The problem
You have thousands of documents—contracts, depositions, evidence. You need to find the relevant passages, but keyword search fails when documents use different terminology.
The solution
A vault is a container that understands documents. When you upload files, we automatically:
- Extract text (OCR for scans, transcription for audio)
- Split content into searchable chunks
- Create meaning vectors for semantic search
Then you can ask questions in plain English and get relevant results—even if the documents use different terminology.
How RAG works
Traditional search matches keywords. If you search “timeline” and the document says “schedule,” you get nothing.
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) works differently:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. UPLOAD │
│ Your user uploads a document │
│ ↓ │
│ 2. PROCESS │
│ We extract text (OCR, transcription, etc.) │
│ Split it into chunks (paragraphs, sections) │
│ Convert each chunk into a "meaning vector" │
│ ↓ │
│ 3. STORE │
│ Chunks + vectors go into the vault │
│ │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ 4. SEARCH │
│ Your user asks: "What about the timeline?" │
│ We convert the question to a vector │
│ Find chunks with similar meaning (not just keywords) │
│ Return the relevant passages │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
What you can upload
| File type | What happens |
|---|
| PDF (scanned) | OCR extracts the text |
| PDF (digital) | Text extracted directly |
| Images | OCR extracts any text |
| Audio/Video | Transcribed with speaker labels |
| Word, text files | Indexed directly |
Quick start
import Casedev from 'casedev';
const client = new Casedev({ apiKey: process.env.CASEDEV_API_KEY });
// 1. Create a vault for your user
const vault = await client.vault.create({
name: 'Documents - User 12345'
});
// 2. Upload a document
const upload = await client.vault.upload(vault.id, {
filename: 'contract.pdf',
contentType: 'application/pdf'
});
// PUT the file to upload.uploadUrl, then:
// 3. Process it (OCR + vectorization)
await client.vault.ingest(vault.id, upload.objectId);
// 4. Enable your user to search by meaning
const results = await client.vault.search(vault.id, {
query: userSearchQuery // e.g., "termination clauses"
});
console.log(results.chunks[0].text);
Security
Each vault is isolated and encrypted:
- Encryption at rest — AES-256 via AWS KMS
- Isolation — Separate storage per vault
- Zero-knowledge — We cannot read your documents
- Audit trail — Every access logged
One vault per case is the recommended pattern. Keeps search results focused and data isolated.
Next steps
