OpenRedaction

Production-ready PII detection and redaction library with 571+ built-in patterns, multiple redaction modes, compliance presets, enterprise SaaS features, and zero dependencies.

Installation

npm install openredaction

Quick Start

import { OpenRedaction } from 'openredaction';

const shield = new OpenRedaction();
const result = shield.detect("Email [email protected] or call 07700900123");

console.log(result.redacted);
// "Email [EMAIL_9619] or call [PHONE_UK_MOBILE_9478]"

Optional AI Assist

OpenRedaction supports an optional AI-assisted detection mode that enhances regex-based detection by calling a hosted AI endpoint. This feature is OFF by default and requires explicit configuration.

Configuration

import { OpenRedaction } from 'openredaction';

const detector = new OpenRedaction({
  // ... other options ...
  ai: {
    enabled: true,
    endpoint: 'https://your-api.example.com' // Optional: defaults to OPENREDACTION_AI_ENDPOINT env var
  }
});

// detect() is now async when AI is enabled
const result = await detector.detect('Contact John Doe at [email protected]');

How It Works

1. Regex Detection First: The library always runs regex detection first (existing behavior)
2. AI Enhancement: If ai.enabled === true and an endpoint is configured, the library calls the /ai-detect endpoint
3. Smart Merging: AI entities are merged with regex detections, with regex taking precedence on conflicts
4. Graceful Fallback: If the AI endpoint fails or is unavailable, the library silently falls back to regex-only detection

Environment Variables

In Node.js environments, you can set the endpoint via environment variable:

export OPENREDACTION_AI_ENDPOINT=https://your-api.example.com

Important Notes

• AI is optional: The library works exactly as before when ai.enabled is false or omitted
• Regex is primary: AI only adds additional entities; regex detections always take precedence
• No breaking changes: When AI is disabled, behavior is identical to previous versions
• Browser support: In browsers, you must provide an explicit ai.endpoint (env vars not available)
• Network dependency: AI mode requires network access to the endpoint

For Sensitive Workloads

For maximum security and privacy, keep AI disabled and rely purely on regex detection:

const detector = new OpenRedaction({
  // AI not configured = pure regex detection
  includeNames: true,
  includeEmails: true
});

Documentation

Full documentation available at GitHub

Features

• 🚀 Fast & Accurate - 10-20ms for 2-3KB text
• 🎯 571+ PII Patterns - Comprehensive coverage across multiple categories
• 🔐 Enterprise SaaS Ready - Multi-tenancy, persistent audit logging, webhooks, REST API
• 📊 Production Monitoring - Prometheus metrics, Grafana dashboards, health checks
• 🧠 Semantic Detection - Hybrid NER + regex with 40+ contextual rules
• 🎨 Multiple Redaction Modes - Placeholder, mask-middle, mask-all, format-preserving, token-replace
• ✅ Built-in Validators - Luhn, IBAN, NHS, National ID checksums
• 🔒 Compliance Presets - GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA plus finance, education, healthcare, and transport presets
• 🎭 Deterministic Placeholders - Consistent redaction for same values
• 🌍 Global Coverage - 50+ countries
• 📄 Structured Data Support - JSON, CSV, XLSX with path/cell tracking
• 🌳 Zero Dependencies - No external packages required (core)
• 📝 TypeScript Native - Full type safety and IntelliSense
• 🧪 Battle Tested - 276+ passing tests

Pattern Categories

Personal Information

Email, Phone Numbers (US, UK, International), Names, Social Security Numbers, Passports, Driver's Licenses

Financial (13 patterns)

Credit Cards, IBANs, Bank Accounts, Swift Codes, Routing Numbers, IFSC, CLABE, BSB, ISIN, CUSIP, SEDOL, LEI, Cryptocurrencies

Government IDs (50+ countries)

SSN, NINO, NHS, Passports, Tax IDs, UTR, VAT, Company Numbers, ITIN, SIN, and more

Healthcare

Medical Record Numbers, NHS Numbers, CHI, EHIC, Health Insurance, Prescription Numbers, DEA Numbers, Biometric Data

Digital Identity

API Keys, OAuth Tokens, JWT, Bearer Tokens, Discord, Steam, Social Media IDs

Industries (25+)

Retail, Legal, Real Estate, Logistics, Insurance, Healthcare, Emergency Response, Hospitality, Professional Certifications, and more

Enterprise Features

• Persistent Audit Logging - SQLite/PostgreSQL with cryptographic hashing
• Multi-Tenancy - Tenant isolation, quotas, usage tracking
• Prometheus Metrics - HTTP server with Grafana dashboards
• Webhook System - Event-driven alerts with retry logic
• REST API - Production-ready HTTP API with authentication

License

MIT