Blocking Mode

Overview

By default, protect() uses fire-and-forget auditing (zero latency). For high-risk scenarios where safety > speed, use blocking mode to wait for audit results before returning the response.

Quick Start

import { protect, ContinumBlockedError } from '@continum/sdk';
import OpenAI from 'openai';

const openai = new OpenAI();

try {
  const response = await protect(
    () => openai.chat.completions.create({
      model: 'gpt-4',
      messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Process this payment' }]
    }),
    {
      apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!
    },
    {
      blockOn: 'HIGH'  // Block if risk level is HIGH or CRITICAL
    }
  );
  
  // Safe to proceed
  console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
    console.log('Blocked:', error.signal.violations);
    console.log('Risk level:', error.signal.riskLevel);
    console.log('Reasoning:', error.signal.reasoning);
    // Handle blocked request
  }
}

Risk Level Thresholds

Specify the minimum risk level that should block the request:

// Block only CRITICAL violations
{ blockOn: 'CRITICAL' }

// Block HIGH and CRITICAL violations
{ blockOn: 'HIGH' }

// Block MEDIUM, HIGH, and CRITICAL violations
{ blockOn: 'MEDIUM' }

// Block all violations (including LOW)
{ blockOn: 'LOW' }

Risk level hierarchy:

LOW < MEDIUM < HIGH < CRITICAL

If blockOn: 'HIGH', then HIGH and CRITICAL violations will block, but MEDIUM and LOW will not.

Global Configuration

Configure blocking mode globally:

import { continum } from '@continum/sdk';

continum.configure({
  apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!,
  preset: 'fintech-ai',
  blockOn: 'HIGH'  // All calls will block on HIGH/CRITICAL
});

// This call will block if HIGH or CRITICAL violations detected
const response = await continum.protect(
  () => openai.chat.completions.create({...})
);

Per-Call Override

Override global configuration for specific calls:

continum.configure({
  apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!,
  blockOn: 'HIGH'  // Global default
});

// Override for this specific call
const response = await continum.protect(
  () => openai.chat.completions.create({...}),
  { blockOn: 'CRITICAL' }  // Only block CRITICAL for this call
);

Error Handling

ContinumBlockedError

When a request is blocked, ContinumBlockedError is thrown:

import { protect, ContinumBlockedError } from '@continum/sdk';

try {
  const response = await protect(
    () => openai.chat.completions.create({...}),
    { apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY! },
    { blockOn: 'HIGH' }
  );
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
    // Access the audit signal
    const signal = error.signal;
    
    console.log('Audit ID:', signal.auditId);
    console.log('Risk Level:', signal.riskLevel);
    console.log('Violations:', signal.violations);
    console.log('Reasoning:', signal.reasoning);
    console.log('Provider:', signal.provider);
    console.log('Model:', signal.model);
    
    // Handle based on violation type
    if (signal.violations.includes('PII_LEAK')) {
      return 'Sorry, I cannot process requests containing personal information.';
    }
    
    if (signal.violations.includes('PROMPT_INJECTION')) {
      return 'Invalid request detected.';
    }
  }
  
  // Re-throw other errors
  throw error;
}

Signal Properties

The AuditSignal object contains:

interface AuditSignal {
  auditId: string;              // Unique audit ID
  sandboxId: string;            // Sandbox that performed the audit
  riskLevel: RiskLevel;         // LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL
  violations: ViolationCode[];  // Array of violation codes
  piiDetected: boolean;         // Whether PII was detected
  reasoning: string;            // Explanation of violations
  regulation: ComplianceFramework[];  // Applicable regulations
  provider: string;             // LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
  model: string;                // Model name (gpt-4, claude-3-5-sonnet, etc.)
  durationMs: number;           // Audit duration in milliseconds
  timestamp: string;            // ISO 8601 timestamp
  sandboxTypes: SandboxType[];  // Detection types used
  sessionId?: string;           // Session ID (if provided)
  userId?: string;              // User ID (if provided)
  isBlocked: boolean;           // Whether request was blocked
}

Use Cases

Financial Transactions

Block HIGH/CRITICAL violations for financial operations:

async function processPayment(amount: number, userId: string) {
  try {
    const response = await protect(
      () => openai.chat.completions.create({
        model: 'gpt-4',
        messages: [{
          role: 'user',
          content: `Process payment of $${amount} for user ${userId}`
        }]
      }),
      {
        apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!,
        preset: 'fintech-ai',
        blockOn: 'HIGH',
        userId,
        metadata: { operation: 'payment', amount: amount.toString() }
      }
    );
    
    return response.choices[0].message.content;
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
      // Log security incident
      await logSecurityIncident({
        userId,
        operation: 'payment',
        violations: error.signal.violations,
        riskLevel: error.signal.riskLevel
      });
      
      throw new Error('Payment blocked due to security concerns');
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

Healthcare Data

Block any violations when handling protected health information:

async function processHealthQuery(query: string, patientId: string) {
  try {
    const response = await protect(
      () => openai.chat.completions.create({
        model: 'gpt-4',
        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: query }]
      }),
      {
        apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!,
        preset: 'healthcare-ai',
        comply: ['HIPAA'],
        blockOn: 'LOW',  // Block ALL violations
        userId: patientId
      }
    );
    
    return response.choices[0].message.content;
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
      return 'I cannot process this request due to privacy concerns.';
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

