Get started, step by step

The Get started page takes a new workspace from empty to one decision record that anyone can verify without Stratl. The page is driven by what the workspace actually contains: each step completes on its own when the workspace shows it happened, not when a button is clicked. The counter in the sidebar (for example 4/5) tracks it.

1. Keep your ingest key. The key created with the workspace is shown once. Copy it into your secret store. If it is gone, create another under Settings → API keys; keys can be revoked at any time. An ingest key can write records and upload originals, and read nothing.

2. Record your first decision. Pick a language tab. The snippet is complete: install the SDK, set two environment variables, run the code. Python and TypeScript both fingerprint content on your side and upload the originals to custody; if the API is unreachable, the record is spooled to disk and sent later. The step ticks when the first record arrives.

   export STRATL_API_URL="https://api.stratl.ai"     # the address shown on the page
   export STRATL_API_KEY="sk_stratl_..."

3. Read the record. Open the decision the snippet produced. The lineage shows every event; the Custody card says who holds the key and where. The step ticks when you open it.

4. Seal it with a checkpoint. Checkpoints run hourly or every thousand records. Press Checkpoint now on the Custody page to seal it immediately; the checkpoint is signed and dated by an outside authority. The step ticks when the record is covered by a checkpoint.

5. Verify it without Stratl. Export the evidence bundle and drop it on the Verify page, or run the command-line verifier on it. The step ticks when the workspace sees a verification. The point of this step: you have just proven a record with no help from Stratl’s API.

Running Stratl yourself

On a developer machine the page shows the local addresses and a Local dev banner at the top of every screen: records are signed with a development key on that machine. Everything else, including timestamps from the real authorities, works the same. Local setup for engineers.

When a step will not tick

• Step 2 waits for a record with your workspace’s key. A 401 in the SDK output means the key is wrong or revoked; a spooled status means the API address is unreachable from where the code ran.
• Step 4 needs at least one record without a checkpoint. If everything is already sealed, the button is disabled and the step is already complete.
• Step 5 ticks only for a bundle from this workspace. Verifying someone else’s bundle still works, and correctly fails the key check.