How It Works

Locaddit uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to understand the meaning behind your queries, not just match keywords.

Architecture Overview

Our system processes Reddit content through a sophisticated pipeline that transforms raw text into searchable semantic vectors.

1

Ingest

We continuously crawl Reddit posts and comments, extracting text, metadata, and context from threads across all subreddits.

2

Embed

Content is transformed into high-dimensional vectors using state-of-the-art language models. Similar meanings cluster together in vector space.

3

Search

Your query is also embedded, then we find the closest matching vectors using approximate nearest neighbor search. This finds semantically similar content, not just keyword matches.

4

Generate

Retrieved context is fed into a language model that synthesizes answers, always citing the original Reddit threads. No hallucinations—just grounded responses.

RAG vs Keyword Search

Traditional keyword search fails when you don't know the exact terms. RAG understands intent.

❌ Keyword Search

  • • Query: "cheap headphones"
  • • Misses: "budget audio gear", "affordable cans"
  • • Requires exact word matches
  • • No understanding of synonyms or context

✅ RAG Search

  • • Query: "cheap headphones"
  • • Finds: "budget audio gear", "affordable cans", "inexpensive earbuds"
  • • Understands semantic similarity
  • • Captures intent, not just words

Example: Vector Search Process

Here's a simplified view of how a query flows through our system:

python 
# Simplified vector search example
query = "best budget gaming headphones"
query_vector = embed(query)  # Convert to 768-dim vector

# Find similar vectors in our index
results = vector_db.search(
    query_vector,
    top_k=10,
    threshold=0.7
)

# Results include:
# - Original Reddit post/comment text
# - Similarity score
# - Metadata (subreddit, author, date)
# - Direct link to source

Why This Matters

Reddit is a goldmine of human knowledge, but finding the right information is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Traditional search tools fail because:

  • Reddit's search is keyword-based and limited
  • Google often surfaces SEO-optimized content over authentic Reddit discussions
  • You might not know the exact terminology used in the thread you're looking for
  • Context matters—the same words can mean different things in different subreddits

Locaddit solves this by understanding what you're really asking for, not just what words you used.