# 🧩 Application Installation & Service Blueprints Index (Best Practices)

**Purpose:** This document serves as the mandatory, centralized quality gate reference for all standalone service guides within this directory cluster. It captures standardized best practices necessary for deploying any piece of infrastructure documented here (e.g., Monitoring Systems, Identity Providers, Networking Clients).

## 🌟 Golden Rules for "Application Install Notes"
All operational deployment steps must adhere to the following architectural mandates:

### 1. Deployment Methodology Mandate
Any system that requires state management or service orchestration **MUST** be designed using a declarative approach:
*   **Mandatory Preference:** Use Kubernetes YAML manifests, dedicated Docker Compose files (`version: '3.8'`), or established Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools (Terraform/Ansible).
*   **Deprecated Method:** Manual setup scripts are only acceptable for one-time, non-persistent configuration steps (e.g., initial key generation, client registration). If the step is repeatable, it must be containerized or scripted in Ansible.

### 2. Security and Identity Management (IAM)
This category *always* requires heightened scrutiny:
*   **Secret Handling:** Credentials (passwords, API keys) must be injected at runtime from a Secret Manager (Vault, KMS), never stored directly in configuration files (`README`, `.env`).
*   **Authentication Flow:** Always prioritize the implementation of **Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)** and secure protocols like OAuth2/OIDC. Simple username/password authentication is only acceptable for non-critical, local administrative backends.

### 3. Networking & Connectivity Services
For VPNs, DNS management (Pi-hole), or network proxies:
*   **Service Segmentation:** Utilize strong Docker networking (custom networks) to isolate services that handle sensitive traffic from those that are public-facing.
*   **TLS Enforcement:** A dedicated Reverse Proxy must terminate all external TLS connections and manage certificate lifecycle for *every* service exposed over the internet.

## 🛠️ Service Blueprints Status Key
*(Review this section before creating any new configuration)*

| Blueprint Type | Current Best Practice Focus | Primary Toolchain | High-Risk Area Warning |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Identity (Auth)** | Centralized IdP via OAuth2, Conditional Access. | Authentik / Keycloak / AD Federation | Failure to enforce MFA and use external IDPs. |
| **Monitoring/Logging** | Observability through dedicated agents communicating logs via robust queueing systems. | Prometheus/Grafana stack; Watchtower (for updates). | Relying on ad-hoc log scraping instead of structured logging (JSON). |
| **Storage Sync** | Versioning, Encryption at rest and in transit, Audit trails are mandatory. | rclone / Dedicate cloud provider syncing. | Failure to implement pre/post-sync validation checks. |

> [!NOTE] Future Improvement: Automation Integration
The next major effort for this directory should be to build a dedicated CI/CD pipeline that automatically tests and validates the deployment steps outlined in these guides, ensuring that manual updates never compromise the desired state.