Brave browser integrates InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

The Brave browser has more than 20 million users and has begun to support the native IPFS protocol, making it easier and simpler for people to use the distributed network. This implementation marks an important step in the development of a more resilient, user-first Internet.

The IPFS protocol is still under development and improvement. I believe that many people often encounter practical problems in their daily Internet access, such as network interruptions or 404, filtering of important information (such as COVID-19 news), high Internet costs, and sharing and collaboration functions in disconnected and offline environments.

These aren’t issues that everyone faces, and those who aren’t aware of them at all may not understand why IPFS is so important. But for those who desperately need a resilient, open internet that gives them control over their online experience, IPFS can now be installed on the Brave browser with just a click.

IPFS in the Brave Browser

Brave has integrated IPFS into its desktop web browser for Windows, macOS, and Linux. When Brave detects an address that is an HTTP gateway URL for IPFS content, or a native IPFS address (e.g. the user will be prompted to install and enable a native IPFS node or use an HTTP gateway), the default gateway used is dweb.link, which is run by Protocol Labs.

Users can also specify a gateway of their choice in the browser settings. You can access the IPFS management UI, or enable IPFS Assistant and select the "My Node" button in the main menu .

Why choose a web browser?

Modern web browsers enable experimentation, innovation, and new models of collaboration and value exchange on the Internet. The ubiquity of the Web runtime and the low barriers to content creation make it ideal for simplifying access to content and applications for creators and consumers.

However, the underlying protocol of the current Web is HTTP, which gives publishers full control over service availability and data access, leaving end users to passively receive. IPFS changes this dynamic by enabling direct communication and sharing between users through a collaborative public network.

The Web today does not allow for this type of architecture and is very slow to change. Brave joining IPFS is an important step for every independent individual to redefine the power dynamics of today’s Internet architecture.

A long road

Changing your network is difficult and takes a long time.

The goal of making IPFS easy to use as a native web protocol is ambitious, but we’re making progress all the time. This launch from Brave is the culmination of years of hard work understanding how IPFS works in the browser, what the security model requires, experimenting with different embedding methods, and working with browser vendors to make it possible.

Use cases first emerged from the AreWeDistributedYet project, where many distributed web applications contribute to these alternative protocols and support them through browsers. The latest version of the source code repository provides access to the file content we continue to optimize IPFS. In 2019, we reviewed our progress, Brave added support for IPFS Companion, Opera also announced plans to support IPFS, and announced other experimental projects and browsers of interest.

In March 2020, Opera released native addressing for IPFS in their Android browser, a first for the protocol. This was a big step forward, but it still used HTTP to connect to the IPFS network, so it didn’t offer all the benefits that IPFS could bring when used natively.

In 2020, we began working with Igalia to fix problems in the browsers themselves — identifying compatibility issues, interoperability gaps, security model ambiguities, and missing APIs that were preventing progress on the distributed web. Their expertise has resulted in a number of fixes for the Chromium, Webkit, and Gecko open source projects that are not only helping IPFS and dweb projects, but making the web better for all developers.

The future is worth looking forward to

The initial version of native support for IPFS in Brave provides basic node functionality. There is still a lot of work to be done, here are some of the things IPFS plans to do this year, and the areas it wants to try:

• Improve performance and stability, reduce memory, CPU and bandwidth usage

• Simplify publishing and sharing IPFS content in the browser UI

• Adds features for revisiting, co-hosting, and offline/local collaboration

• Defining the application model for IPFS web applications

• Try to integrate the functions and economic models of Basic Attention Token and Vault

• Developing a secure and private user interface and visual language for IPFS in the browser address bar

• Adding IPFS support to Brave's Android browser

If all the above tasks are successfully implemented, the user experience will be significantly improved, which will make the crypto world even more exciting.