IPFS is an open-source program implemented in several programming languages. The Go version, named Kubo, is the most popular implementation.
IPFS calculates hashes of files or folders to generate Content Identifiers (CIDs), which it then announces over a massive peer-to-peer network. Anyone with a CID can retrieve the corresponding files from the network.
Running an IPFS node to host files is straightforward. Simply visit Kubo's releases page to download and run the single executable binary file, available for all major operating systems.
No single IPFS node holds all files—each node only provides the CIDs it possesses. However, with IPFS nodes distributed worldwide, the entire network can host very large datasets. This technology, known as a distributed hash table, enables several interesting applications:
- Single file CIDs are used by many NFT projects. Each NFT image corresponds to a CID, and as long as computers host those files, the NFT images remain retrievable.
- CIDs can also represent entire folders, allowing IPFS to host complete websites (which are essentially folders containing HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other assets). Every website built with the Planet app is identified by a folder CID.
This is fundamentally different from HTTP. With HTTP, accessing specific content requires a server address. With IPFS, you only need the CID. The content may reside on any number of peers, not just a single server.
Planet includes the IPFS node software, allowing you to publish websites you build with Planet as CIDs. Other IPFS or Planet users can then access them through the distributed network.
Local Gateway
You can open any IPFS resource using the local gateway. Under File, select Open IPFS Resource.
This integrated IPFS node provides several useful local ports.
We have made minor adjustments to the port numbers to prevent conflicts with other programs that may utilize these ports, such as a pre-existing IPFS desktop application.
Port 18181
This port serves as the local gateway. You can use it to access content on the IPFS P2P network. Below are a few examples.
Access a specific CID
For example, the v4.2.08.0 release of Uniswap:
CIDv1: bafybeiepywaseoxbaccdblzm6thhqjelkwbamd3guh24wfzba2wwvz6hve
Access via Local Gateway:
http://localhost:18181/ipfs/bafybeiepywaseoxbaccdblzm6thhqjelkwbamd3guh24wfzba2wwvz6hve
Access IPNS
IPNS is the naming system utilized by IPFS, which can be accessed through the /ipns/ paths as demonstrated below:
ENS
If an ENS has its content hash pointing to a resource on IPFS, it can be accessed through an IPFS gateway in the following manner:
http://localhost:18181/ipns/vitalik.eth
DNS
If a DNS name has a DNSLink TXT record pointing to a resource on IPFS, it can be accessed through an IPFS gateway:
http://localhost:18181/ipns/docs.ipfs.tech/
IPNS
Blogs and websites published from Planet are IPNS. Other Planet users can simply use Follow Planet to receive the latest updates, or these can also be accessed through the local gateway. For example, the IPNS powered planetable.eth is:
k51qzi5uqu5dgv8kzl1anc0m74n6t9ffdjnypdh846ct5wgpljc7rulynxa74a
It can be accessed via the local gateway:
http://localhost:18181/ipns/k51qzi5uqu5dgv8kzl1anc0m74n6t9ffdjnypdh846ct5wgpljc7rulynxa74a
Port 5981
Kubo, the Go implementation of IPFS, exposes an HTTP RPC API that allows you to control the node and run the same commands that you can run from the command line.
You can access this API on port 5981. For example, the following cURL request would return the Identity of the node:
curl -X POST http://localhost:5981/api/v0/id
Origin Isolation
Origin isolation is an important security feature for decentralized app front-ends running on IPFS gateways. So, when you try to access a URL like this:
http://localhost:18181/ipfs/bafybeiepywaseoxbaccdblzm6thhqjelkwbamd3guh24wfzba2wwvz6hve
Kubo will return a redirect to transform the URL into this:
http://bafybeiepywaseoxbaccdblzm6thhqjelkwbamd3guh24wfzba2wwvz6hve.ipfs.localhost:18181/
However, Safari does not support this kind of URL as of this writing: *.localhost. This is a known issue recorded in the WebKit bug tracking system:
https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=160504
To prevent that redirect on Safari, you need to replace localhost with 127.0.0.1 so that the redirect will not occur:
http://127.0.0.1:18181/ipfs/bafybeiepywaseoxbaccdblzm6thhqjelkwbamd3guh24wfzba2wwvz6hve