Private Documentation Strategy

Assessment: What's Sensitive?

🔴 Highly Sensitive (Should be Private)

• Deployment Guides (deployment/staging.md, deployment/production.md)

  • AWS account structure
  • VPC IDs, security group configurations
  • Infrastructure architecture details
  • Resource naming conventions
  • Internal setup procedures

• CI/CD Configuration (deployment/ci-cd.md)

  • GitHub Actions workflow details
  • IAM policy configurations
  • Deployment procedures

• Security Documentation (reference/security.md)

  • Security audit findings
  • Vulnerability details
  • Security best practices

• IAM Configuration (reference/iam.md)

  • IAM policy details
  • Permission structures

🟡 Moderately Sensitive (Could be Public with Redaction)

• API Endpoints (api/endpoints.md)

  • Public API documentation (usually fine to be public)
  • But exposes internal structure

• Infrastructure Details (infrastructure/)

  • Database schema (could be useful for attackers)
  • Entity relationships

🟢 Safe to be Public

• Getting Started (getting-started/)

  • Installation instructions
  • Local development setup
  • Docker setup

• API Authentication (api/authentication.md)

  • Public authentication flow (standard OAuth2)

• Feature Documentation (features/)

  • Feature descriptions
  • Usage guides

Options

Option 1: Public GitHub Pages + Sanitize Sensitive Info ⚠️ Not Recommended

Approach: Keep docs public but remove sensitive details

Pros:

• Free
• Easy setup
• Automatic deployment

Cons:

• Still exposes architecture
• Easy to accidentally commit sensitive info
• No access control
• Competitors can see your infrastructure

Verdict: ❌ Not recommended - Too risky for deployment docs

---

Option 2: Split Documentation (Recommended) ✅

Approach:

• Public: API docs, getting started, features
• Private: Deployment, security, infrastructure details

Implementation:

1. Keep public docs on GitHub Pages
2. Move sensitive docs to private location:
   • Private GitHub repo (separate repo)
   • Internal wiki (Confluence, Notion)
   • Password-protected site
   • VPN/internal network

Pros:

• Best of both worlds
• Public API docs help developers
• Private deployment docs stay secure
• Flexible

Cons:

• Need to maintain two locations
• More complex setup

Verdict: ✅ Recommended - Best balance

---

Option 3: Cloudflare Pages/Vercel with Private Repo (Free) ✅

Approach: Use Cloudflare Pages or Vercel to deploy from private GitHub repo

Setup:

• Connect private GitHub repo to Cloudflare Pages/Vercel
• Deploy automatically via GitHub Actions
• Can add password protection
• Free for private repos

Pros:

• Free
• Private repo support
• Password protection available
• Automatic deployment via GitHub Actions
• Custom domain support
• Fast global CDN (Cloudflare)

Cons:

• External service dependency
• Need to migrate from GitHub Pages

Verdict: ✅ Good Option - Free private hosting with fast CDN

---

Option 4: Self-Hosted MkDocs with Authentication

Approach: Host MkDocs yourself with basic auth

Options:

• Cloudflare Access (free tier)
• Nginx with basic auth
• Cloudflare Tunnel (free)
• AWS CloudFront with WAF

Pros:

• Full control
• Can use existing infrastructure
• Various auth options

Cons:

• More setup/maintenance
• Need to manage hosting

Verdict: ⚠️ If you have infrastructure - Good option

---

Option 5: GitHub Enterprise (Expensive)

Approach: Upgrade to GitHub Enterprise

Pros:

• Private GitHub Pages
• All GitHub features
• Enterprise support

Cons:

• $21/user/month (very expensive)
• Overkill for this use case

Verdict: ❌ Not recommended - Too expensive

---

Recommended Solution: Option 2 (Split Documentation)

Implementation Plan

Step 1: Create Private Documentation Repo

Create a new private repository: FishingLog.Backend-Docs-Private

Move these files there:

• docs/deployment/ (all deployment guides)
• docs/reference/security.md
• docs/reference/iam.md
• docs/infrastructure/ (infrastructure details)

Step 2: Keep Public Docs on GitHub Pages

Keep these public:

• docs/getting-started/
• docs/api/ (API documentation)
• docs/features/ (feature docs)
• docs/frontend/ (frontend guides)
• docs/testing/ (testing guides)

Step 3: Update Public Docs

Add note in public docs:

> **Note:** Deployment and infrastructure documentation is available privately. 
> Contact the team for access.

Step 4: Deploy Private Docs

Options for private docs:

• Option A: Netlify/Vercel (free, password protection)
• Option B: Internal wiki (Confluence, Notion)
• Option C: Cloudflare Access (free tier)
• Option D: Simple password-protected site

---

Quick Win: Cloudflare Pages with Password Protection

Easiest solution - Move sensitive docs to Cloudflare Pages:

1. Create private repo: FishingLog.Backend-Docs-Private
2. Move sensitive docs there
3. Connect to Cloudflare Pages:
   • Import from GitHub (or use GitHub Actions)
   • Build command: npm run build (for Docusaurus) or pip install -r requirements-docs.txt && mkdocs build (for MkDocs)
   • Publish directory: build (Docusaurus) or site (MkDocs)
4. Add password protection:
   • Cloudflare Pages → Settings → Access → Password Protection
   • Set password
5. Deploy automatically on push via GitHub Actions

Result:

• Public API docs: https://JamesWJager.github.io/FishingLog.Backend/
• Private deployment docs: https://fishinglog-docs-private.pages.dev (password protected)

---

Alternative: Sanitize and Keep Public

If you want to keep everything public, sanitize:

1. Remove sensitive details:

   • Replace AWS account IDs with placeholders
   • Remove VPC IDs
   • Remove specific resource names
   • Use environment variables in examples

2. Add warnings:

   > ⚠️ **Note:** This documentation contains example configurations.
   > Replace placeholders with your actual values.

3. Use placeholders:

   • YOUR_AWS_ACCOUNT_ID
   • YOUR_VPC_ID
   • YOUR_DOMAIN.com

Verdict: ⚠️ Risky - Still exposes architecture

---

My Recommendation

Go with Option 2 (Split) + Cloudflare Pages for Private Docs:

1. ✅ Keep public API docs on GitHub Pages
2. ✅ Move deployment docs to private Cloudflare Pages site with password
3. ✅ Best of both worlds
4. ✅ Free
5. ✅ Easy to maintain
6. ✅ Fast global CDN

Would you like me to:

1. Set up the split structure?
2. Create a Cloudflare Pages configuration?
3. Sanitize the public docs?

---

Decision Matrix:

Option	Cost	Security	Ease	Recommendation
Public + Sanitize	Free	⚠️ Low	Easy	❌ Not recommended
Split (Public + Private)	Free	✅ High	Medium	✅ Best
Cloudflare Pages Private	Free	✅ High	Easy	✅ Good
Self-Hosted	Variable	✅ High	Hard	⚠️ If you have infra
GitHub Enterprise	$21/user	✅ High	Easy	❌ Too expensive