How to Safely Share Code & Logs
with AI Assistants

Generative AI has changed how developers debug. Whether you're using ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, the ability to get instant feedback on a complex log file is invaluable. However, most developers are inadvertently leaking Company Secrets, API Keys, and User PII in the process.

Why Security Matters in AI Chats

When you paste data into a public LLM, that data is processed on third-party servers. Unless you are using an Enterprise-tier API with strict data-exclusion policies, your inputs may be used to retrain future models or may be visible to human reviewers.

The "Redaction List": What to Sanitize

Before submitting any log or code snippet, ensure the following fields are removed:

Standard Redaction Snippet

Notice how the sensitive information is replaced with generic placeholders. This allows the AI to understand the structure of the error without seeing the secrets.

[ERROR] 2026-01-10 14:02:43
User: [REDACTED_EMAIL]
IP: [INTERNAL_IP]
Request failed: 401 Unauthorized
Key used: sk-proj-********************
Traceback: /home/[USER]/api/v1/auth.py

The Verifiable Workflow

At ResourceCentral, we recommend the Local-First approach:

1. Local Scrubbing: Use our Log Sanitizer. It runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript—your data never reaches our server.
2. Manual Verification: Quickly scan the output to ensure the pattern matching caught your specific edge-case secrets.
3. AI Interaction: Paste the sanitized text into your AI chat. The AI can still solve the logic error without knowing your production keys.