Legal Advice

Block HIGH/CRITICAL violations for legal consultations:

async function provideLegalAdvice(question: string, caseId: string) {
  try {
    const response = await protect(
      () => openai.chat.completions.create({
        model: 'gpt-4',
        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: question }]
      }),
      {
        apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!,
        preset: 'legal-ai',
        blockOn: 'HIGH',
        metadata: { caseId }
      }
    );
    
    return response.choices[0].message.content;
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
      // Escalate to human lawyer
      await escalateToHuman(caseId, error.signal);
      return 'This request requires human review.';
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

Performance Impact

Blocking mode adds latency because it waits for the audit to complete:

Mode	Latency	Use Case
Fire-and-forget (default)	0ms	Most applications
Blocking mode	500-2000ms	High-risk operations

Typical blocking mode latency:

Simple checks: 500-800ms
Complex checks: 1000-1500ms
Full spectrum: 1500-2000ms

Combining with Alerts

Use blocking mode with alerts for comprehensive protection:

continum.configure({
  apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!,
  preset: 'fintech-ai',
  blockOn: 'HIGH',
  alerts: {
    slack: process.env.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL,
    pagerduty: process.env.PAGERDUTY_KEY
  }
});

When a request is blocked:

Request is blocked immediately
Alert is sent to configured channels
Signal is stored in dashboard
ContinumBlockedError is thrown

Best Practices

1. Use Blocking Mode Selectively

Only use blocking mode for high-risk operations:

// ✅ Good - blocking for financial transactions
async function processPayment() {
  return protect(() => llmCall(), { blockOn: 'HIGH' });
}

// ✅ Good - fire-and-forget for general chat
async function chat() {
  return protect(() => llmCall());  // No blockOn
}

2. Handle Errors Gracefully

Always provide user-friendly error messages:

try {
  const response = await protect(() => llmCall(), { blockOn: 'HIGH' });
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
    // ✅ Good - user-friendly message
    return 'Sorry, I cannot process this request.';
    
    // ❌ Bad - exposes internal details
    // return `Blocked: ${error.signal.violations.join(', ')}`;
  }
}

3. Log Blocked Requests

Track blocked requests for security monitoring:

try {
  const response = await protect(() => llmCall(), { blockOn: 'HIGH' });
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
    await logSecurityEvent({
      type: 'blocked_request',
      auditId: error.signal.auditId,
      violations: error.signal.violations,
      riskLevel: error.signal.riskLevel,
      userId: currentUserId
    });
    
    throw new Error('Request blocked');
  }
}

4. Use Appropriate Thresholds

Choose the right threshold for your use case:

// Financial transactions - block HIGH and above
{ preset: 'fintech-ai', blockOn: 'HIGH' }

// Healthcare - block everything
{ preset: 'healthcare-ai', blockOn: 'LOW' }

// Internal tools - block only CRITICAL
{ preset: 'internal-tool', blockOn: 'CRITICAL' }

Testing Blocking Mode

Test your blocking mode configuration:

import { protect, ContinumBlockedError } from '@continum/sdk';

async function testBlocking() {
  try {
    // This should trigger PII_LEAK and block
    const response = await protect(
      () => openai.chat.completions.create({
        model: 'gpt-4',
        messages: [{
          role: 'user',
          content: 'My SSN is 123-45-6789 and email is john@example.com'
        }]
      }),
      {
        apiKey: process.env.CONTINUM_API_KEY!,
        blockOn: 'HIGH'
      }
    );
    
    console.log('❌ Should have been blocked');
  } catch (error) {
    if (error instanceof ContinumBlockedError) {
      console.log('✅ Correctly blocked');
      console.log('Violations:', error.signal.violations);
    }
  }
}

Next Steps

Violation Handlers

React to specific violations in code

Alerts

Set up real-time alerts

Presets

Explore presets and compliance frameworks

Configuration

Advanced SDK configuration

Getting Started

SDK

CLI

Core Concepts

Compliance

Dashboard

Overview

Quick Start

Risk Level Thresholds

Global Configuration

Per-Call Override

Error Handling

ContinumBlockedError

Signal Properties

Use Cases

Financial Transactions

Healthcare Data

Legal Advice

Performance Impact

Combining with Alerts

Best Practices

1. Use Blocking Mode Selectively

2. Handle Errors Gracefully

3. Log Blocked Requests

4. Use Appropriate Thresholds

Testing Blocking Mode

Next Steps

Violation Handlers

Alerts

Presets

Configuration

Getting Started

SDK

CLI

Core Concepts

Compliance

Dashboard

​Overview

​Quick Start

​Risk Level Thresholds

​Global Configuration

​Per-Call Override

​Error Handling

​ContinumBlockedError

​Signal Properties

​Use Cases

​Financial Transactions

​Healthcare Data

​Legal Advice

​Performance Impact

​Combining with Alerts

​Best Practices

​1. Use Blocking Mode Selectively

​2. Handle Errors Gracefully

​3. Log Blocked Requests

​4. Use Appropriate Thresholds

​Testing Blocking Mode

​Next Steps

Violation Handlers

Alerts

Presets

Configuration

Overview

Quick Start

Risk Level Thresholds

Global Configuration

Per-Call Override

Error Handling

ContinumBlockedError

Signal Properties

Use Cases

Financial Transactions

Healthcare Data

Legal Advice

Performance Impact

Combining with Alerts

Best Practices

1. Use Blocking Mode Selectively

2. Handle Errors Gracefully

3. Log Blocked Requests

4. Use Appropriate Thresholds

Testing Blocking Mode

Next Steps