Aperture API

Methods supplement

How to cite a reconstruction so a reader can check it.

The citation line

Every result's pdhm_metadata.json carries a field citation, a sentence ready to paste into a methods section. It has this shape:

Holograms were reconstructed with ApertureAPI v0.1.0 (settings hash
sha256:<16 hex>; provenance ID APV-<16 hex>; evidence report AEV-<16 hex>).

The settings hash is the first 16 hex characters of config_sha256; the full value is in provenance.json, whose own citation field is the same line without the evidence report ID. The line carries no settings values, so pasting it publishes nothing about your configuration beyond its fingerprint.

The methods_supplement.md file

Every result ZIP also carries methods_supplement.md, a short file written for the methods section and for whoever reviews it. Keep it with the result package. Its sections, in order:

  1. Run identifiers — service and version, the build ID, the provenance ID (APV-…), the full settings hash (sha256:…) and the evidence report ID (AEV-…).
  2. Settings — a table of wavelength, sensor pixel pitch, holography mode, focus search range, autofocus on/off, the reconstruction distance actually used, processing profile, and deterministic processing on/off.
  3. Methods paragraph — a four-sentence paragraph, already filled in for this run, ready to copy.
  4. How to recompute — resubmit the same file and settings to the same version, then compare provenance_id and config_sha256. Matching values show the same input, settings and version were used; they do not show the outputs are identical (see Validation docket).
  5. What this record does not establish — measurement accuracy, repeatability across instruments, and fitness for any use beyond research.

The file is built only from your own settings and the already-public provenance.json, so it discloses nothing the package did not already contain.

Paragraph template

Copy and fill the bracketed parts:

Digital holograms were reconstructed with the ApertureAPI hosted service (version [v0.1.0], https://api.apertureapi.com) using [in-line / off-axis] processing at a wavelength of [λ] µm and a camera pixel pitch of [p] µm, with automatic focus search between [z_min] and [z_max] mm. Each reconstruction is identified by a provenance ID that commits to the input, the settings and the software version ([APV-…]); the full evidence record ([AEV-…]) is available on request. The service reports accuracy and repeatability as not yet established; [describe your own validation against a reference, if any].

Keep the last sentence. A reviewer who reads it will trust the rest more.

Next step

See the Reproducibility bundle for a complete worked example, or write to system@apertureapi.com.