Guardrails and Safety

Overview

LLM Gateway includes enterprise-grade guardrails to protect your applications from harmful content, data leaks, and policy violations. Available on Enterprise plans.

Guardrails require an Enterprise plan. Contact us at contact@llmgateway.io to upgrade.

System Rules

Built-in detection for common security threats:

apps/api/src/routes/guardrails.ts

const systemRules = [
  {
    id: "system:prompt_injection",
    name: "Prompt Injection Detection",
    category: "injection",
    defaultEnabled: true,
    defaultAction: "block"
  },
  {
    id: "system:jailbreak",
    name: "Jailbreak Prevention",
    category: "jailbreak",
    defaultEnabled: true,
    defaultAction: "block"
  },
  {
    id: "system:pii_detection",
    name: "PII Detection",
    category: "pii",
    defaultEnabled: true,
    defaultAction: "redact"
  },
  {
    id: "system:secrets",
    name: "Secrets Detection",
    category: "secrets",
    defaultEnabled: true,
    defaultAction: "block"
  },
  {
    id: "system:file_types",
    name: "File Type Restrictions",
    category: "files",
    defaultEnabled: true,
    defaultAction: "block"
  },
  {
    id: "system:document_leakage",
    name: "Document Leakage Prevention",
    category: "document_leakage",
    defaultEnabled: false,
    defaultAction: "warn"
  }
];

Actions

Guardrails can take four actions:

block - Reject the request completely
redact - Remove sensitive content and continue
warn - Log violation but allow request
allow - Bypass the rule

Configuration

Configure guardrails via the API:

Get Current Configuration

curl "https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/config/org_abc123" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN"

Response:

{
  "id": "config_xyz",
  "organizationId": "org_abc123",
  "enabled": true,
  "systemRules": {
    "prompt_injection": {
      "enabled": true,
      "action": "block"
    },
    "jailbreak": {
      "enabled": true,
      "action": "block"
    },
    "pii_detection": {
      "enabled": true,
      "action": "redact"
    },
    "secrets": {
      "enabled": true,
      "action": "block"
    },
    "file_types": {
      "enabled": true,
      "action": "block"
    },
    "document_leakage": {
      "enabled": false,
      "action": "warn"
    }
  },
  "maxFileSizeMb": 10,
  "allowedFileTypes": [".pdf", ".txt", ".docx"],
  "piiAction": "redact"
}

Update Configuration

curl https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/config/org_abc123 \
  -X PUT \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "enabled": true,
    "systemRules": {
      "prompt_injection": {
        "enabled": true,
        "action": "block"
      },
      "pii_detection": {
        "enabled": true,
        "action": "redact"
      }
    },
    "maxFileSizeMb": 5,
    "allowedFileTypes": [".pdf", ".txt"],
    "piiAction": "redact"
  }'

Custom Rules

Create organization-specific rules:

apps/api/src/routes/guardrails.ts

interface GuardrailRule {
  name: string;
  type: "blocked_terms" | "custom_regex" | "topic_restriction";
  config: CustomRuleConfig;
  priority: number;  // Higher = checked first
  enabled: boolean;
  action: "block" | "redact" | "warn" | "allow";
}

Blocked Terms

Block specific words or phrases:

curl https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/rules/org_abc123 \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Block Competitor Names",
    "type": "blocked_terms",
    "config": {
      "type": "blocked_terms",
      "terms": ["CompetitorCo", "RivalApp"],
      "matchType": "contains",
      "caseSensitive": false
    },
    "priority": 100,
    "enabled": true,
    "action": "block"
  }'

Custom Regex

Match patterns with regular expressions:

curl https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/rules/org_abc123 \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Block Internal IPs",
    "type": "custom_regex",
    "config": {
      "type": "custom_regex",
      "pattern": "192\\.168\\.\\d+\\.\\d+"
    },
    "priority": 90,
    "enabled": true,
    "action": "redact"
  }'

Topic Restrictions

Restrict conversations to specific topics:

curl https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/rules/org_abc123 \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Customer Support Topics Only",
    "type": "topic_restriction",
    "config": {
      "type": "topic_restriction",
      "blockedTopics": ["politics", "religion"],
      "allowedTopics": ["product_support", "billing", "technical_help"]
    },
    "priority": 80,
    "enabled": true,
    "action": "warn"
  }'

Guardrail Execution

Guardrails run before requests reach the LLM:

packages/guardrails/src/index.ts

export async function checkGuardrails(params: {
  organizationId: string;
  messages: BaseMessage[];
}): Promise<{
  passed: boolean;
  blocked: boolean;
  violations: Array<{
    ruleId: string;
    ruleName: string;
    category: string;
    action: GuardrailAction;
    matchedPattern?: string;
    matchedContent?: string;
  }>;
  redactions: Array<{
    messageIndex: number;
    replacement: string;
  }>;
  rulesChecked: number;
}> {
  // 1. Load configuration
  const config = await loadGuardrailConfig(organizationId);
  
  // 2. Check system rules
  const systemViolations = await checkSystemRules(messages, config);
  
