Narrative Platform - Narrative Instrument

An interactive web application designed to facilitate and manage narrative instrument sessions for organizations using the Narrative Platform methodology.

Project Overview

Narrative Platform is a digital platform designed to facilitate rapid, participatory cultural transformation within organizations. By leveraging data-driven insights and structured collaborative processes, it enables teams to identify emerging patterns and implement actionable interventions.

Key Features

• Pattern Recognition: Collects anonymous feedback to uncover cultural patterns while minimizing bias from traditional interviews or surveys.
• Voice-to-Text Integration: Supports automated transcription of audio stories using OpenAI Whisper, enabling rapid analysis of spoken narratives.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Brings diverse voices into the analysis and solution process, ensuring cultural change is co-owned and context-aware.
• Actionable Insights: Converts collected data into concrete interventions within just one week.
• Transparent Change Management: Ensures interventions are based entirely on real stakeholder experiences, not assumptions.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• A Supabase account (for backend services)
• OpenAI API key (for AI assistant features)
• Antropic API key (optional, for alternative AI model)
• Perplexity API key (optional, for alternative AI model)

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/cerne-io/platform.git
   cd narrative-platform
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Copy the environment example file and fill in your values:

   cp .env.example .env
   

4. Configure your environment variables in the .env file:

   • Get your Supabase URL and anon key from your Supabase project dashboard
   • Obtain an OpenAI API key from OpenAI's platform
   • (Optional) Get a Perplexity and/or Anthropic API key if you want to use their AI services

5. Start the development server:

   npm run dev
   

Supabase Edge Functions

This project uses Supabase Edge Functions for server-side operations. After setting up your Supabase project:

1. Add your API keys to Supabase Edge Functions secrets:

    supabase secrets set OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here
    supabase secrets set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key_here
    supabase secrets set PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_perplexity_api_key_here
    supabase secrets set APP_NAME="Narrative Platform"
    supabase secrets set SUPPORT_EMAIL="contact@cerne.io"
    supabase secrets set EMAIL_PRIMARY_COLOR="#2563eb"
    supabase secrets set EMAIL_DANGER_COLOR="#dc2626"
   

2. Deploy the edge functions:

   supabase functions deploy
   

Self-Hosting

For detailed instructions on setting up your own instance, refer to the Self-Hosting Guide.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
VITE_SUPABASE_URL	Your Supabase project URL	Yes
VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY	Your Supabase project anonymous key	Yes
VITE_INITIAL_ADMIN_EMAIL	Email of the first user to be promoted to SuperAdmin	Yes (for setup)
VITE_ENABLE_DEBUG	Enable debug mode (true/false)	No
VITE_APP_NAME	Custom platform name (Default: "Narrative Platform")	No
VITE_SUPPORT_EMAIL	Support contact shown in footer	No
VITE_APP_LOGO_URL	URL for an external logo image	No
OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI API key (for Edge Functions)	For AI
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Anthropic API key (for Edge Functions)	Optional
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY	Perplexity API key (for Edge Functions)	Optional
APP_NAME	Custom platform name (for Edge Functions)	Optional
SUPPORT_EMAIL	Support contact shown in emails (for Edge Functions)	Optional
EMAIL_PRIMARY_COLOR	Primary brand color for emails	Optional
EMAIL_DANGER_COLOR	Danger/Alert color for emails	Optional

Development

• Feature flag VITE_ENABLE_DEBUG=true can be enabled for additional debugging information
• The project uses React, Vite, TailwindCSS, and shadcn/ui for the frontend
• Supabase provides authentication, database, and serverless functions

Trademark Notice

"Cerne.io" is a trademark of Hosting Learning OU. "Narrative Platform" is the generic name for the self-hosted software. Self-hosting is permitted for legitimate Narrative Platform processes as defined in our Trademark Policy. Modified versions serving different purposes must be renamed.

License

Apache License Version 2.0 - read LICENSE.md

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the work on PNI (Participatory Narrative Inquiry) by Cynthia F. Kurtz (cfkurtz.com), her opus "Working with Stories" (workingwithstories.org), and the work (together with Paul D. Fernhout) on the open source NarraFirma™ application that you can find at github.com/pdfernhout/narrafirma.

Contact

contact@cerne.io