> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.watson-orchestrate.ibm.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Importing knowledge bases

The `orchestrate knowledge-bases import` command enables you to import the knowledge bases that you create in your active environment. To import a knowledge base, run this command in the ADK CLI and set the path of the file that contains your knowledge base configurations.

```bash BASH theme={null}
orchestrate knowledge-bases import -f <knowledge-base-file-path>
```

## Connecting to external knowledge base providers

In some cases, to connect to external knowledge base providers, such as Milvus or ElasticSearch, you must provide credentials to authenticate to these services.

To do that, you must create a new [connection](../connections/managing_connections) and provide the connection in the command by using the `--app-id` or `-a` flag.

```bash theme={null}
orchestrate connections add -a my_credentials
orchestrate connections configure -a my_credentials --env draft --kind basic --type team
orchestrate connections set-credentials -a my_credentials --env draft -u <username> -p <password>
orchestrate knowledge-bases import -f <my_knowledge_base_file> -a my_credentials
```

If your service requires a different type of authentication, see [Connections](../connections/overview) for more authentication options.