Arxi Features & Capabilities

You've seen what Arxi enables. This page answers two practical questions: what guarantees are universal, and how Open Source differs from Enterprise.

OSS vs Enterprise

Decision DriverOpen Source (Apache 2.0)Enterprise (Self-Hosted)
Recording engine (envelopes, chains, segments, bundles)
Storage backendsSQLite, in-memory+ Distributed storage, fleet replication
Verification7-phase offline bundle verification+ Continuous verification, fleet-wide audits
SigningEd25519 optional envelope signing+ Trust root management, automated key rotation
CLIFull CLI with JSON output, i18n (en, ca)+ Admin tooling, fleet CLI
IntegrationEvidenceProvider trait, RecorderAdapter trait+ Sidecar mode, remote service, ingestion API
TenancySingle-tenant+ Multi-tenant authn/authz, fleet governance
SupportCommunity (GitHub)Integration guidance

Guarantees

  • Append-only integrity: envelopes cannot be modified or deleted once recorded
  • Deterministic hashing: same inputs produce identical hashes (JCS canonical encoding, RFC 8785)
  • Fail-closed validation: missing or invalid data halts recording at the boundary
  • Tamper-evident chains: any alteration to an envelope breaks the hash chain
  • Content-addressed attachments: attachments stored by SHA-256 content hash

Included

  • Append-only envelope recording with cryptographic hash chain integrity
  • Segment lifecycle management (open, seal, auto-seal policies)
  • Bundle builder with selector algebra (segment, trace, time, IDs, filter, composite)
  • 7-phase offline bundle verification (manifest, attachments, content, chain, cross-segment, signatures, verdict)
  • Ed25519 signature verification infrastructure
  • Full CLI with JSON output mode and i18n

Enterprise Adds

  • Distributed storage and fleet replication
  • Multi-tenant authentication and access control
  • Sidecar and remote service deployment modes
  • Automated key rotation and trust root management
  • Fleet-wide governance and ingestion APIs
  • Admin tooling and operational dashboards

Boundaries

  • Does not make decisions: Arxi records evidence; decision systems like Decision Gate evaluate it
  • Does not execute tools: Arxi captures boundary events; tools run elsewhere
  • Does not enforce policy: use Decision Gate for policy gates and requirement evaluation
  • Does not provide managed hosting: self-hosted by default; managed cloud deferred
  • Does not infer meaning: authors define event types, actors, and correlation explicitly

Deep Dives

Learn More