In ResearchFlow AI, workspace isolation is a strict security boundary, not merely a UI convenience. Market research, pricing teardowns, and positioning strategies are sensitive intellectual property.

• Token-Based Sessions: Secure cryptographically random session tokens (32 bytes hex) issued upon authentication.
• Header Protocol: Client transmits Authorization: Bearer <token> or x-session-token: <token>.
• Password Hashing: Passwords hashed using PBKDF2 (crypto.pbkdf2Sync) with 100,000 iterations of SHA-512 and unique 16-byte random salts.
• Session Expiration: Automatic 30-day session TTL with expiration validation on every request.

graph TD
    Incoming[Incoming API Request] --> ExtractUser[Extract User from Bearer Token]
    ExtractUser --> HasUser{Valid User?}
    HasUser -->|No| CheckDemo{x-demo-mode == true?}
    CheckDemo -->|No| Reject401[401 Unauthorized]
    CheckDemo -->|Yes| SetDemo[Set Scope: ws_demo_sandbox]
    HasUser -->|Yes| ExtractWs[Extract x-workspace-id]
    ExtractWs --> CheckMembership{Is User Owner or Member of Workspace?}
    CheckMembership -->|No| Reject403[403 Forbidden]
    CheckMembership -->|Yes| ExecuteRoute[Execute Scoped Controller]

1. No Implicit Fallback in Live Mode: Live API requests never fall back to default founder data. Unauthenticated calls receive HTTP 401 Unauthorized.
2. Strict Membership Verification: db.isUserAuthorizedForWorkspace(user.id, targetWorkspaceId) checks workspace ownership (ownerId === user.id) and membership lists (members.some(m => m.id === user.id || m.email === user.email)).
3. Cross-Tenant IDOR Prevention: Attempting to query or modify resources belonging to another workspace returns HTTP 403 Forbidden or 404 Not Found.
4. Scoped Global Search: Database queries strictly filter indices using the authorized workspaceId.

• Demo mode operates exclusively within ws_demo_sandbox (owned by usr_demo_founder).
• Real registered user workspaces are isolated and will never have sample fixtures or demo jobs automatically mixed into their private records.
• New user registrations receive an honestly empty workspace with 0 pre-populated research jobs.

Every sensitive action creates an immutable AuditEvent record:

• Workspace creation & member invitations
• Research job creation & execution starts
• Evidence extraction & conflict detection
• Human campaign approvals & rejections
• Task status modifications