  // 3. Check custom rules
  const customViolations = await checkCustomRules(organizationId, messages);
  
  // 4. Determine if request should be blocked
  const blocked = violations.some(v => v.action === "block");
  
  return {
    passed: !blocked,
    blocked,
    violations: [...systemViolations, ...customViolations],
    redactions: violations.filter(v => v.action === "redact"),
    rulesChecked: totalRulesChecked
  };
}

Redaction

Sensitive content is automatically redacted:

packages/guardrails/src/redact.ts

export function applyRedactions(
  messages: BaseMessage[],
  redactions: Redaction[]
): BaseMessage[] {
  return messages.map((message, index) => {
    const messageRedactions = redactions.filter(
      r => r.messageIndex === index
    );
    
    if (messageRedactions.length === 0) {
      return message;
    }
    
    let content = typeof message.content === "string" 
      ? message.content 
      : JSON.stringify(message.content);
    
    for (const redaction of messageRedactions) {
      content = content.replace(
        redaction.pattern,
        redaction.replacement || "[REDACTED]"
      );
    }
    
    return { ...message, content };
  });
}

Request Flow with Guardrails

Violation Logging

All violations are logged:

apps/gateway/src/chat/chat.ts

if (guardrailResult.blocked) {
  // Log violations
  for (const violation of guardrailResult.violations) {
    await logViolation(project.organizationId, violation, {
      apiKeyId: apiKey.id,
      model: requestedModel
    });
  }
  
  throw new HTTPException(400, {
    message: "Request blocked by content policy",
    cause: {
      type: "guardrail_violation",
      code: "content_policy_violation",
      violations: guardrailResult.violations.map(v => ({
        rule: v.ruleName,
        category: v.category
      }))
    }
  });
}

Query Violations

curl "https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/violations/org_abc123?limit=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN"

Response:

{
  "violations": [
    {
      "id": "viol_xyz",
      "organizationId": "org_abc123",
      "ruleId": "rule_123",
      "ruleName": "Block Competitor Names",
      "category": "blocked_terms",
      "actionTaken": "blocked",
      "matchedPattern": "CompetitorCo",
      "matchedContent": "I love CompetitorCo",
      "apiKeyId": "key_456",
      "model": "gpt-4o",
      "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "nextCursor": "viol_abc",
    "hasMore": true,
    "limit": 50
  }
}

Violation Statistics

curl "https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/stats/org_abc123?days=7" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN"

Response:

{
  "blocked": 12,
  "redacted": 34,
  "warned": 56,
  "total": 102
}

Test Content

Test content against your guardrails without making a real request:

curl https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/test/org_abc123 \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "My email is john@example.com"
  }'

Response:

{
  "passed": false,
  "blocked": false,
  "violations": [
    {
      "ruleId": "system:pii_detection",
      "ruleName": "PII Detection",
      "category": "pii",
      "action": "redact",
      "matchedPattern": "email",
      "matchedContent": "john@example.com"
    }
  ],
  "rulesChecked": 8
}

Reset to Defaults

curl https://api.llmgateway.io/guardrails/config/org_abc123/reset \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN"

Permissions

Only owners and admins can manage guardrails:

apps/api/src/routes/guardrails.ts

if (userOrg.role !== "owner" && userOrg.role !== "admin") {
  throw new HTTPException(403, {
    message: "Only owners and admins can manage guardrails"
  });
}

Best Practices

Start with System Rules

Enable all system rules before adding custom ones

Test Before Deploying

Use the test endpoint to validate rules

Monitor Violations

Review violation logs regularly

Use Warn First

Start with “warn” to understand impact before blocking

Get Started

Core Features

Guides

Integrations

Guardrails and Safety

Overview

System Rules

Actions

Configuration

Get Current Configuration

Update Configuration

Custom Rules

Blocked Terms

Custom Regex

Topic Restrictions

Guardrail Execution

Redaction

Request Flow with Guardrails

Violation Logging

Query Violations

Violation Statistics

Test Content

Reset to Defaults

Permissions

Best Practices

Start with System Rules

Test Before Deploying

Monitor Violations

Use Warn First

Get Started

Core Features

Guides

Integrations

Documentation Index

​Overview

​System Rules

​Actions

​Configuration

​Get Current Configuration

​Update Configuration

​Custom Rules

​Blocked Terms

​Custom Regex

​Topic Restrictions

​Guardrail Execution

​Redaction

​Request Flow with Guardrails

​Violation Logging

​Query Violations

​Violation Statistics

​Test Content

​Reset to Defaults

​Permissions

​Best Practices

Start with System Rules

Test Before Deploying

Monitor Violations

Use Warn First

​Related Documentation

Overview

System Rules

Actions

Configuration

Get Current Configuration

Update Configuration

Custom Rules

Blocked Terms

Custom Regex

Topic Restrictions

Guardrail Execution

Redaction

Request Flow with Guardrails

Violation Logging

Query Violations

Violation Statistics

Test Content

Reset to Defaults

Permissions

Best Practices

Related Documentation