---
title: "Collectors"
slug: "collectors"
tags: ["Content Services"]
updated: 2026-10-12T11:15:12Z
published: 2026-10-12T11:15:12Z
canonical: "kb.ctera.com/collectors"
---

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

# Collectors

A collector is designed to gather and organize the massive amounts of data required to train or operate AI models (like LLMs), which require high-quality datasets to learn.

Collectors should be as close as possible to the backend storage where the content you want will be collected. For example, if your backend storage is in western europe, you should have a collector also in western Europe. You can use the **Collector Status Map** to see where you have collectors defined.

**To add a colllector:**

1. Click **Collectors** in the navigation pane.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-L7MQORHM.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A33%3A26Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A33%3A26Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=hu4L9FT449WWuZ%2FOW7TI890HWBdlqXgIoDdS3%2FDEFfI%3D)
2. Click **New Collector**.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-ASMPBK4U.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A33%3A26Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A33%3A26Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=hu4L9FT449WWuZ%2FOW7TI890HWBdlqXgIoDdS3%2FDEFfI%3D)
3. Enter the following details:
  - **Collector Details**  

**Name** – A name to identify the collector.  

**URI** – The URI to access the collector.
  - **Settings**  

**Default Collector** – Slide on to make this collector the default collector.
  - **Collector Status**  

**Collector Status** – Select whether you want the status to be **Enabled** or **Disabled**.
  - **File Processing**
    1. Click **Connect** in the URI field to connect to the collector and retrieve file type mappings.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-FUS5UGWA.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A33%3A26Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A33%3A26Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=hu4L9FT449WWuZ%2FOW7TI890HWBdlqXgIoDdS3%2FDEFfI%3D)  

Only the file types retrieved are indexed for searches.
    2. For each file type, select the **Reader** if you don't want the default.
**Note**

The list of readers is dependent on the file type.
4. Click **Save Changes**.

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-EJGYQFWH.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A33%3A26Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A33%3A26Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=hu4L9FT449WWuZ%2FOW7TI890HWBdlqXgIoDdS3%2FDEFfI%3D)

**To edit a collector:**

1. Click **Collectors** in the navigation pane.  

![Image](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-EJGYQFWH.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A33%3A26Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A33%3A26Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=hu4L9FT449WWuZ%2FOW7TI890HWBdlqXgIoDdS3%2FDEFfI%3D)
2. Click the collector to edit.
3. Make the required changes.
4. Click **Save Changes**.