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Getting Started

This guide walks you through installing, configuring, and running Vectra for the first time.

Prerequisites​

RequirementVersion
.NET SDK10.0 or later
A supported databaseSQLite (default) or PostgreSQL
A supported cacheIn-Memory (default) or Redis

Installation​

Clone the Repository​

git clone https://github.com/cortexiumlabs/vectra.git
cd vectra

Restore & Build​

dotnet restore
dotnet build

Running Vectra​

Vectra is driven by a CLI entry-point. The simplest way to start the gateway is:

dotnet run --project src/Vectra

To check the current version:

dotnet run --project src/Vectra -- --version

Minimal Configuration​

Vectra is configured through standard ASP.NET Core appsettings.json / environment variables. A minimal working configuration looks like:

appsettings.json
{
  "System": {
    "Server": {
      "Http": { "Port": 7080 }
    },
    "Storage": {
      "Database": {
        "DefaultProvider": "Sqlite",
        "Providers": {
          "Sqlite": { "ConnectionString": "Data Source=vectra.db" }
        }
      },
      "Cache": {
        "DefaultProvider": "Memory"
      }
    }
  },
  "Security": {
    "AgentAuth": {
      "Provider": "SelfSigned"
    }
  },
  "Policy": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "DefaultProvider": "Internal",
    "Providers": {
      "Internal": { "Directory": "./policies" }
    }
  },
  "HumanInTheLoop": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "Threshold": 0.8,
    "TimeoutSeconds": 3600,
    "MaxPendingRequests": 100
  }
}

Running via Docker​

If you prefer to run Vectra as a container, pre-built Dockerfiles are available in the .docker/ directory.

Build:

docker build \
  -f .docker/Dockerfile.linux \
  --build-arg APP_VERSION=1.0.0 \
  -t vectra:1.0.0 \
  .

Run:

docker run -d \
  --name vectra \
  -p 7080:7080 \
  -e System__Storage__Database__Providers__Sqlite__ConnectionString="Data Source=/data/vectra.db" \
  -e Policy__Providers__Internal__Directory="/policies" \
  -v $(pwd)/data:/data \
  -v $(pwd)/policies:/policies \
  vectra:1.0.0

Once running, Vectra is available at http://localhost:7080. The /health endpoint confirms it is up:

curl http://localhost:7080/health
# {"status":"Healthy","healthCheckDuration":"00:00:00.0023456"}

For the full Docker reference — HTTPS, Docker Compose with Redis and Seq, volume mounts, and environment variable mappings — see the Docker guide.

First Request Flow​

  1. Register an agent — POST /agents
  2. Obtain a JWT token — POST /tokens
  3. Proxy a request — GET /proxy/https://api.example.com/data with Authorization: Bearer <token>

Vectra will authenticate the agent, evaluate its policy, compute a risk score, and either forward the request or intercept it for human review.

Next Steps​