DocuDesk — Anonymisation Backends

DocuDesk delegates entity recognition to OpenRegister's EntityRecognitionHandler. The handler supports four backend modes, each with different accuracy and infrastructure requirements.

Backend Options

Method	Description	Requires
regex	Built-in pattern matching (names, BSNs, IBANs, dates). Fast; no external dependencies. Lower recall on edge cases.	Nothing — always available
presidio	Microsoft Presidio NLP engine. Runs locally or via a custom endpoint configured in OpenRegister settings.	Self-hosted Presidio instance or custom URL
openanonymiser	GPU-accelerated model via the OpenAnonymiser ExApp. Highest recall.	OpenAnonymiser ExApp + GPU server + AppAPI
openanonymiser_light	CPU-optimised model via the OpenAnonymiser Light ExApp. Good recall without GPU hardware.	OpenAnonymiser Light ExApp + AppAPI

Install Workflow (ExApp backends)

1. Install AppAPI — required for all ExApp backends. Open /settings/apps/discover/app_api and click Download and enable.

2. Install an ExApp backend — pick one:

   • OpenAnonymiser Light (CPU): /settings/apps/discover/openanonymiser_light
   • OpenAnonymiser (GPU): /settings/apps/discover/openanonymiser

   After enabling, AppAPI will register the ExApp's daemon and start the container.

3. Configure the backend in OpenRegister — navigate to /settings/admin/openregister and select the backend from the Anonymisation backend dropdown.

4. Verify — reload the DocuDesk admin settings page. If the backend is detected, the warning banner disappears automatically.

Admin Warning Banner

When entity recognition is operating in regex-only mode and no non-regex backend is configured, DocuDesk shows an informational warning banner on:

• The DocuDesk admin settings page (top of section, persistent).
• The DocuDesk dashboard (top of page, admin users only).

The banner provides direct links to the App Store entries and to OpenRegister settings, and can be dismissed per admin. A dismissed admin can re-enable the banner from the Anonymisation section of the DocuDesk admin settings page by toggling Show anonymiser backend warning.

Note: Dismissal is informational only — regex-only mode continues to work. The banner is a discovery aid, not a blocker.

AppAPI not installed

If AppAPI itself is not installed on the instance, the banner additionally instructs the admin to install AppAPI first before installing an ExApp backend. The deep-link CTAs remain visible and navigate to the standard Nextcloud "AppAPI required" page.

Architecture Reference

This feature implements the responsibility split defined in ADR-017:

• DocuDesk owns the warning UX and deep links.
• OpenRegister owns backend selection UI and the actual health check.
• DocuDesk reads state via OCA\OpenRegister\Service\AnonymisationBackendService::getState().
• DocuDesk does NOT query IAppManager, AppAPI services, or HTTP health endpoints directly.