IPFS

Conceptual diagram of a content-addressed peer-to-peer network, with replicated data blocks connected across nodes.

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a peer-to-peer protocol and addressing system for storing, locating and transferring verifiable data. Instead of identifying data primarily by the network location of a server, IPFS identifies a block of data by a cryptographic content identifier (CID). The design was introduced by Juan Benet in 2014 and combines ideas from distributed hash tables, content-addressed storage, Merkle directed acyclic graphs and peer-to-peer file exchange.

IPFS is not a blockchain and does not by itself provide permanent storage, consensus or financial incentives. It can be used by blockchain applications, but availability still depends on one or more nodes retaining and serving the requested data.

Content addressing

When content is added to IPFS, it is split into blocks and represented as a Merkle directed acyclic graph. Each block is addressed by a CID derived from the block's content and parameters describing the hash and codec. Changing the content produces a different identifier, allowing a recipient to verify that a retrieved block matches the requested CID.

Human-readable or mutable references can point to changing CIDs, but a CID itself refers to immutable content. Identical files do not necessarily receive identical CIDs if they were chunked, encoded or wrapped differently.

Discovery and transfer

IPFS nodes announce which content they can provide and locate providers through routing systems that commonly include a distributed hash table. After locating a provider, a node retrieves blocks through an exchange protocol and verifies them against their CIDs. The process separates content identity from any one host: several peers can serve the same verified block, and a client may change providers without changing the requested identifier.

Public HTTP gateways translate browser requests into IPFS retrievals. Gateways improve compatibility with ordinary web software, but a gateway can observe requests, impose limits or become unavailable; using one does not make access decentralized from the user's point of view.

Implementations and related projects

Kubo is a widely used IPFS implementation written in Go. Helia provides a modular JavaScript implementation. IPFS also shares components and specifications with projects including libp2p, IPLD and multiformats. Filecoin is a separate network that adds markets and proofs for storage; storing a CID on IPFS does not automatically create a Filecoin storage agreement.

Persistence, privacy and security

Content remains available only while a reachable provider retains it. Operators can pin data on their own nodes or contract with a pinning or storage service. A CID proves integrity, not availability, authorship, legality or accuracy.

Requests and provider records may reveal information about what a node seeks or serves. Publicly reachable content may also be replicated beyond the control of its original publisher. Applications handling confidential or personal information therefore need access control and encryption outside the basic IPFS content-addressing model.

Governance and infrastructure transition

The open specifications and implementations are maintained by multiple organizations and contributors. In August 2026, Interplanetary Shipyard said that its sponsored IPFS maintenance work would end on 30 September 2026 after Protocol Labs did not renew funding. Shipyard identified Kubo, Helia, Boxo, Rainbow and several public gateway and bootstrap services among the affected work. An IPFS project response described a planned shift toward specifications, conformance testing, implementation diversity and grant-supported public infrastructure. The transition concerns stewardship and hosted infrastructure rather than the validity of existing CIDs or the protocol's content-addressing design.

See also

• Distributed hash table
• Filecoin
• Peer-to-peer