> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developers.laws.africa/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developers.laws.africa/get-started/overview.md).

# Platform overview

The Laws.Africa Legal Knowledge Platform helps developers build products that use authoritative African legal information.

The platform has two complementary APIs:

* **Knowledge Bases** retrieve relevant legislation and judgment context for AI grounding, RAG, legal agents, search and workflow tools.
* **Content API** provides full legislation content and metadata in structured formats for deeper integrations.

Most new integrations should start with Knowledge Bases. They are easier to prototype with because Laws.Africa handles ingestion, indexing, embeddings and updates. Your application sends a query and receives relevant legal context with metadata and public source links.

Use the Content API when you need direct access to full legislation collections inside your own infrastructure.

## How the products fit together

Knowledge Bases are for retrieval. They answer the question: "What legal material is relevant to this query?"

The Content API is for content access. It answers the question: "Give me this legislation, in this format, so I can store, render or process it myself."

## How to get started

### Prototype with Knowledge Bases

1. Create a free platform account.
2. Get an API token.
3. Query a Knowledge Base with a legal question or search phrase.
4. Use the returned text, metadata and public URLs in your app, search interface or AI workflow.

{% content-ref url="/pages/Ve6UZgqLViJNXjOUepzQ" %}
[Quick start](/knowledge-bases/quick-start.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

### Build a deeper Content API integration

1. Choose the country or locality you need.
2. Fetch works and expressions.
3. Store the legislation and metadata you need.
4. Use webhooks or polling to keep your copy up to date.

{% content-ref url="/pages/xYokJYvpv0F9xDIBpI7g" %}
[Quick start](/content-api/quick-start.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

## Plans and access

The membership plans support a progression from experimentation to production:

* **Sandbox** for free experimentation with one country and limited daily usage.
* **Build** for production Knowledge Base workflows in one country.
* **Scale** for broader coverage, higher usage and full Content API access.

See [pricing and plans](/get-started/pricing.md) for developer-facing plan details, limits and current pricing guidance.

Use [Manage your plan and subscription](/get-started/manage-your-plan.md) to learn how to check active services, change your primary API country, request plan changes and monitor usage in the platform.


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# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://developers.laws.africa/get-started/overview.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.