# Integration Checklist

A checklist to work through before taking a Sentinel integration to production.

## 1. Configuration

- Manually set the required environment variables instead of relying on auto-generated secrets — see [ENV Variables](/docs/sentinel/operations/env-variables/#required-secrets).
- Configure [Security Groups](/docs/sentinel/configure/security-groups/) for public and API-only access.
- Enable [Autopilot](/docs/sentinel/features/autopilot/) for automatic traffic management, or set rate limits manually.
- Generate new [API keys](/docs/sentinel/configure/api-keys/) (rotate any legacy keys if this replaces an existing setup).
- Enable an [IP resolver](/docs/sentinel/integrations/ip-resolvers/) for geolocation/IP-based analytics.
- Set up [Storage Providers](/docs/sentinel/operations/storage-providers/) for secure handling of file uploads and database snapshots.
- Review [high-risk country](/docs/sentinel/configure/security-groups/#examples) settings if your users are in the US, China, Russia, Israel, or India.

## 2. Security

- Enforce TLS 1.2+ encryption.
- Change default credentials (the `root` password) and enable MFA — see [Users & Accounts](/docs/sentinel/configure/users-accounts/#multi-factor-authentication-mfa).
- Review user roles and permissions — ensure proper access controls, and enforce MFA for all users.
- Restrict access to the application and administrative endpoints to whitelisted IPs/network masks — see `APP_IP_WHITELIST` in [ENV Variables](/docs/sentinel/operations/env-variables/#security--access).

## 3. Availability & resilience

- Schedule database snapshots, and test the restore process — see [Backups & Recovery](/docs/sentinel/operations/backups-recovery/).
- Configure automated volume backups.
- Set monitoring alerts for downtime or abnormal activity, integrated with your external tooling — see [Monitoring & Logging](/docs/sentinel/operations/monitoring-logging/).

## 4. Testing

- Validate API endpoints functionally with a tool like Postman or cURL.
- Test compatibility across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and mobile platforms.
- Conduct load/stress testing to simulate traffic spikes — see [Performance Tuning & Benchmarks](/docs/sentinel/operations/performance-tuning/).

## 5. Compliance & documentation

- Review compliance standards relevant to you (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) — see [Privacy Protection](/docs/sentinel/security/privacy-protection/).
- Update your privacy policy to document data flows and retention practices.
- Document your integration steps as an internal runbook.
- Establish SLAs with stakeholders regarding uptime and response times.

## 6. Post-integration

- Monitor latency and error rates on an ongoing basis.
- Schedule quarterly security reviews.

## Related

- **[Get Started](/docs/sentinel/get-started/)** — the initial setup this checklist follows on from.
- **[License](/docs/sentinel/security/license/)** — confirm a license is configured before relying on this in production.