InterPlanetary File System
 | |
| Original author(s) | Juan Benet and Protocol Labs |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Protocol Labs |
| Stable release | 0.4.19
/ 1 March 2019 |
| Repository | github |
| Written in | Protocol implementations: Go (reference implementation), JavaScript, C,[1] Python Client libraries: Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, Scala, Haskell, Swift, Common Lisp, Rust, Ruby, PHP, C#, Erlang |
| Operating system | FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, Windows |
| Available in | Go, JavaScript, Python |
| Type | Protocol, distributed file system, content delivery network |
| License | MIT license |
| Website | ipfs.io |
| Part of a series on |
| File sharing |
|---|
 |
| Technologies |
| Video sharing sites |
| BitTorrent sites |
| Academic/scholarly |
| File sharing networks |
| P2P clients |
| Streaming programs |
| Anonymous file sharing |
| Development and societal aspects |
| By country or region |
| Comparisons |
InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol and network designed to create a content-addressable, peer-to-peer method of storing and sharing hypermedia in a distributed file system.[2] Similar to a torrent, IPFS allows users to not only receive but host content. As opposed to a centrally located server IPFS is built around a decentralized system of user-operators who hold a portion of the overall data, creating a resilient system of file storage and sharing.
IPFS is a peer-to-peer distributed file system that seeks to connect all computing devices with the same system of files. IPFS could be seen as a single BitTorrent swarm, exchanging objects within one Git repository. In other words, IPFS provides a high-throughput, content-addressed block storage model, with content-addressed hyperlinks.[3]
The filesystem can be accessed in a variety of ways, including via FUSE and over HTTP.[3]
In 2019 the project has been criticized for being "still not usable for websites" in spite of attracting huge investments and creating an "overextended, under-documented, and unfinished constellation of projects".[4]
Notable users
- The Catalan independence referendum, taking place in September–October 2017, was deemed illegal by the Constitutional Court of Spain and many related websites were blocked. Subsequently, the Catalan Pirate Party mirrored the website on IPFS to bypass the High Court of Justice of Catalonia order of blocking.[5][6]
- IPFS was used to create a mirror of Wikipedia, which allows people living in jurisdictions where Wikipedia is blocked to access the content of Wikipedia.[7] That archived version of Wikipedia is a limited immutable copy that cannot be updated.
- Filecoin, also inter-related to IPFS and developed by Juan Benet and Protocol Labs, is an IPFS-based cooperative storage cloud.[8]
- In September 2018, Cloudflare launched an IPFS gateway,[9] as well as an IPFS-backed version of their services.[10] The gateway permits https read access to most types of files located within IPFS (but e.g. not to streaming video files).
References
- ^ Agorise (23 October 2017). "c-ipfs: IPFS implementation in C. Why C? Think Bitshares' Stealth backups, OpenWrt routers (decentralize the internet/meshnet!), Android TV, decentralized Media, decentralized websites, decent." Github.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Finley, Klint (20 June 2016). "The Inventors of the Internet Are Trying to Build a Truly Permanent Web". Wired.
- ^ a b Allison, Ian (13 October 2016). "Juan Benet of IPFS talks about Filecoin". Ibtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ MacWright, Tom. "IPFS, Again". macwright.org. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- ^ Balcell, Marta Poblet (5 October 2017). "Inside Catalonia's cypherpunk referendum". Eureka Street.
- ^ Hill, Paul (30 September 2017). "Catalan referendum app removed from Google Play Store". Neowin. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ Dale, Brady (10 May 2017). "Turkey Can't Block This Copy of Wikipedia". Observer Media. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ Johnson, Steven (16 January 2018). "Beyond the Bitcoin Bubble". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ "Cloudflare goes InterPlanetary - Introducing Cloudflare's IPFS Gateway". The Cloudflare Blog. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ "End-to-End Integrity with IPFS". The Cloudflare Blog. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
External links
- Official website, IPFS.io
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