How do you build RAG over a SQL database (text-to-SQL) when the answer lives in rows, not documents?

Vector search over rows is the wrong tool when the user asks for a count or an aggregate. The signal is retrieving the right schema, generating validated SQL, and knowing when to query the database instead of embedding it.

Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Applied AI Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.

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Applied AI Engineering·RetrievalFree12mWhen retrieval is the wrong answerRetrieval has become the reflex, and it is wrong often enough to be worth a lesson. Four situations where something simpler or entirely different is the better system, and the decision procedure that gets you there in ten minutes.

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Next in this trackHow do you build RAG over a large code repository so an agent can answer questions and edit code?Next in this trackHow do you do incremental indexing for a RAG system with constant document churn, without a nightly full rebuild?Next in this trackHow do you verify that an answer's citations actually support its claims (grounding verification)?

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