> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ingestly.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Classify > Classify documents by content type using rules or AI similarity. The classify node sends each document page to a specific output branch based on its content. Use it to sort incoming documents by type, topic, or any other classification criteria before applying downstream processing. ## When to use classify * You receive **mixed document types** through one trigger and need to apply different processing to each. * Different document types call for different extract schemas. Classifying upstream lets each branch use a focused schema instead of one mega-schema covering everything. * You want to drop or quarantine documents that don't fit any expected type. Use the `other` output for unmatched pages. * Use [filter](/nodes/filter) instead when you're narrowing one document to a subset of its pages, and [split](/nodes/split) when one upload holds several documents that each need their own run. For mode selection, criteria writing, and confidence tuning, see [classify best practices](/nodes/classify-best-practices). ## Configuration | Field | Type | Required | Description | | ------------------------ | --------------- | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Mode** | select | Yes | Classification method: `Rules` or `AI` | | **Routing Rules** | rule editor | When mode is Rules | Conditions that determine which output branch each page follows | | **Target Pipelines** | pipeline picker | When mode is AI | Pipelines to match pages against. Only pipelines with a [Forward Trigger](/nodes/forward-trigger) are selectable | | **Confidence Threshold** | number | When mode is AI | Minimum similarity score (0–1). Pages below it route to the `other` output. Defaults to `0.7` | | **Force OCR** | toggle | No | Forces OCR processing on the document before classification, even when it contains selectable text | ### Modes #### Rules Define conditions that match page content or page numbers. Each rule maps to a different output edge. Rules accept **Contains text**, **Not contains text**, and **Page numbers**. #### AI Uses AI embedding similarity to match pages against reference documents in your target pipelines. Select one or more **Target Pipelines**. Each target pipeline must have a [Forward Trigger](/nodes/forward-trigger) with reference documents so Ingestly can compare incoming pages against it. Set the **Confidence Threshold** to control how strict the match must be. Pages with a similarity score at or above the threshold are forwarded to the matching pipeline; pages below fall through to the `other` output so you can handle them separately. ## Inputs and outputs **Allowed inputs:** Filter, split, parse. Classify reads the page text parse produces, so it cannot connect straight to a trigger. **Output:** Pages routed to the matching output edge, or to the `other` edge if no classification matched. ## Credits See [credits](/admin/credits) for pricing. Rules mode costs **0.5 credits per page**; AI mode costs **0.2 credits per page**. Generating embeddings on the [forward trigger](/nodes/forward-trigger) when you upload reference documents is billed separately at 0.2 credits per page per reference document. ## Related Pick a mode, write criteria, and tune confidence Patterns for branching pipelines on document type Configure reference documents for AI classification Extract data after classifying by document type