System architecture
How Citely connects identity, document processing, retrieval, answer generation and an evidence-first workspace.
The product boundary
Citely is a multi-user document question-and-answer workspace. The browser handles navigation, viewing and interaction. The API owns authenticated data access, document jobs, retrieval, generation and persistence. Each protected request is resolved against the signed-in owner before document or conversation data is returned.
From browser to evidence
A user selects a document or folder, asks a question and receives an answer with citation records. Each record connects the generated claim to a document version, page and exact source range. The frontend uses that location to open the relevant reader and focus the evidence.
- Next.js frontend and static marketing pages
- FastAPI application and authenticated persistence
- Background ingestion and document status
- Hybrid retrieval, reranking and bounded generation
- Original-file readers, annotations and revisioned notes
Designed around traceability
The answer is not the end of the workflow. Citely keeps the source in view and makes an unavailable precise location explicit. This lets a reader distinguish a generated explanation from the text used to support it.
Deployment shape
The public site is exported as static assets. The authenticated workspace calls a separately deployed API. Development and production use different paths and configuration, while the same interface contracts keep document, conversation and citation behavior consistent.