init: added the base files by ai and debugged by hand

it's great but currently it has a basic error which is go nil pointer dereference

WIP

README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# auth-gate
+
+A lightweight Go auth gateway that sits in front of sensitive services (phpMyAdmin, Git,
+uptime monitors) and provides:
+
+- IP-based whitelisting (permanent via file, temporary via REST API with TTL)
+- HTTP Basic Auth as fallback
+- No domain changes — NGINX continues to proxy to the same `server_name`
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+Client ──NGINX auth_request──► auth-gate ──► allow / deny
+```
+
+NGINX calls auth-gate as an internal subrequest. On 200 the original request proceeds.
+On 401/403 NGINX returns the response to the client. Whitelisted IPs never see auth.
+
+## Build
+
+```bash
+go build -o auth-gate .
+```
+
+## Docker
+
+```bash
+docker build -t yejayekhoob/auth-gate:latest .
+```
+
+## Quick start
+
+```bash
+# Set required env vars (see .env.example)
+cp .env.example .env
+vim .env
+
+# Start
+./auth-gate
+```
+
+## NGINX integration
+
+See `docs/deploy.md` for the full NGINX `auth_request` configuration.
+
+## Documentation
+
+- `README.md` — this file
+- `docs/api.md` — API reference
+- `docs/security.md` — security model and notes
+- `docs/deploy.md` — deployment instructions
+- `docs/design.md` — design rationale