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General Information about the Admin Panel

This document provides an overview of the GENTRAIN Admin Panel, a central tool for managing and monitoring the GENTRAIN software.

Purpose & Overview​

The Admin Panel is used for the management of pathogens, users, roles, pathogen schemas, and example datasets.
It enables administrators to maintain core data structures and securely control system access.

  • Core Components:
    • User – Manage user accounts and access rights
    • Role – Define and assign user roles
    • Pathogen – Manage supported pathogens and their associated schemas
    • Log – View audit trails and administrative activity logs

Access & Authentication​

  • Access is provided through a login with username and password.
  • An additional Basic Authentication layer protects the admin area on the server side.
  • Each user is assigned a specific role.
    • The superuser role has extended privileges, including access to log data, user management, and role management.

Sessions & Security​

  • Sessions are stored server-side in a PostgreSQL-based session store.
  • Cookie and session parameters are configured in backend/admin/src/admin/router.ts:
    • secure cookies
    • SameSite=strict
    • httpsOnly enabled
  • Environment variables SESSION_SECRET and COOKIE_SECRET must be set to ensure encrypted and secure session cookies.

Components & Extensions​

  • The Admin Panel is built using AdminJS and uses Prisma as its ORM to interact with the GENTRAIN PostgreSQL database.
  • Additional features and extensions include:
    • Logger Feature – for tracking administrative actions
    • Upload Feature – for file management and administrative workflows

Logging in the Admin Panel​

The Admin Panel logs all administrative changes, such as:

  • Modifications to users and roles
  • Schema updates and upload operations
  • System-level actions (creation, deletion, permission changes)

All logs are stored in a dedicated log resource.

Log Access​

  • The log view is restricted to users with the superuser role.
  • Access control is configured in the relevant admin resource (see createLoggerResource).

Data Sensitivity & Sanitization​

  • Log entries may include changes to records, showing both previous and updated field values.
  • Sensitive fields (e.g., passwords or confidential identifiers) are automatically sanitized before being displayed or stored.
  • Logs exist solely for auditability and security purposes.