paperless-gpt/cline_docs/systemPatterns.md

System Patterns

Architecture Overview

1. Microservices Architecture

• paperless-gpt: AI processing service (Go)
• paperless-ngx: Document management system (external)
• Communication via REST API
• Docker-based deployment

2. Backend Architecture (Go)

Core Components

• API Server: HTTP handlers for document processing
• LLM Integration: Abstraction for multiple AI providers
• Template Engine: Dynamic prompt generation
• Document Processor: Handles OCR and metadata generation

Key Patterns

• Template-Based Prompts: Customizable templates for different AI tasks
• Content Truncation: Smart content limiting based on token counts
• Concurrent Processing: Goroutines for parallel document processing
• Mutex-Protected Resources: Thread-safe template access
• Error Propagation: Structured error handling across layers

3. Frontend Architecture (React/TypeScript)

Components

• Document Processor
• Suggestion Review
• Document Cards
• Sidebar Navigation
• Success Modal

State Management

• Local component state
• Props for component communication
• API integration for data fetching

4. Integration Patterns

API Communication

• RESTful endpoints
• JSON payload structure
• Token-based authentication
• Error response handling

LLM Provider Integration

• Provider abstraction layer
• Support for multiple providers (OpenAI, Ollama)
• Configurable models and parameters
• Vision model support for OCR

5. Data Flow

Document Processing Flow

1. Document tagged in paperless-ngx
2. paperless-gpt detects tagged documents
3. AI processing (title/tags/correspondent generation)
4. Manual review or auto-apply
5. Update back to paperless-ngx

OCR Processing Flow

1. Image/PDF input
2. Vision model processing
3. Text extraction and cleanup
4. Integration with document processing

6. Security Patterns

• API token authentication
• Environment-based configuration
• Docker container isolation
• Rate limiting and token management

7. Development Patterns

• Clear separation of concerns
• Dependency injection
• Interface-based design
• Concurrent processing with safety
• Comprehensive error handling
• Template-based customization

8. Testing Patterns

• Unit tests for core logic
• Integration tests for API
• E2E tests for web interface
• Test fixtures and mocks
• Playwright for frontend testing