Glossary

This glossary defines key terms used throughout the Digital Post Platform documentation.

A delivery is a submission request created using the Delivery API.

A delivery:

• Contains one or more envelopes
• References files stored in object storage
• Is processed asynchronously
• Produces a delivery report

Each delivery is identified by a unique deliveryId.

An envelope is a JSON document that defines a single message.

An envelope contains:

• Sender identity
• One or more recipients
• Message body reference
• Optional attachments
• Optional message features

Delivery is atomic per envelope.

A message is the logical communication unit delivered to recipients.

In the platform model:

• One envelope equals one message
• A message may include a body and attachments
• A message may be delivered to multiple recipients

A sender identity represents a logical communication identity within an organisation account.

It defines:

• Display name and branding
• Message capabilities
• Subscription scope

Each envelope references exactly one sender identity.

An organisation account represents a legal or operational entity participating in the platform.

It:

• Belongs to a platform holder
• Contains sender identities
• Contains system integrations

The platform holder governs a specific deployment of the platform.

Responsibilities include:

• Platform configuration
• Organisation onboarding
• Policy enforcement
• Operational governance

A receiver is the end user or organisation that receives messages.

Receivers:

• Are external to organisation accounts
• Are resolved during delivery processing
• Access messages through a mailbox

A recipient is the envelope-level reference to a receiver.

Recipients are defined using an identification object and must resolve to a valid mailbox.

If any recipient fails resolution, the entire envelope fails.

An identity is an attribute used to resolve a recipient.

It consists of:

• value
• type

Identity types are defined per platform configuration.

A system integration is a technical client that interacts with the platform APIs.

It:

• Belongs to an organisation account
• Uses certificate-based authentication
• Has assigned permissions

All API calls execute in the context of a system integration.

A delivery report provides status and processing results for a delivery.

It contains:

• Overall delivery status
• Envelope-level log entries
• Delivery counters

Delivery reports are the authoritative source of delivery outcomes.

Atomic delivery means that all recipients of an envelope receive the message, or none do.

Partial delivery is not permitted.

The interim repository temporarily stores messages for recipients without an active mailbox.

Delivery completes once the recipient activates their account, subject to platform policy.

The message lifecycle describes the stages a message progresses through:

Preparation → Submission → Validation → Processing → Delivery → Access → Retention → Deletion

Client-side encryption refers to encrypting message files before upload to object storage.

The encryption key is provided in the delivery request.

Processing refers to asynchronous handling after delivery creation.

Processing includes:

• Envelope validation
• File ingestion
• Virus scanning
• Recipient resolution
• Message preparation

The overall state of a delivery.

Possible values:

• Processing
• Completed

Envelope-level details are available through the delivery report.

A unique identifier for a message within a sender identity.

It:

• Must be unique
• Cannot be reused after successful delivery
• Enables traceability

External storage used for:

• Envelope files
• Message bodies
• Attachments

The platform retrieves content from object storage during processing.