Building Blocks For a Better Web

A constellation of tools for content addressing.

Read the specs → open-source

Not a platform to migrate to. A property you add.

Every tool in the IPFS constellation agrees on three principles. Pick one to see it in motion, and grab the building blocks you need.

Hash around, and find out.

Change one character. Watch the whole CID change.
file → CID
sha-256 · 0 bytes
↓ drop a file or edit
anatomy of a CID
change one character……the digest changes completely →
get started ·
↗ Read the specCID, UnixFS, DASLspecs.ipfs.tech↗ Try DASLsimple profiledasl.ing

Addressing. Discovery. Transfer.

Self-certifying data publishing decomposes into three problems. IPFS solves each one independently and lets you swap the pieces. The CID is the only shared contract.

01 Addressing
→ What is the data?

Name data by what it is.

A Content Identifier (CID) is a self-describing cryptographic fingerprint. From a plain hash of a single byte to a Merkle DAG that proves an entire dataset, the CID is the contract between publisher and consumer. Anyone can mint one. Anyone can verify one.

CID self-describing hash UnixFS files & directories DASL a small, opinionated profile IPLD linked data
02 Discovery
→ Who has it?

Find who has it.

A CID alone does not move bytes. Discovery turns a hash into a list of providers willing to serve it. IPFS is plural here: a global open DHT, indexer-style HTTP routing, and newer routing systems compete and interoperate behind the same content-addressed contract.

Amino DHT open Kademlia DHT IPNI HTTP indexers at scale Delegated Routing HTTP API radicle-artifact P2P artifact discovery (Rust) Matadisco dataset discovery on atproto
03 Transfer
→ How do the bytes arrive?

Move the bytes.

Once a provider is found, fetch the blocks and verify them on arrival. The transport is interchangeable: HTTP gateways, libp2p with Bitswap, iroh-blobs over QUIC, RASL, even sneakernet. The CID is the integrity check; the wire is whatever fits the deployment.

HTTP Gateways request / response Bitswap block exchange over libp2p iroh-blobs QUIC-native transfer RASL streaming verifiable bytes

Pick the tool that fits the job.

The constellation is large. Filter by what you actually need to do: run a node, pin content, ship a static site, or embed transfer in your app.

Kubo

reference impl

The reference IPFS implementation in Go. A full-featured daemon for desktop, server, and infra deployments: DHT, Bitswap, gateway, and pinning all in one binary.

◆ full stackGo↗

Helia

Modular IPFS in TypeScript. Run a node directly in the browser or in Node. Pick the transports and routers you need, leave the rest behind.

◆ full stackTypeScript↗

iroh-blobs

A small, embeddable library for verified blob transfer over QUIC. Designed for apps, IoT, and streaming workloads where a full IPFS daemon is too much.

◆ transferRust↗

Omnipin

community

A decentralized pinning network. Submit a CID, get it persisted across many providers, with no single host to call and no single host to fail.

◆ full stack↗

ipfs-deploy-action

CI / CD

A GitHub Action that publishes a build directory to IPFS, returns the CID, and pins it. Drop it into a workflow and ship content-addressed sites on every push.

◆ full stack↗

IPFS Gateways

HTTP endpoints that resolve CIDs into bytes for any browser or curl. The bridge between content addressing and the location-addressed web.

◆ transfer↗

Running in science labs, game studios, art vaults, and low earth orbit.

Anywhere data needs to be verifiable, CIDs tend to show up. A sample of what teams have built with the IPFS tools at the core.

By the community, for the community.

IPFS is built in the open by a thriving community. Chat with builders, propose changes, and find the next event near you.

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Discord
Casual chat, project channels, and community Q&A.
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Forums
Long-form questions, RFCs, and proposals. Searchable and public.
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Calendar
Working group calls, in-person meetups, conferences, and IPFS Camp.
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Newsletter
A monthly digest of releases, RFCs, and what shipped across the network.
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YouTube
Recordings of working group calls, conference talks, and IPFS Camp sessions.