, where {base_url} is typically https://api.perplexity.ai.

Ensure the API endpoint URL is correct and accessible with your current credentials. You can test the endpoint using the Test button after configuring the URL. The endpoint URL should match the base URL configured in your credential.

Path to Data​

Optional

If only a subset of the data that will be returned by API endpoint is needed, you can designate the part(s) of the response that should be included in the Nexset(s) produced from this source by specifying the path to the relevant data within the response. This is particularly useful when API responses contain metadata, pagination information, or other data that you don't need for your analysis.

For example, when a request call is used to fetch chat completions, the API will typically return completion data along with metadata. By entering the path to the relevant data, you can configure Nexla to extract the specific completion content you need.

Path to Data is essential when API responses have nested structures. Without specifying the correct path, Nexla might not be able to properly parse and organize your data into usable records. For Perplexity AI API responses, common paths include $.choices[*].message for arrays of completion messages or $ for the entire response.

  • To specify which data should be treated as relevant in responses from this source, enter the path to the relevant data in the Set Path to Data in Response field.

    • For responses in JSON format enter the JSON path that points to the object or array that should be treated as relevant data. JSON paths use dot notation (e.g., $.choices to access the choices array).
    Path to Data Example:

    If the API response is in JSON format and includes a choices array that contains the completion results, the path to the response would be entered as $.choices[*].message to extract the message content from each choice.

Autogenerate Path Suggestions​

Nexla can also autogenerate data path suggestions based on the response from the API endpoint. These suggested paths can be used as-is or modified to exactly suit your needs.

  • To use this feature, click the Test button next to the Set API URL field to fetch a sample response from the API endpoint. Suggested data paths generated based on the content & format of the response will be displayed in the Suggestions box below the Set Path to Data in Response field.

  • Click on a suggestion to automatically populate the Set Path to Data in Response field with the corresponding path. The populated path can be modified directly within the field if further customization is needed.

Request Headers​

Optional

  • If Nexla should include any additional request headers in API calls to this source, enter the headers & corresponding values as comma-separated pairs in the Request Headers field (e.g., header1:value1,header2:value2). Additional headers are often required for API versioning, content type specifications, or custom authentication requirements.

    You do not need to include any headers already present in the credentials. Common headers like Authorization, Content-Type, and Accept are typically handled automatically by Nexla based on your credential configuration. For Perplexity AI, the Authorization header with Bearer token is automatically included from your credential, and Content-Type is typically set to application/json for API requests.

Request Body​

Optional

  • If the API endpoint requires a request body (which is common for POST requests to Perplexity AI), enter the request body in the Request Body field. The request body should be formatted as JSON and include the necessary parameters for the chat completion request, such as the model, messages array, temperature, top_p, and max_tokens.

    For Perplexity AI chat completion requests, the request body typically includes a model field (e.g., "sonar"), a messages array with system and user messages, and optionally fields like temperature, top_p, and max_tokens. Refer to the Perplexity AI API documentation for the complete list of supported parameters.

Endpoint Testing​

After configuring all settings for the selected endpoint, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current configuration. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Save & Activate the Source​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Perplexity AI data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.