Upload File

Uploads a file to an existing case. Files can be vehicle damage photos or EDR data.

Endpoint

POST /api/files/upload

Authentication

Requires API Key authentication.

Request

This endpoint uses multipart/form-data for file upload.

Form Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
file	file	Yes	The file to upload
case_id	string	Yes	Case ID to associate the file with
file_category	string	No	File category (see below)
vehicle_role	string	No	plaintiff (default) or defendant

File Categories

Value	Description	Accepted Types	Notes
vehicle_photo	Vehicle damage photos	Images	Upload 4-8 photos for best results
edr_document	Event Data Recorder (crash data)	PDF only	Replaces previous EDR if one exists
tcr_document	Traffic Collision Report (police report)	PDF	Accident fields are extracted automatically during report generation

Supported File Types

Type	MIME type	Extensions	Use Case
JPEG	image/jpeg	.jpg, .jpeg	Vehicle damage photos
PNG	image/png	.png	Vehicle damage photos
GIF	image/gif	.gif	Vehicle damage photos
WebP	image/webp	.webp	Vehicle damage photos
PDF	application/pdf	.pdf	EDR reports, medical records, other documents

The server determines the file type by inspecting the file's bytes, not by trusting the Content-Type header your client sends. Uploads whose detected type is not in the table above are rejected with 400 Bad Request — the error message includes the detected type so you can tell what happened.

File Constraints

• Maximum file size: 50MB
• Empty files: Not allowed
• Supported types: see the table above. No other types (including HEIC, HEIF, DOC, DOCX, CSV, CDR, or ZIP) are accepted.

Response

Returns the uploaded file information.

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "file_id": "file_abc123def456",
    "file_name": "front_damage.jpg",
    "status": "ready",
    "download_url": "https://api.silentwitness.ai/api/files/file_abc123/download",
    "url": "https://storage.silentwitness.ai/..."
  }
}

Example

curl -X POST "https://api.silentwitness.ai/api/files/upload" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@/path/to/front_damage.jpg" \
  -F "case_id=case_abc123def456" \
  -F "file_category=vehicle_photo"

Upload Defendant Vehicle Photo

curl -X POST "https://api.silentwitness.ai/api/files/upload" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@/path/to/defendant_damage.jpg" \
  -F "case_id=case_abc123def456" \
  -F "file_category=vehicle_photo" \
  -F "vehicle_role=defendant"

Upload EDR File

curl -X POST "https://api.silentwitness.ai/api/files/upload" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@/path/to/edr_report.pdf" \
  -F "case_id=case_abc123def456" \
  -F "file_category=edr_document"

Errors

Code	Description
400	Missing case_id, no file provided, empty file, file too large, EDR not PDF, or vehicle_role passed with tcr_document
401	Unauthorized - Invalid or missing token
404	Case not found or access denied
500	Internal server error

Example Error

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "case_id is required"
}

Notes

• Maximum file size: 50MB
• Files are automatically processed after upload
• Status changes from processing to ready when complete
• Empty files are not allowed