# How Capture and Seal fit.

> Run your existing model client through a local proxy, keep encrypted evidence on your machine, and turn only the interactions you choose into independently verifiable OpenTelemetry trace packages.

Part of the Exalto Capture docs. Page: https://capture.exalto.ai/docs. Every page is listed in https://capture.exalto.ai/llms.txt; the whole site in one file is https://capture.exalto.ai/llms-full.txt.

## The workflow

1. **Capture.** Point an SDK or agent at the local proxy. Requests and streamed responses continue normally while each completed provider call becomes an encrypted local capture.
2. **Choose.** Captures wait on your disk. Nothing is shared automatically, and interactive model use does not wait for the expensive proof step.
3. **Seal.** Turn a selected capture into authenticated TLS evidence and a deterministic OTel GenAI trace. This can happen long after the original model call.
4. **Verify or share.** Check the package locally, keep it private, or deliberately share its disclosed conversation and portable proof through a stable link.

## One Trace, two evidence states

**CAPTURED**

### Private local evidence

The Trace retains a sensitive encrypted capture that can be sealed later. It is not yet evidence another person can verify.

**SEALED**

### Portable Trace package

TLSNotary evidence, disclosed authenticated HTTP, canonical OTLP, and a manifest binding the files together.

## Sharing is a separate action

A Sealed Trace can remain local or be shared deliberately. Sharing hosts the exact admitted `.llmtrace` package and its disclosed conversation; it does not create another evidence state.

## What is automatic

-   The first service start creates or opens the local encrypted-capture vault. On a desktop OS, its random key is stored in the system credential service.
-   The service discovers the production notary endpoint and public key from the Exalto Seal Registry, then pins that trust information locally.
-   Sealing and verification use the pinned notary identity. Normal hosted use does not require copying a public key into an API request.
-   Provider credentials remain in your existing SDK or agent environment; the local service does not require a project `.env` file.

## A first successful run

```sh
curl -fsSL https://capture.exalto.ai/install.sh | sh

captured
# Open http://127.0.0.1:8788 for the local dashboard.
# Point an OpenAI client at http://127.0.0.1:8787/openai/v1.

capture status
capture traces list
```

> **The claim**
>
> A trusted notary attests that disclosed bytes came from an authenticated TLS interaction with the named provider, and the Exalto Capture Protocol deterministically binds the OpenTelemetry representation to those bytes.

## All pages

- [Overview](https://capture.exalto.ai/docs.md): Run your existing model client through a local proxy, keep encrypted evidence on your machine, and turn only the interactions you choose into independently verifiable OpenTelemetry trace packages.
- [Install options](https://capture.exalto.ai/docs/getting-started.md): Use the guided macOS app for everyday capture and review. Use the CLI and local service when you are integrating an SDK, coding agent, server, or automated workflow.
- [For agents](https://capture.exalto.ai/docs/agents.md): A procedure for an agent with a shell: install Capture, point a client at it, find the call, seal it with approval, verify it, and ask before anything that costs money or leaves the machine. Every step names the command and the field that proves it worked.
- [Trust model](https://capture.exalto.ai/docs/how-it-works.md): The Exalto Capture Protocol (ECP) makes a narrow provenance claim. Understanding who sees what, and what the proof does not establish, is part of using it correctly.
- [What it costs](https://capture.exalto.ai/docs/hosted-credits.md): Local capture is free, always. You pay for what you seal. Your account shows the current plan, the balances, and the usage behind them.
- [Trace packages](https://capture.exalto.ai/docs/trace-packages.md): Turn one encrypted capture into a portable evidence package, inspect its canonical OpenTelemetry trace, and verify the entire package offline.
- [Share a Trace](https://capture.exalto.ai/docs/share.md): Sharing is a deliberate upload of one already-sealed package. The local service verifies it and shows the full disclosed conversation before it contacts Exalto Seal.