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auth-aware-delivery

Exactly — once you bring authorization-aware delivery into the mix, you’re essentially building a smart content gateway. And you're thinking about it the right way: every Markdown file becomes a secured asset, with variable visibility based on the requester.

Let’s walk through what this architecture means, where it shines, and how to implement it without slowing yourself down.

🧠 The Model: Markdown-as-Restricted-Content​

Concept:​

Every markdown file is:

  • Identified by a UUID
  • Parsed server-side
  • Filtered by auth level
  • Then sent to the frontend for rendering
GET /markdowns/:uuid
Authorization: Bearer <JWT or session>

Returns:

{
  "front_matter": { ... },
  "body": "<filtered markdown string>"
}

🔐 Why This Is Necessary​

If you want:

  • {auth=adminOnly} style in-markdown gates
  • Sections that vary per user (like a comment box that only shows if logged in)
  • Logging which parts of content get read
  • Gamified or progressive unlocks

...then you must control delivery from the server.

🔧 How It Works (At a High Level)​

1. Parse the Markdown server-side​

  • Use any parser that gives you access to AST or just plain text blocks
  • Extract {auth=...} directives

2. Authenticate the request​

  • Session, JWT, API key, whatever

3. Transform the document​

  • Strip unauthorized blocks
  • Optionally insert “locked” placeholders or progress hints

4. Return to the frontend​

  • Can still be hydrated via MDX if needed, or rendered raw

🏗 Suggested Folder Structure (Server-side)​

markdowns/
  65cc66.md      → actual content
  65cc66.meta    → front matter or cached AST
  _category_.json

⚙️ Backend Endpoint​

GET /api/markdowns/:uuid

Header: Authorization: Bearer xyz

Backend does:

  • Load markdown file
  • Parse front matter and {auth=} blocks
  • Look up user’s access level
  • Filter → return body + front matter

✨ Bonus Ideas​

  • 🔐 Serve as static if no {auth=} blocks are present
  • 🧠 Precompile filtered versions per access tier (if content is stable)
  • 🎯 Add headers like X-Content-Access-Level: full/partial/locked
  • 📜 Include hidden blocks with <!-- locked --> comments (if you want client-side hinting too)

🧩 Why This Rocks​

You now have:

  • Variable markdown delivery
  • A backend that understands semantics, not just blobs
  • The groundwork for unlockable content, gamified auth, and dynamic personalization

If you'd like:

  • A Go or Python example of how to parse {auth=} tags
  • A file-backed storage model with basic auth
  • A pipeline that pre-renders markdown for different roles

I’d be happy to sketch it out. This is definitely next-level content architecture — but you’re already halfway there.