Vercel Recovery Codes Handling Note

Purpose

This note documents how Vercel recovery codes should be handled in technical documentation and operational notes.

The rule is simple:

Do not store actual recovery codes in GitHub, documentation repositories, issue comments, pull requests, screenshots, logs or project files.

Recovery codes are account recovery material. They should be treated as secrets.

Storage rule

Actual Vercel recovery codes must be stored only in a personal password manager or another secure secrets vault.

Allowed storage locations:

password manager
secure personal vault
offline secure backup

Forbidden storage locations:

GitHub repository
technical documentation hub
README files
issue comments
pull request descriptions
screenshots
chat logs
.env files
plain text notes
terminal history

Public/private documentation boundary

Documentation may record the handling process, but not the actual codes.

Allowed documentation:

• where the codes are stored at a high level
• who owns the account
• when recovery codes were rotated
• what to do if codes are suspected exposed
• what kind of error was observed while using Vercel
• whether the issue relates to deployment, routing, authentication or account recovery

Forbidden documentation:

• actual recovery codes
• partial recovery codes
• screenshots containing recovery codes
• copied recovery-code lists
• plaintext tokens
• Vercel API tokens
• .env values
• production secrets

Exposure handling

If recovery codes are pasted into chat, logs, GitHub, documentation or a terminal session by mistake, treat them as potentially exposed.

Recommended response:

1. Do not commit the codes anywhere.
2. Regenerate or rotate recovery codes in Vercel.
3. Store the new codes only in the password manager / secure vault.
4. Remove any accidental plaintext copies.
5. Document only the rotation event and storage rule, not the codes.

Observed Vercel error

The following Vercel error was observed and may be referenced for troubleshooting context:

404: NOT_FOUND
Code: NOT_FOUND
ID: arn1::rnq9h-1782195653307-fd9331b9e12e

Read our documentation to learn more about this error.

This error can be documented because it is an error trace, not a recovery code.

However, the ID should still be treated as diagnostic metadata, not as a credential.

Correct documentation pattern

Correct:

Vercel recovery codes are stored in the password manager. Actual codes are not stored in this repository. Codes should be regenerated if exposed in chat, logs or documentation.

Incorrect:

Listing actual recovery codes in Markdown, GitHub comments, screenshots or repo files.

Final rule

Document the process. Do not document the secret.