Update docs

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 # Changelog
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- **VLM Picture Description**: Describe embedded images using Vision Language Models during document conversion
+  - Images are sent to a VLM for automatic description via OpenAI-compatible API
+  - Descriptions become searchable text, improving RAG retrieval for visual content
+  - Configure via `processing.conversion_options.picture_description` with `enabled`, `model`, `timeout`, `max_tokens`
+  - Default prompt customizable via `prompts.picture_description`
+  - Requires OpenAI-compatible `/v1/chat/completions` endpoint (Ollama, OpenAI, vLLM, LM Studio)
+
 ## [0.23.2] - 2026-01-05
 
 ### Fixed

docs/configuration/processing.md

@@ -113,6 +113,8 @@ conversion_options:
 - **timeout**: Request timeout in seconds
 - **max_tokens**: Maximum tokens in the VLM response
 
+**Note:** Requires an OpenAI-compatible `/v1/chat/completions` endpoint. Providers with different API formats (e.g., Anthropic Claude) are not supported.
+
 **Default prompt** (configured in `prompts.picture_description`):
 
 ```
@@ -165,6 +167,13 @@ conversion_options:
 3. Descriptions are added as annotations on the image
 4. When exported to markdown, descriptions appear as searchable text
 
+**Using with docling-serve:**
+
+When using `converter: docling-serve`, the VLM calls are made by the docling-serve instance, not by haiku.rag. You must:
+
+1. Set `DOCLING_SERVE_ENABLE_REMOTE_SERVICES=true` when running docling-serve
+2. Ensure the VLM endpoint is accessible from where docling-serve is running
+
 ### Local vs Remote Processing
 
 **Local processing** (default):
@@ -190,7 +199,6 @@ providers:
   docling_serve:
     base_url: http://localhost:5001
     api_key: "your-api-key"  # Optional
-    timeout: 300              # Request timeout in seconds
 ```
 
 Conversion options work identically for both local and remote processing.

docs/configuration/prompts.md

@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ prompts:
 
   # Full replacement for research synthesis prompt (optional)
   synthesis: null
+
+  # VLM prompt for image description during conversion (optional)
+  picture_description: null  # Uses default prompt
 ```
 
 ## Domain Preamble
@@ -92,6 +95,29 @@ prompts:
     - Avoid meta-commentary like "This report covers..."
 ```
 
+## Picture Description Prompt
+
+Customize the prompt used when generating VLM descriptions for embedded images during document conversion. This prompt is sent to the configured Vision Language Model for each image.
+
+**Default prompt:**
+
+```
+Describe this image for a blind user. State the image type (screenshot, chart, photo, etc.),
+what it depicts, any visible text, and key visual details. Be concise and accurate.
+```
+
+**Custom example:**
+
+```yaml
+prompts:
+  picture_description: |
+    Describe this image for a document search system.
+    Focus on: image type, main content, any text, key visual elements.
+    Be concise and factual.
+```
+
+The prompt is used when `processing.conversion_options.picture_description.enabled` is `true`. See [Picture Description (VLM)](processing.md#picture-description-vlm) for full configuration.
+
 ## Programmatic Configuration
 
 ```python
@@ -103,6 +129,7 @@ config = AppConfig(
         domain_preamble="You are answering questions about our product documentation.",
         qa=None,  # Use default QA prompt
         synthesis=None,  # Use default synthesis prompt
+        picture_description="Describe this image for search indexing.",
     )
 )
 ```

docs/remote-processing.md

@@ -55,8 +55,7 @@ processing:
 providers:
   docling_serve:
     base_url: http://localhost:5001
-    api_key: ""     # Optional API key for authentication
+    api_key: ""  # Optional API key for authentication
-    timeout: 300    # Request timeout in seconds
 ```
 
 ## Features

examples/ag-ui-research/haiku.rag.yaml.example

@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ providers:
   docling_serve:
     base_url: http://docling-serve:5001
     api_key: ""
-    timeout: 300
   ollama:
     base_url: http://host.docker.internal:11434
 

examples/docker/haiku.rag.yaml.example

@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ providers:
   docling_serve:
     base_url: http://docling-serve:5001
     api_key: ""
-    timeout: 300
   ollama:
     base_url: http://host.docker.internal:11434