diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/examples/examplesLib/KnowProWriter.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/examples/examplesLib/KnowProWriter.cs
index 17c339ae5..ea274a5f3 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/examples/examplesLib/KnowProWriter.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/examples/examplesLib/KnowProWriter.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 // Licensed under the MIT License.
 
+using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using TypeAgent.ExamplesLib.CommandLine;
 using TypeAgent.KnowPro;
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ public static async Task WriteMessagesAsync(IConversation conversation)
     {
         await foreach (var message in conversation.Messages)
         {
+            WriteLine($"[{message.MessageId}]");
             WriteMessage(message);
             WriteLine();
         }
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/examples/knowProConsole/MemoryCommands.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/examples/knowProConsole/MemoryCommands.cs
index 9b8988c39..cce48718d 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/examples/knowProConsole/MemoryCommands.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/examples/knowProConsole/MemoryCommands.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 // Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 
+using TypeAgent.ExamplesLib.CommandLine;
+using TypeAgent.KnowPro;
+using TypeAgent.KnowPro.Lang;
+
 namespace KnowProConsole;
 
 public class MemoryCommands : ICommandModule
@@ -20,7 +24,8 @@ public IList<Command> GetCommands()
             MessagesDef(),
             AliasesDef(),
             SearchDef(),
-            SearchRagDef()
+            SearchRagDef(),
+            AnswerRagDef()
         ];
     }
 
@@ -125,7 +130,7 @@ private Task SearchAsync(ParseResult args, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
 
     private Command SearchRagDef()
     {
-        Command command = new("kpSearchRag")
+        Command command = new("kpSearchRag", "Text similarity search.")
         {
             Options.Arg<string>("query"),
             Options.Arg<int>("maxMatches", 25),
@@ -135,6 +140,7 @@ private Command SearchRagDef()
         command.SetAction(this.SearchRagAsync);
         return command;
     }
+
     private async Task SearchRagAsync(ParseResult args, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         IConversation conversation = EnsureConversation();
@@ -167,4 +173,53 @@ private IConversation EnsureConversation()
             ? _kpContext.Conversation!
             : throw new InvalidOperationException("No conversation loaded");
     }
+
+    private Command AnswerRagDef()
+    {
+        Command command = new("kpAnswerRag", "Answer using classic RAG.")
+        {
+            Options.Arg<string>("query"),
+            Options.Arg<int>("maxMatches", 25),
+            Options.Arg<double>("minScore", 0.7),
+            Options.Arg<int>("budget", 16 * 1024)
+        };
+        command.SetAction(this.AnswerRagAsync);
+        return command;
+    }
+
+    private async Task AnswerRagAsync(ParseResult args, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+
+        IConversation conversation = EnsureConversation();
+
+        NamedArgs namedArgs = new NamedArgs(args);
+        string? query = namedArgs.Get<string>("query");
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(query))
+        {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        AnswerResponse answer = await conversation.AnswerQuestionRagAsync(
+            query,
+            namedArgs.Get<double>("minScore"),
+            namedArgs.Get<int>("budget"),
+            new AnswerContextOptions()
+            {
+                MessagesTopK = namedArgs.Get<int>("maxMatches"),
+            },
+            null,
+            cancellationToken
+        ).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+        KnowProWriter.WriteLine();
+        if (answer.Type == AnswerType.Answered)
+        {
+            KnowProWriter.WriteLine(ConsoleColor.Green, answer.Answer);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            KnowProWriter.WriteLine(ConsoleColor.Yellow, answer.WhyNoAnswer);
+        }
+        KnowProWriter.WriteLine();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Answer/AnswerContextBuilder.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Answer/AnswerContextBuilder.cs
index db745fb0b..8e16b9c01 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Answer/AnswerContextBuilder.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Answer/AnswerContextBuilder.cs
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ public async ValueTask<IList<RelevantMessage>> GetRelevantMessagesAsync(
         {
             return [];
         }
-        List<int> ordinals = messageMatches.ToMessageOrdinals(topK);
+        List<int> ordinals = messageMatches.ToMessageOrdinals(topK, true);
         IList<IMessage> messages = await _conversation.GetMessageReader().GetAsync(
             ordinals,
             cancellationToken
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationAnswer.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationAnswer.cs
index 12acacf54..f526d9b2b 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationAnswer.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationAnswer.cs
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@ public static async ValueTask<AnswerResponse> AnswerQuestionAsync(
         throw new NotImplementedException("Answer chunking");
     }
 
