Isolation Boundaries

Understanding Cortex's multi-layered isolation model for security, privacy, and compliance.

Overview

Cortex provides four layers of isolation that work together to ensure data security, enable multi-tenancy, and maintain privacy boundaries:

Isolation Hierarchy

1. Tenant Isolation

tenantId • Multi-tenant SaaS separation • Auto-injected via AuthContext

2. Memory Space Isolation

memorySpaceId • Fundamental data boundary • Hive or Collaboration Mode

3. User Isolation

userId • GDPR compliance • Enables cascade deletion

4. Participant Tracking

participantId • Hive Mode attribution • Audit trail

Four layers of data isolation

Key Principle

Each layer serves a distinct purpose and can be used independently or combined.

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1. Tenant Isolation (Multi-Tenant SaaS)

Complete data separation for SaaS platforms serving multiple organizations.

const cortex = new Cortex({
  convexUrl: process.env.CONVEX_URL!,
  auth: createAuthContext({
    tenantId: "customer-acme", // All operations scoped to this tenant
    userId: "user-123",
  }),
});

// All operations automatically include tenantId
await cortex.memory.remember({
  memorySpaceId: "user-123-personal",
  // tenantId: "customer-acme" ← Auto-injected!
  userMessage: "Hello",
  agentResponse: "Hi!",
  userId: "user-123",
  userName: "Alice",
});

Tenant Guarantees

• Tenant A cannot query Tenant B's data
• Tenant A cannot access Tenant B's memory spaces
• GDPR deletion respects tenant boundaries
• Complete isolation at database level

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2. Memory Space Isolation

Core data isolation boundary for organizing memories, conversations, and facts.

Feature	Hive Mode	Collaboration Mode
Spaces	One shared space	Separate spaces per agent
Data Access	All participants see all data	Agents only see their own
Cross-Access	Automatic	Via A2A or Context Chains
Use Case	Personal AI tools	Enterprise workflows

All AI tools share user's personal space:

const memorySpaceId = "user-123-personal";

// Cursor stores
await cortex.memory.remember({
  memorySpaceId,
  participantId: "cursor",
  userMessage: "I prefer TypeScript",
  agentResponse: "Noted!",
  userId: "user-123",
  userName: "Alice",
});

// Claude reads same space — sees Cursor's memories
const memories = await cortex.memory.search(memorySpaceId, "preferences");

Each agent has separate space:

// Finance agent stores in its own space
await cortex.memory.remember({
  memorySpaceId: "finance-agent-space",
  userMessage: "Approve budget",
  agentResponse: "Approved",
  userId: "user-123",
  userName: "CFO",
});

// Communication via A2A (dual-write to both spaces)
await cortex.a2a.send({
  from: "finance-agent",
  to: "hr-agent",
  message: "Budget approved",
});

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3. User Data Isolation (GDPR)

Right to Be Forgotten

Link data to users via userId to enable cascade deletion across ALL layers with a single API call.

// Link data to user
await cortex.memory.remember({
  memorySpaceId: "support-bot-space",
  userId: "user-123", // ← GDPR link
  userMessage: "My account issue",
  agentResponse: "Let me help",
  userName: "Alice",
});

// One API call deletes from ALL layers
const result = await cortex.users.delete("user-123", {
  cascade: true,
  verify: true,
});

Deleted from: Conversations • Memories • Facts • Sessions • User Profile

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4. Participant Tracking

Not Isolation — Attribution

participantId tracks which tool stored data. It does NOT isolate data — all participants can still see all memories in the space.

// Track which tool stored what
await cortex.memory.remember({
  memorySpaceId: "shared-space",
  participantId: "cursor", // Attribution
  userMessage: "User message",
  agentResponse: "Response",
  userId: "user-123",
  userName: "Alice",
});

// Filter by participant for debugging
const cursorMemories = await cortex.memory.list({
  memorySpaceId: "shared-space",
  participantId: "cursor",
});

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Isolation Matrix

How each data type is scoped by isolation layer:

Data Type	tenantId	memorySpaceId	userId	participantId
Conversations	✅	✅	Optional	Optional
Vector Memories	✅	✅	Optional	Optional
Facts	✅	✅	Optional	Optional
User Profiles	✅	Shared	N/A	N/A
Immutable Store	✅	Shared	Optional	N/A
Mutable Store	✅	Shared	Optional	N/A

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Best Practices

Always Use tenantId for SaaS

const cortex = new Cortex({
  auth: createAuthContext({
    tenantId: req.tenant.id, // REQUIRED for multi-tenant
    userId: req.user.id,
  }),
});

Always Set userId for GDPR

await cortex.memory.remember({
  memorySpaceId: "bot-space",
  userId: "user-123", // Required for cascade deletion
  // ...
});

Use participantId in Hive Mode

await cortex.memory.remember({
  memorySpaceId: "shared-space",
  participantId: "my-bot", // Track attribution
  // ...
});

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Next Steps