How To Properly Document Your Homemade Proxy Setup

When working on a DIY proxy project, detailed records are crucial — not only for your own future reference but for any team member or maintainer who inherits the project. Start by outlining the purpose of your proxy. Explain why you built it, what problem it solves, and the types of requests it processes. This background enables others to understand the rationale immediately.



Detail the component layout. Describe each component — including code modules, ini files, virtual machines, or cloud endpoints — and how they communicate. Add visual aids whenever feasible, even simple hand drawn ones photographed and included as image files. Identify sources, destinations, and transformation stages. Never rely on code to speak for itself, because code changes over time, but good documentation stays relevant.



Catalog every external requirement and its exact release. If you’re using Python libraries, Node modules, or system packages, pin them using lockfiles or requirements.txt. Detail the installation process from scratch. Mention any environment variables or configuration files required, and provide example values with explanations of what each one does.



Document the full lifecycle commands. Provide the exact terminal instructions, admin-level access, and frequent errors such as binding failures or TLS mismatches. When logs are generated, specify their location, and the significance of debug, more info on hackmd, warn, and error. Provide real-world log samples with interpretations of system status.



Security must be prioritized. Document any authentication mechanisms, whether you’re using password, OAuth2, or client certs. Explain your secret management strategy — are they in environment variables, encrypted files, or hardcoded?. If you’re routing traffic through external services, mention which ones and how data privacy is handled. Always warn against exposing sensitive endpoints to public networks.



Add a dedicated FAQ section. Document recurring issues and their remedies. For example, if the proxy crashes when a client sends malformed headers, describe the symptom, the log message you saw, and the fix you applied — this prevents weeks of wasted investigation.



Treat docs as critical code. Integrate it into your dev process — refresh it whenever logic, config, or endpoints shift. Consider linking your documentation to a version control system so updates are versioned with commits. Though you’re the sole current user, the next version of you will owe you a coffee.