-
     public static async ValueTask<AnswerResponse> AnswerQuestionAsync(
         this IConversation conversation,
         string question,
@@ -113,4 +112,46 @@ public static async ValueTask<AnswerResponse> AnswerQuestionAsync(
         ).ConfigureAwait(false);
         return combinedResponse;
     }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Performs answer generation using RAG search and RAG context for answer generation
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="conversation">The conversation to use as the context for the question being asked.</param>
+    /// <param name="question">The question being asked.</param>
+    /// <param name="progress">A progresss callback.</param>
+    /// <param name="cancellationToken">The cancellation token to abort if necessary.</param>
+    /// <returns></returns>
+    public static async ValueTask<AnswerResponse> AnswerQuestionRagAsync(
+        this IConversation conversation,
+        string question,
+        double minScore,
+        int maxCharsInBudget,
+        AnswerContextOptions? options,
+        Action<BatchProgress>? progress = null,
+        CancellationToken cancellationToken = default
+    )
+    {
+        ConversationSearchResult searchResults = await conversation.SearchRagAsync(
+            question,
+            options.MessagesTopK,
+            minScore,
+            maxCharsInBudget,
+            cancellationToken
+        ).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+        if (searchResults is null)
+        {
+            return AnswerResponse.NoAnswer();
+        }
+
+        IAnswerGenerator generator = conversation.Settings.AnswerGenerator;
+        AnswerResponse answerResponse = await conversation.AnswerQuestionAsync(
+            question,
+            searchResults,
+            options,
+            cancellationToken
+        ).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+        return answerResponse;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationSearch.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationSearch.cs
index bc16db5f8..0a63a673f 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationSearch.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/ConversationSearch.cs
@@ -212,7 +212,8 @@ public static async ValueTask<List<ConversationSearchResult>> RunQueryAsync(
 
         if (maxCharsInBudget is not null)
         {
-            var messageOrdinals = messageMatches.ToMessageOrdinals();
+            // reverse the message matches so we start with the highest ranked results first
+            var messageOrdinals = messageMatches.ToMessageOrdinals(null, true);
 
             int messageCountInBudget = await conversation.Messages.GetCountInCharBudgetAsync(
                 messageOrdinals,
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/IMessage.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/IMessage.cs
index c0ab3546f..23408ed00 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/IMessage.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/IMessage.cs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ namespace TypeAgent.KnowPro;
 
 public interface IMessage : IKnowledgeSource
 {
+    int MessageId { get; set; }
     IList<string> TextChunks { get; set; }
 
     IList<string>? Tags { get; set; }
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Message.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Message.cs
index 3a6a8fc34..6f7e013d6 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Message.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/Message.cs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ namespace TypeAgent.KnowPro;
 
 public class Message : IMessage
 {
+    public int MessageId { get; set; }
     public IList<string> TextChunks { get; set; }
     public IList<string>? Tags { get; set; }
     public string? Timestamp { get; set; }
@@ -32,6 +33,9 @@ public Message(string text, TMeta meta)
         Metadata = meta;
     }
 
+    [JsonPropertyName("messageId")]
+    public int MessageId { get; set; }
+
     [JsonPropertyName("textChunks")]
     public IList<string> TextChunks { get; set; } = [];
 
