APTrust Documentation
Welcome to the APTrust documentation hub. This site brings together all APTrust documentation in one place. Use the tabs above to navigate between sections, or browse the guides below.
User Guide
Documentation for APTrust members and depositors. Covers the full preservation lifecycle — ingesting content, monitoring work items, restoring and deleting objects — as well as how to navigate the Registry web interface, manage accounts and permissions, and use the REST API.
Audience: Repository managers, digital archivists, and anyone depositing content into APTrust.
DART
Documentation for DART (Digital Archivist's Resource Tool), a desktop application for packaging files as BagIt bags and uploading them to APTrust. Covers both DART 2 and DART 3, including job configuration, workflow automation, batch processing, BagIt profile management, and the command-line interface. Also covers DART Runner for scripted and server-side workflows.
Audience: End users packaging and uploading content; developers building DART integrations.
Partner Tools
Documentation for apt-cmd, the APTrust command-line utility for creating and validating BagIt bags, managing S3 files, and querying the APTrust Registry. Supports scripted workflows that cover the full deposit cycle: bag creation, validation, upload, and ingest verification.
Audience: Depositors and developers building command-line or automated workflows.
API
Interactive reference for the APTrust Member REST API v3, powered by the OpenAPI specification. Browse endpoints, view request/response schemas, and try calls directly against the API. For narrative documentation on authentication and usage patterns, see the User Guide REST API section.
Audience: Developers and depositors integrating programmatically with APTrust.
TDR
APTrust's self-assessment against ISO 16363, the standard for audit and certification of trustworthy digital repositories, with an overview of the OAIS reference model (ISO 14721). One page per criterion across the three audit areas — organizational infrastructure, digital object management, and infrastructure and security risk management — each giving the requirement and the evidence APTrust provides for it.
Audience: Members, auditors, and stakeholders evaluating APTrust as a trustworthy digital repository.
Registry
Developer documentation for the APTrust Registry web application, which provides the member-facing UI and REST API. Covers code structure, request handling, security model (roles, authentication, authorization, CSRF, headers), data models, database, NSQ integration, UI components, and the testing approach.
Audience: APTrust developers.
Preservation Services
Technical documentation for the APTrust preservation backend — the workers, components, and infrastructure that handle ingest, fixity checking, restoration, and deletion. Covers code structure, worker anatomy, the ingest pipeline stages, Redis and NSQ messaging, S3 storage, Docker deployment, and the internal auditor.
Audience: APTrust developers and operations staff.
Other Documentation
Additional APTrust documentation hosted on aptrust.org, including member-restricted technical resources and legacy reference materials.
Audience: Members and institutional partners.
Policies
APTrust's board-approved policies, guidelines, and governance documents — covering areas such as preservation, collection strategy, financial sustainability, succession, and service management. All finalized policies receive DOI assignments and follow defined review cycles.
Audience: Members and institutional partners.
For member support, contact [email protected]. For the APTrust website, visit aptrust.org.