wtf is cheatsheetseries?

The OWASP Cheat Sheet Series is a free, community-maintained library of practical security advice for people who build software. Each "cheat sheet" is a focused guide on a specific topic, like how to handle passwords, prevent common web attacks, or securely configure a particular technology, written so developers can quickly find and apply the recommendations. The content lives in this repository as Markdown files, but the intended way to read and reference the cheat sheets is through the project's official website, which presents everything in a browsable, formatted way. The repository itself is the working source, where contributors edit and maintain the guides. You can also download a ZIP archive of the full site for offline reading, or build the site locally if you want to host it yourself. The primary audience is developers, engineering leads, and anyone responsible for writing or reviewing application code. If you're building a login system and want to make sure you're following current best practices for authentication, or you're setting up a web app and want a checklist for avoiding the most common security mistakes, these cheat sheets give you a condensed, trustworthy reference without having to dig through lengthy standards documents. The project is run under OWASP, a well-known nonprofit focused on application security, and it carries their "flagship project" designation, meaning it's one of their higher-profile, actively maintained efforts. It's volunteer-driven and openly invites contributions, whether that's fixing typos, improving existing guides, or proposing new cheat sheet topics. The content is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), so it can be shared and adapted as long as you credit the source and keep the same license. It's worth noting that the README doesn't go into detail on the full list of specific cheat sheet topics covered, you'd need to visit the website for that. What's clear is the emphasis on practicality: these are designed to be concise references for builders, not academic deep dives.