Can I protect my Github website with a password?

[thunathun]

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Can I protect my static Github website (also using Jekyll) with a password - or build in any other kind of authentication feature?

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[ArdeshirV]

There are alternative approaches you can consider adding authentication or password protection to your static website hosted on GitHub Pages:

Move to a different hosting provider: Consider using a different hosting provider that supports or password protection for static websites. Netlify, for example, offers built-in password protection for static sites. It's really a better choice when you need authentication or password protection to your website.

Use a third-party service: You can use a third-party service like Cloudflare Access or Firebase to add authentication layers to your GitHub Pages site. These services act as a proxy between the user and your website, requiring before granting access. If you just need to add extra security to your site, you can visit this example with Cloudflare.

Implement your own system: You can build your own system using server-side technologies. However, this would require moving away from GitHub Pages and hosting your site on a server that supports server-side scripting languages like PHP, Node.js, or Python. You can use some free hosts like Heroku

Hope you got your answer

[h7x4]

If you're part of an enterprise, you could add access control to your GitHub pages

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[gabrielbdornas]

In this pretty similar question I came up with this solution:

I encountered the same challenge when trying to protect an MkDocs Material static site with authentication. After some research and testing, I found a way to solve this using OAuth2 Proxy with GitHub authentication.

I've documented my approach in this repository: meadapt/login-static-site.

Key Points of My Solution:

• The static site is built using the Python lib MkDocs Material (my favorite theme and static site generator), and deployed using GitHub Actions and Render. You are welcome to chose wherever static site generator you want!!
• OAuth2 Proxy is configured to require GitHub login, ensuring only authorized users can access the site, but other OAuth providers, like Google, could be used.
• Authentication is enforced using an email whitelist, where only specific GitHub users can log in.
• The entire process is deployed using a Render web service to handle authentication and serve the protected content.
• I'm using Poetry for dependency management, but you can use any package management tool you prefer.

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/meadapt/login-static-site.git
cd login-static-site

# Poetry
poetry install

2. Create Your Static Site

Place your MkDocs content inside the docs/ folder and configure mkdocs.yml accordingly.
Once ready, commit and push your changes to the main branch:

# Using Poetry to view your site locally
poetry run task serve


git add .
git commit -m "Add my documentation"
git push origin main

This push will trigger the publish_render_pages GitHub Actions workflow that builds the site and pushes the generated static files to the render-pages branch.

3. Set Up an OAuth App on GitHub

To enable authentication, you need to create an OAuth App on GitHub:

1. Go to GitHub Developer Settings.
2. Click on OAuth Apps > New OAuth App.
3. Fill in the details:
   • Application Name: Your app name.
   • Homepage URL: Use the URL provided by Render after deployment (you could update it later).
   • Authorization Callback URL: <your_render_url>/oauth2/callback
4. Click Register Application.
5. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret for later use.

4. Deploy the Web Service on Render

1. Go to Render and create a new Blueprint instance.
2. Connect it to your GitHub repository.
3. Select the render-pages branch.
4. Set up the environment variables:
   • OAUTH2_PROXY_CLIENT_ID=<your_github_client_id>.
   • OAUTH2_PROXY_CLIENT_SECRET=<your_github_client_secret>.
   • OAUTH2_PROXY_COOKIE_SECRET=<random_32_byte_secret> (Generate one using openssl rand -base64 32).
5. Deploy your service.

Once deployed, your site will be protected, requiring a GitHub login to access it.

If you’re looking for more details, check out the repository. The README.md provides all setup instructions, including the sources used to create the model.