AURA — User Guide

Your Hybrid AI Label Manager

How to run your label from one dashboard.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
2. How AURA Is Built
3. The Dashboard
4. Managing Your Artist Roster
5. Release Pipeline
6. Rights & Contracts
7. Demo Inbox
8. Promo Campaigns
9. Calendar & Tasks
10. Revenue Tracking
11. AI Assistant
12. Content Engine
13. Settings
14. Security & Access
15. Quick Reference

1. Getting Started

Signing In

1. Navigate to https://auralabels.app
2. Enter your username and password
3. You'll land on the Dashboard

Your session lasts 7 days (or 5 minutes if "Remember me" was unchecked). After that, you'll be redirected to sign in again.

The Interface

AURA has three main regions:

• Left Sidebar — Navigation between all surfaces. Active item is highlighted with the brand accent and a small indicator.
• Top Header — Page title, notification update banner, AI toggle (on desktop), and your user menu (with Settings, Dashboard, Sign out).
• Main Content — The active surface. Every page uses the design system from nk-lib, with a warm parchment (light) or deep navy (dark) background.

Navigation Surfaces

2. How AURA Is Built

System Architecture

AURA has five layers that work together, routed through a Cloudflare Workers API:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      React SPA (nk-lib UI)                      │
│                      auralabels.app                             │
└──────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┘
                           │ JWT token
                           ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Cloudflare Workers API (edge)                      │
│  ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌────────────────┐ │
│  │ Artists   │ │ Releases  │ │ Contracts │ │ AI (provider   │ │
│  │ CRUD      │ │ CRUD      │ │ CRUD      │ │  agnostic)     │ │
│  └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └────────────────┘ │
│  ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐                    │
│  │ Demos     │ │ Files/R2  │ │ Webhook   │                    │
│  │ CRUD      │ │ storage   │ │ (public)  │                    │
│  └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘                    │
└──────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┘
                           │
              ┌────────────┼────────────┐
              ▼            ▼            ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│  Neon Postgres   │ │Cloudflare│ │Cloudflare│
│  (Drizzle ORM)   │ │ KV       │ │ R2       │
│  Multi-tenant    │ │ (cache,  │ │ (files,  │
│  data storage    │ │  limits) │ │ artwork) │
└──────────────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘

• Frontend — React app with the nk-lib design system (Space Grotesk display + Geist body type).
• API — Cloudflare Workers at the edge. Handles login, CRUD, AI generation, file uploads, and webhook ingestion.
• Database — Neon Postgres via Drizzle ORM. Multi-tenant with per-label data isolation.
• Cloudflare KV — Distributed cache for AI responses and rate limit counters.
• Cloudflare R2 — Object storage for artwork, contract PDFs, and demo MP3 attachments.

Route Map

Demo Ingestion Flow

Demos arrive automatically via Elastic Email webhook — no Make.com or external services needed:

Artist sends email → Elastic Email processes →
  POST /api/webhook/:uuid?secret=WEBHOOK_SECRET
    
  1. Parse sender email, subject, body, attachments
  2. Extract track title from subject patterns
  3. Upload MP3 files to Cloudflare R2 (auto-stored)
  4. Insert into Demos table with attachment URL
  5. Response: { status: "ok", id, attachmentUrl }

File Storage

Files (artwork, contract PDFs, demo MP3s) are stored in Cloudflare R2 and served through /api/files/:key. Uploads require authentication; served files are publicly cacheable with a 1-year TTL.

Security

3. The Dashboard

The Dashboard is your operational cockpit. It shows everything that needs your attention today in a vertical stack of collapsible card sections.

What You See

• Tasks — NkTabs widget merging Today's Priorities, Overdue, and Important deadlines
• Needs Attention — Releases needing action (expanded when data present)
• Missing Info — Artists with incomplete profiles (expanded when data present)
• Promo Campaigns — Active campaigns (expanded when data present)
• Revenue Overview — Total, monthly trend, pending payouts
• Pending Contracts — Contracts awaiting signature (expanded when data present)
• Demo Submissions — New demos waiting (expanded when data present)
• Upcoming Releases — Releases in the pipeline (always visible)
• Artist Activity — Recent actions across your roster (always visible)
• AI Insights — AI recommendations (collapsed by default)

All sections use NkReveal for animated expand/collapse — keep what matters open, collapse the rest.

4. Managing Your Artist Roster

Viewing Your Roster

Navigate to Artists (/artists). Each artist card shows name, avatar (colored initial), genre tags, and contract status.

