diff --git a/config.conf b/config.conf
index 8cb18a2b2..77c6b85ad 100644
--- a/config.conf
+++ b/config.conf
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 const port = 8000;
 const whitelist = ['127.0.0.1']; //Example for add several IP in whitelist: ['127.0.0.1', '192.168.0.10']
 const whitelistMode = true; //Disabling enabling the ip whitelist mode. true/false
+const basicAuthMode = false; //Toggle basic authentication for endpoints.
+const basicAuthUser = {username: "user", password: "password"}; //Login credentials when basicAuthMode is true.
 const autorun = true; //Autorun in the browser. true/false
 const enableExtensions = true; //Enables support for TavernAI-extras project
 const listen = true; // If true, Can be access from other device or PC. otherwise can be access only from hosting machine.
 
 module.exports = {
-  port, whitelist, whitelistMode, autorun, enableExtensions, listen
+  port, whitelist, whitelistMode, basicAuthMode, basicAuthUser, autorun, enableExtensions, listen
 };
diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index c7fd4a199..4ccadf8a9 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ const rimraf = require("rimraf");
 const multer = require("multer");
 const http = require("http");
 const https = require('https');
+const basicAuthMiddleware = require('./src/middleware/basicAuthMiddleware');
 //const PNG = require('pngjs').PNG;
 const extract = require('png-chunks-extract');
 const encode = require('png-chunks-encode');
@@ -194,6 +195,8 @@ const CORS = cors({
 
 app.use(CORS);
 
+if (listen && config.basicAuthMode) app.use(basicAuthMiddleware);
+
 app.use(function (req, res, next) { //Security
     let clientIp = req.connection.remoteAddress;
     let ip = ipaddr.parse(clientIp);
@@ -2395,6 +2398,10 @@ const setupTasks = async function () {
   
     if (autorun) open(autorunUrl.toString());
     console.log('SillyTavern is listening on: ' + tavernUrl);
+    if (listen &&
+        !config.whitelistMode &&
+        !config.basicAuthMode)
+        console.log('Your SillyTavern is currently open to the public. To increase security, consider enabling whitelisting or basic authentication.')
 
     if (fs.existsSync('public/characters/update.txt') && !is_colab) {
         convertStage1();
diff --git a/src/middleware/basicAuthMiddleware.js b/src/middleware/basicAuthMiddleware.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2f368214c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/middleware/basicAuthMiddleware.js
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/**
+ * When applied, this middleware will ensure the request contains the required header for basic authentication and only
+ * allow access to the endpoint after successful authentication.
+ */
+
+const {dirname} = require('path');
+const appDir = dirname(require.main.filename);
+const config = require(appDir + '/config.conf');
+
+const unauthorizedResponse = (res) => {
+    res.set('WWW-Authenticate', 'Basic realm="SillyTavern", charset="UTF-8"');
+    return res.status(401).send('Authentication required');
+};
+
+const basicAuthMiddleware = function (request, response, callback) {
+    const authHeader = request.headers.authorization;
+
+    if (!authHeader) {
+        return unauthorizedResponse(response);
+    }
+
+    const [scheme, credentials] = authHeader.split(' ');
+
+    if (scheme !== 'Basic' || !credentials) {
+        return unauthorizedResponse(response);
+    }
+
+    const [username, password] = Buffer.from(credentials, 'base64')
+        .toString('utf8')
+        .split(':');
+
+    if (username === config.basicAuthUser.username && password === config.basicAuthUser.password) {
+        return callback();
+    } else {
+        return unauthorizedResponse(response);
+    }
+}
+
+module.exports = basicAuthMiddleware;
\ No newline at end of file