The web of tomorrow needs IPFS today

IPFS aims to surpass HTTP in order to build a better web for all of us.
Today's web is inefficient and expensive

HTTP downloads files from one computer at a time instead of getting pieces from multiple computers simultaneously. Peer-to-peer IPFS saves big on bandwidth — up to 60% for video — making it possible to efficiently distribute high volumes of data without duplication.

Today's web can't preserve humanity's history

The average lifespan of a web page is 100 days before it's gone forever. It's not good enough for the primary medium of our era to be this fragile. IPFS keeps every version of your files and makes it simple to set up resilient networks for mirroring data.

Today's web is centralized, limiting opportunity

The Internet has turbocharged innovation by being one of the great equalizers in human history — but increasing consolidation of control threatens that progress. IPFS stays true to the original vision of an open, flat web by delivering technology to make that vision a reality.

Today's web is addicted to the backbone

IPFS powers the creation of diversely resilient networks that enable persistent availability — with or without Internet backbone connectivity. This means better connectivity for the developing world, during natural disasters, or just when you're on flaky coffee shop wi-fi.

What do you want to do with IPFS?

Get started now, with these helpful resources.
Publish files on the Internet without worrying if they will be tampered with, and share them with others.
Store and work with large data sets without relying on a single centralized host.
Use IPFS in your application or service to build amazing things on the decentralized web.
Don't see your goal here? The IPFS open-source community is here to help you get on your way.

Here's how IPFS works

Take a look at what happens when you add a file to IPFS.
Your file, and all of the blocks within it, is given a unique fingerprint called a cryptographic hash.
IPFS removes duplications across the network.
Each network node stores only content it is interested in, plus some indexing information that helps figure out which node is storing what.
When you look up a file to view or download, you're asking the network to find the nodes that are storing the content behind that file's hash.
You don't need to remember the hash, though — every file can be found by human-readable names using a decentralized naming system called IPNS.

Take a closer look

Want to dig in?
Check out the docs
Hands-on learner?
Explore ProtoSchool
Curious where it all began?
Read the whitepaper

Implementations

Apps and extensions

Desktop app

IPFS Desktop is an easy-to-use app that enables you to run an IPFS node on your computer without having to bother with command-line tools. Powered by the Web UI.
Browser extension

Upgrade your browser with IPFS superpowers! The IPFS Companion extension connects your local IPFS installation with your favorite web browser, enabling you to open ipfs:// URLs and more.

IPFS Cluster

Ideal for servers or large datasets, IPFS Cluster automatically allocates, replicates, and tracks your data as pinsets across multiple IPFS nodes. It's both a standalone app and a command-line client.

Go and JavaScript

Go implementation

go-ipfs is the main implementation of IPFS. It includes a core implementation, a daemon server, command line tooling, and more.
JavaScript implementation

js-ipfs paves the way for the browser implementation of IPFS. Written entirely in JavaScript, it opens the door to a world of possibilities.

IPFS can help here and now

No matter what you do with the web, IPFS is useful today.
Archivists

IPFS provides deduplication, high performance, and clustered persistence — enabling you to store the world's information in a way future generations can rely on.

Service providers

Does your company deliver large amounts of data to users? IPFS provides secure content delivery using a peer-to-peer approach that could save you millions in bandwidth.

Researchers

If you're working with, distributing, or analyzing large data sets, IPFS can help provide fast performance and decentralized archiving.

Developing world

High-latency networks are a major barrier of entry to the developing world. IPFS provides resilient access to data, independent of low latency or connectivity to the backbone.

Blockchains

IPFS lets you address large amounts of data and place the immutable, permanent links into blockchain transactions. This timestamps and secures content without having to put the data itself on the chain.

Content creators

IPFS brings the freedom and independent spirit of the web at full force — and it can help you deliver content while saving considerable cost.

News and more

IPFS Starlog
  1. 19 September 2019 IPFS Desktop 0.9 released
  2. 18 September 2019 IPFS Camp course videos released 🍿
  3. 17 September 2019 IPFS Weekly 59
  4. 10 September 2019 IPFS Weekly 58
Coverage
  1. TechCrunch Why The Internet Needs IPFS Before It’s Too Late
  2. Motherboard IPFS Wants to Create a Permanent Web
  3. MakeUseOf Faster, Safer, Decentralized Internet With IPFS
Videos