> For clean Markdown content of this page, append .md to this URL. For the complete documentation index, see https://buildwithfern.com/learn/llms.txt.

# Password protection

Password protection allows you to restrict access to your documentation site using a single shared password or multiple passwords (up to three), each mapped to a role. This is useful for pre-release documentation, internal resources, or any content you want to keep private without requiring individual user accounts.

[Set up and manage password protection](/learn/dashboard/configuration/password-protection) in the [Fern Dashboard](https://dashboard.buildwithfern.com/). If you set up multiple passwords for different user roles, then configure [RBAC](/learn/docs/authentication/features/rbac) to control which content different groups can access.

## How it works

When password protection is enabled, visitors to your documentation site are prompted to enter a password before they can view any content. Once authenticated, users can browse the site until their session expires. If multiple passwords are configured, the password entered determines the user's role and which content they can access.

When password protection is active, search engines won't index your site.

> Gate your docs with a shared password