Cloudflare Access (part of Zero Trust) puts an identity check in front of a URL — visitors must authenticate (e.g., with a Google login) before the request ever reaches your origin. Perfect for admin panels and edit routes.
The idea
visitor → Cloudflare Access (login required) → [allowed] → origin app
→ [denied] → blocked at the edge
This complements the app's own login — even the login page becomes invisible to the public.
Setup (dashboard)
- Zero Trust → Access → Applications → Add → Self-hosted.
- Application domain: e.g.
wiki.thelabsource.comwith path/loginand/edit*. - Policy: Allow → Emails → your Google address.
- Identity provider: Google (or one-time PIN email).
Why gate paths, not the whole site
| Path | Policy |
|---|---|
/ (articles) |
Public — anyone reads |
/login, /edit*, /account, /upload |
Access — you only |
Result: the wiki stays publicly readable, but the entire editing surface requires your identity at the Cloudflare edge — defense in depth on top of the app's single-admin login. Traffic reaches the origin via the tunnel.