Quick IPFS

Concepts

• IPFS ! = Blockchain
  • Blockchain serves on-chain data
  • IPFS serves off-chain data
  • IPFS provides an option of saving big volume datas for blockchain.
• IPFS ! = Filecoin
  • IPFS focuses on addressing, which means it can find the location the content, but it can't guarantee that content is available.
  • Filecoin which focuses on storage is similar to a decentralized cloud drive.
  • They are complementary.
• Contents on public IPFS are always accessible as long as you can get the addresses.
  • Setting up a private IPFS is possible, but meaningless.
• How to use:
  1. add file, a cid will be returned
  2. use the cid to access the file
• Typical scenarios
  • NFT Metadata
  • Off-Chain data

Content Addressing

• IPFS addresses are derived from file content hashes (CIDs), so they are automatically de-duplicated.
• Two formats:
  • IPFS: ipfs://<hash>
  • IPNS: ipns://<domain>
• With the help of HTTP Gateways, contents can be shown in browsers, examples:
  • https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/
  • https://ipfs.io/ipns/ipfs.io/
• Common HTTP Gateways:
  • https://cloudflare-ipfs.com
  • https://ipfs.io
• Public HTTP Gateway Checker
• HTTP Gateway speed ranking

Pinning Services

• "pin" is "save" , happening on one or more nodes.
• Files that not pinned are only in cache and will be removed in future.
• It is impossible to force a third party node to perform a "pin".
• In addition to your own nodes, third party services are also available.
• Typical pinning services:
  • paid
    • infura
    • pinata
    • morails
  • free
    • nft.storage

References

• Cloudflare IPFS Gateway
• An Introduction to IPFS
• IPFS Official Website
• NFT Storage
• Storage: Free Decentralized Storage for NFTs
• Pinata Docs
• Morails IPFS
• Infura IPFS Documentation (1.0.0)