IPFS Consortium proxy

This IPFS consortium tool allows you to jointly host IPFS data in a with a group of other IPFS users ( called a consortium ).

The IPFS consortium is configured by an array of participants in the consortium that can propose manifest files of IPFS hashes to be pinned by the members in the consortium.

What problems does IPFS Pinning Consortium try to solve ?

• A structured metadata format to describe consortium details and manifest files of IPFS hashes.
• A formal description of the metadata format (a JSON schema)
• A client utility to support and automate persisting data ( a.k.a pinning IPFS hashes )
• Proof of Persistence (TODO) : status reporting among consortium members

Installation

npm install ipfsconsortiumproxy

Configuration

Option 1 : Environment variables

You can set a number of environment variables to configure the script:

IPFSAPIHOST=localhost
IPFSAPIPORT=5001
WEB3HOSTWS="ws://localhost:8546"

Option 2 : .ENV file

Check / modify the settings in the enclosed .env-dist file

By default the IPFS API is assumed to be on localhost port 5001 using the HTTP protocol The Ethereum node connects through a websocket on localhost port 8546

Option 3 : command line parameters

ipfsconsortiumproxy \
 --ipfsapihost localhost \
 --ipfsapiport 5001 \
 --web3hostws "ws://localhost:8546" \

Type ipfsconsortiumproxy -h for more info about the available parameters.

Running

just type ipfsconsortiumproxy to start it up.

How does a consortium work ?

The consortium is configured by a config file ensconfig.json that lists a number of ENS names - that must resolve to an IPFS hash of the format /ipfs/<IPFShash>

This IPFS hash must resolve to a JSON payload of the format :

{
    "capacity" : "1000000000",
    "pin" : [
        "/ipfs/Qm....",
        "/ipfs/Qm....",
    ]

How can I create my own consortium ?

• Go to the IPFSConsortium chat on Riot ( see below ) and ask for help
• OR: Deploy your own payload to ENS - modify the config file and start your own consortium
• OR: Join an existing consortium - talk to people in our Riot channel

How can I help support the IPFS consortium ?

Running an IPFS node

Setup a local IPFS node + Ethereum node , install the script and start listening to one or more IPFS consortium ENS configurations.

Contributing to the development

We use ZenHub as a project management tool for this project.

• Install the ZenHub chrome plugin ( https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zenhub-for-github/ogcgkffhplmphkaahpmffcafajaocjbd )
• visit the project board : https://github.com/ipfsconsortium/pm/issues/2#boards?repos=106814113
• check the backlog and new issues pipeline

If you don't want to install this plugin , just check the issues on the project

Get in touch

• IPFSConsortium chat on Riot: https://riot.im/app/#/room/#ipfsconsortium:matrix.org