flaskpaste/ROADMAP.md

FlaskPaste Roadmap

Current State

FlaskPaste v1.1.0 is deployed and feature-complete for its core mission: a secure, minimal pastebin API with zero-knowledge encryption support.

Implemented:

• Full REST API (CRUD operations)
• Binary content support with magic-byte MIME detection
• Client certificate authentication
• Content-hash deduplication (abuse prevention)
• Proof-of-work spam prevention
• Entropy enforcement (require encrypted uploads)
• E2E encryption in CLI (AES-256-GCM, key in URL fragment)
• URL prefix support for reverse proxy deployments
• /client endpoint for CLI distribution
• Automatic paste expiry
• Security headers and request tracing
• Container deployment support
• Comprehensive test suite (98 tests)

Phase 1: Hardening (Complete)

Focus: Production readiness and operational excellence.

┌───┬─────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│ # │ Milestone                           │ Status
├───┼─────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1 │ Abuse prevention (dedup)            │ Done
│ 2 │ Security headers complete           │ Done
│ 3 │ Request tracing (X-Request-ID)      │ Done
│ 4 │ Proxy trust validation              │ Done
│ 5 │ Proof-of-work spam prevention       │ Done
│ 6 │ Entropy enforcement                 │ Done
│ 7 │ Test coverage > 90%                 │ Done (98 tests)
│ 8 │ Documentation complete              │ Done
└───┴─────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

Phase 2: Operations

Focus: Deployment, monitoring, and maintenance tooling.

┌───┬─────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│ # │ Milestone                           │ Dependencies
├───┼─────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1 │ Prometheus metrics endpoint         │ None
│ 2 │ Structured JSON logging             │ None
│ 3 │ Admin API (stats, cleanup)          │ Auth improvements
│ 4 │ Ansible deployment role             │ None
│ 5 │ CI/CD pipeline                      │ Container registry access
└───┴─────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

Prometheus Metrics

Expose /metrics endpoint with:

• flaskpaste_pastes_total (counter)
• flaskpaste_pastes_created (counter)
• flaskpaste_pastes_deleted (counter)
• flaskpaste_pastes_expired (counter)
• flaskpaste_storage_bytes (gauge)
• flaskpaste_request_duration_seconds (histogram)

Structured Logging

Replace text logs with JSON format:

• Timestamp, level, message, request_id
• Consistent field names across all log entries
• Compatible with log aggregation (Loki, ELK)

Phase 3: Features (Complete)

Focus: User-requested enhancements within scope.

┌───┬─────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│ # │ Feature                             │ Status
├───┼─────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1 │ E2E encryption (client-side)        │ Done (CLI -e flag, zero-knowledge)
│ 2 │ URL prefix support                  │ Done
│ 3 │ Custom expiry per paste             │ Done (X-Expiry header)
│ 4 │ Burn-after-read option              │ Done (X-Burn-After-Read header)
│ 5 │ Paste password protection           │ Planned
└───┴─────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

Burn-After-Read

Single-access pastes that delete after first retrieval:

• POST / with X-Burn-After-Read: true header
• Paste deleted after first GET /<id>/raw
• Metadata GET /<id> does not trigger burn

Custom Expiry

Allow per-paste expiry override:

• POST / with X-Expiry: 3600 header (seconds)
• Capped at server maximum (e.g., 30 days)
• Default unchanged for pastes without header

Phase 4: Ecosystem

Focus: Integration with external systems.

┌───┬─────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│ # │ Integration                         │ Status
├───┼─────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1 │ CLI client (fpaste)                 │ Done (with E2E encryption)
│ 2 │ /client endpoint                    │ Done (downloadable CLI)
│ 3 │ Neovim/Vim plugin                   │ Planned
│ 4 │ Shell aliases/functions             │ Planned
│ 5 │ Webhook notifications               │ Planned
└───┴─────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

CLI Client (Complete)

Standalone Python CLI with encryption support:

• fpaste create file.txt - Create paste from file
• fpaste create -e file.txt - Create encrypted paste (E2E)
• fpaste get <id> - Get paste (auto-decrypts with URL fragment key)
• fpaste delete <id> - Delete paste
• fpaste info - Show server info
• Config file for server URL and cert fingerprint
• Downloadable via curl https://server/client > fpaste

Non-Goals (Explicit)

These features will not be implemented:

• Web UI - Out of scope; use API directly
• User accounts - PKI handles identity
• Syntax highlighting - Client responsibility
• Search/discovery - Pastes are private by design
• Clustering - Scale via container orchestration
• S3/PostgreSQL backend - SQLite is sufficient

Decision Log

Date	Decision	Rationale
2024-11	SQLite only	Simplicity; no external dependencies
2024-11	No web UI	API-first; reduces attack surface
2024-11	Client cert auth	Integrates with existing PKI
2024-12	Content-hash dedup	Prevent spam without IP tracking
2024-12	Proof-of-work	Computational cost deters spam bots
2024-12	Client-side E2E encryption	Zero-knowledge; key in URL fragment
2024-12	Entropy enforcement	Heuristic to require encrypted uploads
2024-12	URL prefix support	Reverse proxy path-based routing
2024-12	Burn-after-read	Single-use pastes for sensitive data
2024-12	Custom expiry	Per-paste TTL override
2024-12	Multi-stage Containerfile	Smaller production images

Review Schedule

• Monthly: Review TODO.md, refine TASKLIST.md
• Quarterly: Evaluate roadmap phases, adjust priorities
• Yearly: Major version planning, scope review