Traces Documentation
Traces is a forensic data collection platform designed for legal discovery and e-discovery. This documentation covers the complete system architecture, setup, and operational guides.
What is Traces?
Traces enables organizations to collect data from digital platforms (Slack, GitHub, Figma, etc.) with forensic-grade integrity for legal proceedings. The platform provides:
- Automated Collection: Configure connectors to pull data from platform APIs
- Chain of Custody: Immutable audit trail for every action
- Data Integrity: SHA256 hashing with independent validation
- Role-Based Access: Customer, Analyst, and Admin roles
- Secure Delivery: Encrypted ZIP files with password protection
Architecture Summary
┌─────────────────┐
│ Clerk Auth │
└────────┬────────┘
│
┌──────────────┐ REST/SSE ┌─────────▼────────┐
│ Customer │◄──────────────►│ Next.js App │
│ Browser │ │ (Vercel) │
└──────────────┘ └─────────┬────────┘
│
┌─────────▼────────┐
│ PostgreSQL │
│ (Supabase) │
│ + pg-boss queue │
└─────────┬────────┘
│
┌─────────▼────────┐
│ Worker Node │
│ (Railway) │
│ (Redis cache, │
│ optional) │
└─────────┬────────┘
│
┌───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌─────────▼────────┐ ┌─────────▼────────┐ ┌─────────▼────────┐
│ Platform APIs │ │ Cloudflare R2 │ │ AWS Secrets │
│ (Slack, etc.) │ │ (File Storage) │ │ Manager │
└──────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘
Collection Lifecycle
pending → validating_creds → queued → in_progress ──┬──► completed ──┐
├──► partial ────┤
└──► error ◄─────┤
▲ │
│ ▼
paused reviewing
│
▼
signed_off
│
▼
delivered
Security Principles
- No secrets in database - Credentials stored only in AWS Secrets Manager
- Immutable audit trail - Chain of custody events are append-only
- Independent hash validation - Using @noble/hashes library
- Row-level security - Database-enforced access control
- Encrypted storage - R2 server-side encryption with versioning
User Roles
| Role | Description | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | End users requesting data collection | Create collections, upload credentials, download results |
| Analyst | Forensic analysts managing collections | Create connectors, review collections, sign off on deliveries |
| Admin | Platform administrators | All analyst capabilities plus user management |
Quick Links
- Local Setup - Set up your development environment
- Analyst Guide - Get started as an analyst
- API Reference - Complete API documentation
- Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions