---
title: Overview and conventions
description: "Signatus 2 API provides services for creating document envelopes, defining one or more signing or approval processes, retrieving workflow status, downloading completed data, and deleting envelopes. An envelope is the top-level container. Each item in processes[] represents a signing or…"
url: "https://wiki.signatus.com/documentation/signatus-2-api/overview-and-conventions/"
updated: "2026-10-13"
category: "Core API Services - Signatus 2"
---

# Overview and conventions

Signatus 2 API provides services for creating document envelopes, defining one or more signing or approval processes, retrieving workflow status, downloading completed data, and deleting envelopes. An envelope is the top-level container. Each item in processes[] represents a signing or approval round executed by a technical signer identifier.

## Request conventions

- All secured API requests use the HTTP Authorization header with the Bearer scheme.
- Create operations use multipart/form-data.
- Envelope metadata is sent either in the multipart text field dataText or as the multipart file field data.
- Uploaded PDF parts are linked to process documents through processes[].documents[].reference. The reference must match the multipart field name.
- If referenceBase64 is used, the document content is supplied through the top-level base64 object instead of a multipart file part.
- Epoch timestamps are expressed in milliseconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z.

## Naming conventions used in this document

| {{oauthUrl}}   | OAuth server base URL |
| --- | --- |
| {{baseUrl}}  | Signatus application base URL |
| {{accessToken}} | OAuth access token |
| {{envelopeId}} | Envelope UUID |
| {{processId}} | Process UUID |

## Envelope model and workflow concepts

### 4.1 Envelope

The envelope contains metadata, rules, one or more processes, and the documents associated with those processes. It also supports extension, product and contact data for integrator-specific metadata.

### 4.2 Process

A process represents one signing or approval round. A multi-round workflow is represented by multiple objects in processes[]. Each process has a signer technical identifier, a signature type, optional extension data, and a list of documents.

### 4.3 Signer identifier versus signer name

| **Concept** | **Example** | **Purpose** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Technical signer identifier | signer1 | Stored in processes[].signer and used in scoped rule names. |
| Signer display name | Ján Novák | Provided through guiSignerName.signer1 when a predefined signer name is required. |
| Signer email | jan.novak@example.com | Provided through emailTo.signer1 for a process-specific signing invitation. |
| Signer phone | +421900123456 | Provided through openOtpPhone.signer1 or signOtpPhone.signer1 when applicable. |