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/MessageExtensions.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/MessageExtensions.cs
index 2355fd770..df913ae61 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/MessageExtensions.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowpro/MessageExtensions.cs
@@ -24,12 +24,17 @@ public static int GetCharCount(this IMessage message)
 
     public static List<int> ToMessageOrdinals(
         this IList<ScoredMessageOrdinal> scoredOrdinals,
-        int? topK = null
+        int? topK = null,
+        bool reverse = false
     )
     {
         return topK is not null && topK.Value < scoredOrdinals.Count
-            ? scoredOrdinals.Take(topK.Value).Map((s) => s.MessageOrdinal)
-            : scoredOrdinals.Map((s) => s.MessageOrdinal);
+            ? reverse
+                ? scoredOrdinals.Reverse().Take(topK.Value).Map((s) => s.MessageOrdinal)
+                : scoredOrdinals.Take(topK.Value).Map((s) => s.MessageOrdinal)
+            : reverse
+                ? scoredOrdinals.Reverse().Map((s) => s.MessageOrdinal)
+                : scoredOrdinals.Map((s) => s.MessageOrdinal);
     }
 
     public static IEnumerable<int> AsMessageOrdinals(this IEnumerable<ScoredMessageOrdinal> scoredOrdinals)
diff --git a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowproStorage/Sqlite/SqliteMessageCollection.cs b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowproStorage/Sqlite/SqliteMessageCollection.cs
index ef8e0b560..492bdbf76 100644
--- a/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowproStorage/Sqlite/SqliteMessageCollection.cs
+++ b/dotnet/typeagent/src/knowproStorage/Sqlite/SqliteMessageCollection.cs
@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ TMessage FromMessageRow(MessageRow messageRow)
 
 internal class MessageRow
 {
+    public int MessageId { get; set; }
     public string? ChunksJson { get; set; }
     public string? ChunkUri { get; set; }
     public int MessageLength { get; set; }
@@ -196,6 +197,7 @@ internal class MessageRow
 
     public MessageRow Read(SqliteDataReader reader, int iCol = 0)
     {
+        MessageId = reader.GetInt32(iCol++);
         ChunksJson = reader.GetStringOrNull(iCol++);
         ChunkUri = reader.GetStringOrNull(iCol++);
         MessageLength = reader.GetInt32(iCol++);
@@ -341,6 +343,7 @@ IMessage FromMessageRow(MessageRow messageRow)
     {
         IMessage message = (IMessage)Activator.CreateInstance(_messageType);
 
+        message.MessageId = messageRow.MessageId;
         message.TextChunks = StorageSerializer.FromJsonArray<string>(messageRow.ChunksJson);
         message.Tags = StorageSerializer.FromJsonArray<string>(messageRow.TagsJson);
         message.Timestamp = messageRow.StartTimestamp;
@@ -375,7 +378,7 @@ public static MessageRow GetMessage(SqliteDatabase db, int msgId)
         KnowProVerify.ThrowIfInvalidMessageOrdinal(msgId);
 
         return db.Get(@"
-SELECT chunks, chunk_uri, message_length, start_timestamp, tags, metadata, extra
+SELECT msg_id, chunks, chunk_uri, message_length, start_timestamp, tags, metadata, extra
 FROM Messages WHERE msg_id = @msg_id",
         (cmd) =>
         {
@@ -399,7 +402,7 @@ public static IEnumerable<MessageRow> GetMessages(SqliteDatabase db, IList<int>
 FROM Messages WHERE msg_id IN ({SqliteDatabase.MakeInStatement(placeholderIds)})
 ",
                 (cmd) => cmd.AddPlaceholderParameters(placeholderIds, batch),
-                (reader) => new KeyValuePair<int, MessageRow>(reader.GetInt32(0), ReadMessageRow(reader, 1)),
+                (reader) => new KeyValuePair<int, MessageRow>(reader.GetInt32(0), ReadMessageRow(reader, 0)),
                 messageRows
             );
         }
@@ -463,7 +466,7 @@ SELECT start_timestamp
     public static IAsyncEnumerable<MessageRow> GetAllMessagesAsync(SqliteDatabase db, CancellationToken cancellation = default)
     {
         return db.EnumerateAsync<MessageRow>(@"
-SELECT chunks, chunk_uri, message_length, start_timestamp, tags, metadata, extra
+SELECT msg_id, chunks, chunk_uri, message_length, start_timestamp, tags, metadata, extra
 FROM Messages ORDER BY msg_id",
             ReadMessageRow,
             cancellation