The JavaScript implementation of the IPFS protocol
Upgrading from <=0.40? See the release notes for the list of API changes and the migration guide.
ipfs
is the core API, a CLI and a HTTP server that functions as a HTTP to IPFS bridge and an RPC endpoint.
If you want to integrate IPFS into your application without including a CLI or HTTP server, see the ipfs-core module.
Lead Maintainer
Table of Contents
Getting Started
We've come a long way, but this project is still in Alpha, lots of development is happening, APIs might change, beware of
Install
Installing ipfs
globally will give you the jsipfs
command which you can use to start a daemon running:
$ npm install -g ipfs
$ jsipfs daemon
Initializing IPFS daemon...
js-ipfs version: x.x.x
System version: x64/darwin
Node.js version: x.x.x
Swarm listening on /ip4/127.0
.... more output
You can then add a file:
$ jsipfs add ./hello-world.txt
added QmXXY5ZxbtuYj6DnfApLiGstzPN7fvSyigrRee3hDWPCaf hello-world.txt
Next Steps
- Read the docs
- Look into the examples to learn how to spawn an IPFS node in Node.js and in the Browser
- Consult the Core API docs to see what you can do with an IPFS node
- Visit https://dweb-primer.ipfs.io to learn about IPFS and the concepts that underpin it
- Head over to https://proto.school to take interactive tutorials that cover core IPFS APIs
- Check out https://docs.ipfs.io for tips, how-tos and more
- See https://blog.ipfs.io for news and more
- Need help? Please ask 'How do I?' questions on https://discuss.ipfs.io
Want to hack on IPFS?
The IPFS implementation in JavaScript needs your help! There are a few things you can do right now to help out:
Read the Code of Conduct and JavaScript Contributing Guidelines.
- Check out existing issues The issue list has many that are marked as 'help wanted' or 'difficulty:easy' which make great starting points for development, many of which can be tackled with no prior IPFS knowledge
- Look at the IPFS Roadmap This are the high priority items being worked on right now
- Perform code reviews More eyes will help a. speed the project along b. ensure quality, and c. reduce possible future bugs.
- Add tests. There can never be enough tests.
- Join the Weekly Core Implementations Call it's where everyone discusses what's going on with IPFS and what's next