Getting Started
Working with Data
Tools & Analysis
Entities and Relationships
Entities represent named actors — people, organizations, objects — involved in your investigation. Relationships connect entities to each other, forming a graph you can explore and analyze.
Creating an Entity
From the Entities List
- Click Entities in the sidebar.
- Click + New Entity.
- Fill in the dialog:
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Canonical Name | Yes | The full, official name (e.g., "John D. Rockefeller III") |
| Entity Type | No | Choose from 170+ types. This determines the icon and color used throughout the app. |
| Aliases | No | Alternative names or code names. Add one per line. |
- Click Create.
From the Event Detail Page
When linking an entity to an event, you can create a new entity inline:
- On the event detail page, click + Link under "Linked Entities".
- If the entity you need doesn't exist in the search results, use the option to create a new one.
- Fill in the name, type, and aliases.
- The entity is created and immediately linked to the event.
Editing an Entity
- Navigate to the entity detail page at
/entities/[entityId]. - Click the Edit (pencil icon) button.
- Modify the canonical name, entity type, or aliases.
- Click Save.
The update is recorded in the entity's revision history.
Entity Detail Page
Each entity has a dedicated page showing its complete profile and connections.
Entity Photo
Each entity can have a photo. The photo appears in the entity detail page header, in entity lists, and in graph views.
Adding or Changing a Photo
- Navigate to the entity detail page.
- Hover over the entity photo. A camera icon overlay appears.
- Click the camera icon to select an image file from your computer.
- The photo uploads automatically and appears inline.
You can also change the photo from the Edit Entity dialog.
Removing a Photo
- Hover over the entity photo.
- Click the trash icon that appears.
- The photo is removed immediately.
Photo Revision History
Entity photos are versioned. To access revision history:
- Click the History (clock icon) button on the entity detail page.
- Photo changes appear alongside other entity changes in the revision timeline.
Sizes Used
| Context | Size |
|---|---|
| Entity detail page header | 64x64 px |
| Entity edit dialog | 96x96 px |
| Entity list | 28x28 px |
| Connections panel / graph sidebar | 28x28 px |
| Context panel (linked entities) | 20x20 px |
Header
- Entity photo (or a placeholder icon if no photo is set)
- Entity name with type badge
- Aliases listed below (e.g., "aka Alias1, Alias2")
- History button — view revision history
- Edit button — modify entity details
- Delete button — remove the entity
Relationships Section
- All relationships where this entity is the source or target
- Each relationship shows: direction arrow, relationship type, linked entity name
- Relationships are directioned — "Alice works_for Acme Corp" is different from "Acme Corp works_for Alice"
Connections Panel
- A panel showing how this entity connects to other entities in the graph
- Includes shared events and relationship paths
Shared Events
- Events where this entity appears alongside other entities
- Helps identify patterns and clusters in your data
Entity Types
The system includes 170+ predefined entity types. Each has a name, description, color, and icon that renders consistently across the application.
| Domain | Example Types |
|---|---|
| People | person, witness, suspect, informant, journalist, politician |
| Organizations | corporation, government_agency, non_profit, political_party, military_unit |
| Financial | bank, shell_company, front_company, investment_fund, offshore_entity |
| Intelligence | operative, double_agent, courier, handler, cutout |
| Infrastructure | vessel, aircraft, facility, safehouse, border_crossing |
| Legal | law_firm, court, regulatory_body |
Custom entity types can be created per account via Type Management (sidebar > Tools > Type Management).
Creating a Relationship
Relationships connect two entities. They are directed (from one entity to another) and can carry metadata.
Creating a Relationship
- Navigate to an entity's detail page.
- In the Relationships section, click + Add Relationship (or use the entity graph in Investigation).
- In the dialog:
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| From Entity | Yes | The source entity (pre-filled if started from an entity page) |
| To Entity | Yes | The target entity — search and select |
| Relationship Type | Yes | The nature of the relationship (e.g., works_for, owns, reports_to, married_to, witness_to) |
| Valid From | No | When the relationship began |
| Valid To | No | When the relationship ended (if applicable) |
| Confidence | No | Your confidence in this relationship, 0–100 |
- Click Create.
Relationship Types
The system supports many relationship types, including:
| Type | Use For |
|---|---|
works_for | Employment or affiliation |
owns | Ownership of assets or entities |
reports_to | Hierarchical reporting structure |
involved_in | General participation |
knows | Personal or professional acquaintance |
witness_to | Entity witnessed an event |
funded_by | Financial backing |
subsidiary_of | Corporate structure |
married_to | Personal relationship |
communicated_with | Contact or correspondence |
Editing and Deleting Relationships
- Click a relationship in the entity detail page to open the edit dialog.
- Change the relationship type or time bounds.
- Delete to remove the relationship. This is irreversible but recorded in revision history.
The Entities List
Navigate to Entities in the sidebar to see all entities in your account.
Features:
- Infinite scroll list of all entities
- Text filter by name
- Sortable by connection count (how many relationships an entity has)
- Each item shows: entity photo (or placeholder icon), canonical name, connection count badge
- Click any entity to navigate to its detail page
Entity Relationships in the Investigation Graph
The entity graph is available per-timeline (click the Entity Graph button in the timeline header) and provides a visual, interactive way to explore entity connections. See the Working with Timelines page for details.
Orphan Entities
An entity is "orphaned" when it is not linked to any event. Orphan entities appear in the Review Queue in the workspace.
To resolve an orphan entity:
- Link it to an event that it participated in.
- Or, if it was created in error, delete it.
- Or, if it's a duplicate of another entity, merge it (via the Reconciliation tab, when implemented).
Finding Paths Between Entities
The entity graph supports shortest-path analysis. From the entity graph view or API, you can find the shortest connection path between any two entities in your graph. This reveals indirect relationships that might not be obvious from direct connections alone.