Adding an Artist

1. Click + Add Artist (top-right)
2. Fill in: Name, Instagram handle, Bio
3. Upload an avatar photo (optional)
4. Click Save

Editing an Artist

1. Click an artist from the list to open their detail panel
2. Edit any field
3. Click Save

5. Release Pipeline

Viewing Releases

Navigate to Releases (/releases). Each release shows catalog number, title, artist, type (EP / Album / Single / Compilation), release date, and artwork thumbnail.

Creating a Release

1. Click + New Release
2. Enter: Title, Catalog Number, Type, Artist(s), Release Date
3. Upload artwork (optional)
4. Click Save

Release Types

6. Rights & Contracts

Viewing Contracts

Navigate to Contracts (/contracts). Each contract shows artist, title, status (draft / signed / expired), and linked release.

Creating a Contract

1. Click + New Contract
2. Select the artist and link a release (optional)
3. Set title and terms
4. Upload the signed PDF (optional)
5. Click Save

7. Demo Inbox

How Demos Arrive

Demos arrive automatically via the public webhook endpoint (/api/webhook/:uuid) connected to Elastic Email. When an artist emails the label, Elastic Email forwards the message to AURA which:

• Parses the sender email, subject line, and message body
• Extracts the track title from the subject (e.g. "Demo - Artist - Track")
• Automatically uploads any MP3 attachments to Cloudflare R2
• Creates a demo entry in your inbox

No Make.com, no external configuration — everything happens in the Worker.

Reviewing Demos

1. Navigate to Demo Inbox (/demos)
2. Use the segmented filter tabs to filter by status: New Listening Interested Rejected Accepted
3. Search by email, subject, or track title
4. Click a demo to open its detail panel
5. Listen to the MP3 attachment directly in the browser (inline audio player)
6. Update the Status dropdown as you progress through your review

Demo Statuses

Demo Workflow

1. New → open detail, listen to the MP3 preview
2. If promising → Listening
3. If you want to sign → Interested → reach out to artist
4. If you sign them → Accepted → create Artist profile + Contract
5. If not a fit → Rejected

8. Promo Campaigns

Navigate to Promo Campaigns (/promo) to plan and track marketing campaigns for your releases.

9. Calendar & Tasks

Navigate to Calendar (/calendar) to manage tasks and deadlines across your label.

10. Revenue Tracking

Navigate to Revenue (/revenue) to track earnings, payouts, and performance across artists and releases.

11. AI Assistant

What It Does

The AI Assistant generates copy and strategy wired to your actual label data.

Using the AI Assistant

1. Navigate to AI Assistant (/ai)
2. Type your prompt — be specific:
   • "Write a Spotify bio for [Artist Name]"
   • "Draft a press release for [Release Title]"
   • "Suggest three promo strategies for our new signing"
3. Click Generate
4. Review, copy, edit, or regenerate

AI Router

In Settings, you can configure which AI provider to use. AURA supports: OpenRouter (default), OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, Together, DeepSeek, Google AI Studio, and Workers AI (fallback). Your API key is stored server-side, never exposed to the frontend.

12. Content Engine

The Content Engine generates platform-specific content (Instagram captions, Spotify bios, press releases, etc.) with automatic character limit enforcement.

13. Settings

Accessing Settings

Navigate to Settings (/settings). Configure your label.

What You Can Configure

• AI Router — Choose your preferred AI provider and set your API key
• Appearance — AURA (dark), Light, or Dark theme
• Data Management — Export all data (JSON), Import data from backup, Clear all data
• Team Access — Manage users (admin only)

Signing Out

Use the User Menu (top-right) or Settings → Session card.

14. Security & Access

Authentication

• Login requires username + password
• JWT tokens (HS256) with configurable expiry (5 min / 7 days)
• IP rate limiting on login (20 attempts / 15 min)
• Timing-safe bcrypt password comparison
• Account-disabled check before token issuance

Data Isolation

Every label's data is partitioned by tenantId. Users only see their own label's data. Super admins can access all tenants.

File Storage

• Artwork, contract PDFs, demo MP3s in Cloudflare R2
• Uploads require authentication
• Files served via /api/files/:key with 1-year cache TTL

15. Quick Reference

Status Overview

Getting Help

• The Dashboard shows everything needing attention
• The AI Assistant generates copy and strategy
• Missing info flags tell you what's incomplete
• This guide is always available at https://auralabels.app/guide

AURA — Your Hybrid AI Label Manager. Built with nk-lib design system.

Brand mark: orange arc + geometric A. Type: Space Grotesk + Geist.