WS-004: Why the Developer Portal is private¶
| Status | Accepted |
| Date | 2026-08-05 |
| Sources | 2026-08-05-secure-developer-portal-remove-public-nav.md; 2026-08-05-developer-portal-session-credentials-header.md |
Context¶
developer.engineeringruntime.com teaches how to build the product: hub
map, bootstrap, proposal gate, architecture. Customer how-to lives on
docs.engineeringruntime.com; vision on engineeringruntime.com.
Problem¶
Publishing build-the-product knowledge on an ungated static site mixes internal
process with public marketing chrome. A weak gate that reused Control Plane
credentials also risked exposing app. passwords.
Decision¶
- Keep the developer portal login-gated (client-side convenience gate).
- Do not advertise it from public series/docs headers as a peer of docs.
- Never print credentials under published
docs/; never reuse another system’s password. - Label the gate honestly: obscurity, not Cloudflare Access.
Series may link develop for collaborators who already have access; the site is still gated.
Alternatives considered¶
| Alternative | Why not (yet) |
|---|---|
| Fully public developer docs | Internal workflow and hub map are not customer surface |
| Cloudflare Access immediately | Right long-term fix; separate decision (see WS-006 preconditions) |
| Shared Control Plane login | Rejected after incident — credential reuse |
Consequences¶
- More architecture content here raises the cost of a weak gate — accept knowingly
- Programmatic “AI reads the portal” needs a stronger gate first (WS-006)