ClearPath

Inspiration

We were inspired to build ClearPath because of the challenge which personally resonated with us, as we are children of immigrant families, the challenge of reading and comphrending complex documents is very real and needed to be delt with. We built this tool to tackle that problem of being confused in a situation and not knowing what to do next.

What it does

ClearPath accepts any confusing legal or government document through three inputs: camera photograph, PDF upload, or text paste, and returns four things in under 60 seconds. It's also available in 15 different languages, including Arabic with left-to-right support.

How we built it

Frontend: Expo React Native, one codebase running on iOS and Android, accessible via QR code on any phone. AI layer: Claude API (claude-Haiku-4-5) with a structured system prompt that returns a validated JSON object. Backend: Express.js on Railway handling input sanitization, prompt injection filtering, rate limiting, and JSON validation before anything reaches the frontend.

Challenges we ran into

Some challenges we ran into but overcomed was that differnet states delt with legal issues in different ways so we needed to make sure our tool fully analyzes everything and returns a tailored response. We also struggled with layering and formatting of the app and also the camera input but also fixed it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

ClearPath does not show a result with a small warning. It blocks the result entirely and puts 211 in front of the user first. That design decision treating uncertainty as a hard stop, not a footnote is the thing we are most proud of. we also added 15 languages, and a camera-to-checklist flow that takes under 60 seconds on a phone with no account required.

What we learned

We learned how to effectively use API keys, and also the hardest part of building for people in crisis is restraint. Every decsion and cut we made was for the people we needed to learn how to do things efficiently.

What's next for ClearPath

Verified real-time resource listings so phone numbers never go stale. An organization portal for legal aid clinics to update their own availability. Offline mode for communities with unreliable connectivity. Partnerships with public libraries and 211 networks who already serve this population.