THE GITHTML FIELD GUIDE
Redact repository evidence before sending it to an AI documentation tool
Before using an AI documentation tool, decide which material is appropriate to provide and remove secrets or unnecessary personal information. Prefer minimal excerpts and synthetic examples over whole logs or production records. Redaction reduces exposure but can also remove context, so document the resulting limits on what the draft may claim.
Start with authorization and purpose
Confirm that the chosen tool and account are approved for the material under your organization's rules. Public source code, internal architecture, customer records, and credentials are different categories; do not assume repository access authorizes sending everything elsewhere. NIST's generative AI profile includes privacy-related risks, but the applicable handling rules depend on the actual context. Define the documentation question first so you can identify the smallest useful input. A request to explain validation logic usually does not require real user names, production payloads, or access tokens.
Replace sensitive values without breaking meaning
Use consistent placeholders for relationships that matter. An illustrative log excerpt could replace an email address with USER_A and a document identifier with DOC_1 while preserving the sequence of events. Avoid replacements that change a type, unit, or failure condition the explanation depends on. Remove credentials entirely rather than masking only a few characters. Check surrounding URLs, filenames, headers, comments, and screenshots, which can contain sensitive information even when the main payload is clean. Label all supplied examples synthetic or redacted as appropriate.
- Minimize: provide only the files or excerpts needed for the question.
- Inspect: review values, metadata, images, and contextual identifiers.
- Explain: state what was removed and which conclusions are no longer supported.
Review output for accidental reintroduction
A generator may produce realistic-looking identifiers or invent missing details. Replace those with clear synthetic values and do not assume they are safe simply because they were generated. Review the final HTML for secrets, private links, and excessive internal detail before committing or sharing it. Keep source access controls appropriate to the audience. gitHtml is a reader of the resulting committed document, not the tool that performs redaction or generation. Do not make broad privacy promises about the reader or the external generator without checking their current policies.
Sources and further reading
AI-assisted writing with source-linked guidance and illustrative examples. Read our editorial approach or report a correction.