explaingit

cloud-ru-tech/guardrails-llm-filter-extproc

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

40GoAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 4/5LicenseSetup · hard

TLDR

A Go service that masks sensitive data like API keys and personal information in traffic to AI models, then restores it in the response.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((guardrails extproc))
    What it does
      Masks sensitive data
      Restores originals in response
    Tech stack
      Go
      Envoy
      gRPC
      Redis
    Use cases
      LLM gateway security
      Compliance auditing
    Audience
      DevOps teams
      Platform engineers

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Mask personal information and secrets before they reach an AI model in an Envoy-based gateway

USE CASE 2

Restore original sensitive values in AI responses so end users see unmasked text

USE CASE 3

Monitor what data would be masked using a safe observation-only mode before enforcing it

What is it built with?

GoEnvoygRPCRedisPostgreSQL

How does it compare?

cloud-ru-tech/guardrails-llm-filter-extprocglockinhand/guns.lol-view-botvolcengine/mediakit-cli
Stars404040
LanguageGoGoGo
Setup difficultyhardmoderatemoderate
Complexity4/53/52/5
Audienceops devopsdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires an Envoy proxy configured with the ext_proc filter and Docker for the quickstart demo.

Free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, as long as you include the license and attribution (Apache 2.0).

In plain English

guardrails-llm-filter-extproc is a Go based service that protects sensitive information as it flows between an application and a large language model. It works alongside Envoy, a popular proxy server, using a feature called an external processor. Traffic still passes through Envoy as normal, but Envoy hands the request and response bodies to this filter over gRPC so it can inspect and clean them on the way through. The filter's job is to find things like passwords, API keys, access tokens, IP addresses, and personal information, including Russian identifiers such as SNILS, INN, and OGRN numbers, bank card numbers, and IBANs, checked against their known formats. It uses around 260 built in pattern rules to spot this kind of data inside a request before it reaches the AI provider, and replaces each sensitive value with a safe placeholder, such as a labeled stand in for an email address. When the AI's response comes back, the filter swaps the placeholders back to the real values before the client ever sees them, so from the client's point of view nothing changes, even for streaming, token by token responses. The project already understands the request and response formats used by OpenAI and Anthropic style APIs, including chat completions, messages, and other common endpoints, both regular and streaming. If the filter itself becomes unavailable, Envoy is configured to let traffic through rather than block it, so a failure in the filter does not take down the whole system. There is also a quiet observation mode that only records what it would have masked, useful for testing new rules without changing real traffic. Sensitive data mappings can be stored in memory, in Redis, or in Postgres, optionally encrypted, which allows the filter to work correctly even when multiple copies of it are running behind the same proxy. The project also reports metrics compatible with Prometheus and includes a Grafana dashboard and an audit log for tracking what has been detected over time. It is released under the Apache 2.0 license and is built with Go.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me configure Envoy's ext_proc to work with guardrails-llm-filter-extproc
Prompt 2
Explain how this filter masks and restores sensitive data around calls to OpenAI or Anthropic APIs
Prompt 3
Walk me through running the quickstart demo for guardrails-llm-filter-extproc with Docker Compose
Prompt 4
List the environment variables I need to set to store masking data in Redis instead of memory

Frequently asked questions

What is guardrails-llm-filter-extproc?

A Go service that masks sensitive data like API keys and personal information in traffic to AI models, then restores it in the response.

What language is guardrails-llm-filter-extproc written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, Envoy, gRPC.

What license does guardrails-llm-filter-extproc use?

Free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, as long as you include the license and attribution (Apache 2.0).

How hard is guardrails-llm-filter-extproc to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is guardrails-llm-filter-extproc for?

Mainly ops devops.

Open on GitHub → Explain another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Verify against the repo before relying on details.