IPFS: A Review of Q1 2020 Highlights

The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) ( https://ipfs.io/ ) is a new hypermedia distribution protocol, addressable by content and identity. IPFS enables the creation of fully distributed applications. Its goal is to make the web faster, more secure, and more open. Due to the large scope, this weekly newsletter aims to track developments across the ecosystem.

This is what happens in the Interplanetary File System ecosystem! ?

New IPFS documentation beta is online

IPFS now has a redesigned documentation with a clean interface, better navigation, and most importantly, a re-release of a key feature: search.

Cluster collaboration

The first public collaboration clusters and the first iteration of the cluster site went live in January. For full documentation on how to set up and operate a cluster, see below:

cluster.ipfs.io/documentation.

go-ipfs 0.4.23 has been released

Just a small, neat patch release with some critical fixes before 0.5.0.

ipfs-update has been updated

Your favorite go-ipfs updater has a brand new update. Windows users should really like it.

Async await refactoring and other big refactorings coming soon

Luckily for you, we've put together a migration guide, along with some explanations of the changes that will be made and ways to implement them.

js-libp2p released 0.27

The async-await refactoring was first launched on js-libp2p.

IPFS Goes to Denver

First, with the help of Cryptorado, the IPFS community came together for the first Decentralized Web Summit to share our lessons learned and use cases.

Second, several of our favorite collaborators and members of the IPFS team made it to ETHDenver, where about half of the hackathon attendees used IPFS, including 3 winners.

IPFS Roadmap

IPFS 2020 Roadmap Content routing becomes our North Star, but that’s not all! Also, take a look at our ecosystem.

js-ipfs 0.41.0 released

The async-await refactor is finally live inside js-ipfs, this is the result of a massive refactor and worth celebrating!

We work with Netflix to improve IPFS Bitswap

Our task - a container distribution challenge that Netflix wanted to solve - was how to efficiently pull container images in a large-scale, multi-region environment.

Berty releases gomobile-ipfs

Aims to provide Android, iOS, and React-Native packages, allowing users to run and use the database of IPFS nodes on mobile devices.

Textile releases Buckets

Simple, dynamic data storage and management for IPFS. Built using IPFS and threads, Buckets provides users with dynamic data folders that are easy to use, interoperable, and shared through IPFS. There are some amazing features.

Fission starts testing a Discourse IPFS plugin

Add a Discourse forum plugin that can use IPFS to store files, using Fission's web API.

Temporal starts S3 on IPFS

This new feature allows you to do things like stream videos on IPFS, host dynamic websites, and even build an FTP server on IPFS.

New CID Tutorial from Protocol Academy

Additionally, the new tutorials include snazzy icons and toggles that make it easy to find non-coding content in Protocol Academy, including a multiple-choice analysis of the CID tutorial.

Testground v.02 released

Learn about Testground’s goal — to provide a set of tools for testing the next generation of P2P applications (i.e. Filecoin, IPFS, libp2p, and others), as well as their mission and roadmap.

Qri releases their biggest release ever

qri-desktop 0.4.0 was released with a bunch of new features and bug fixes. You can now use it to browse, search and clone datasets!

Unstoppable extension launched on Chrome browser

With their latest feature, you can surf the dweb in two easy steps!

The work of merging repos has begun

The js-ipfs team is starting to experiment with a lerna-style monorepo to reduce confusion about the number of repos that need to be reclaimed. This will take some time, but it will be worth it.

IPFS Zones and Replications Published by Pinata

For users who want even faster speeds and additional redundancy, Pinata now allows you to replicate your content across multiple nodes and multiple regions. Makes decentralization easier!

Rust IPFS emerges

Active full-time work has begun on a Rust-IPFS implementation based on rust-libp2p. Check out what you can contribute here! https://blog.ipfs.io/2020-03-18-announcing-rust-ipfs/?utm_source=IPFS+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1e0ec16a7a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_07_07_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cad54b2230-1e0ec16a7a-327528335

Wolfram Lang will provide support!

Stephen Wolfram announced in Version 12.1 of the Wolfram Language and Mathematica support for external file systems, specifically IPFS.

Introducing Ceramic Protocol

Thanks to its hybrid design that relies on IPFS/IPLD and various blockchains, Ceramic’s document graph is interoperable, scalable, permissionless, and low-cost.

IPFS is now available on Opera for Android

As we mentioned recently, having IPFS enabled by default out of the box in a production version of a major web browser is a big deal for us.

You can now use IPFS to host Gatsby and Vue applications

Thanks to hard work on some key plugins, you can now easily host Gatsby and Vue applications on IPFS using the path converter plugin.

1. The IPFS DevGrants beta version was successfully released, 5 bonuses were completed, 5 are under construction, 6 were approved, and most of them are still in progress.

Learn how to get paid for helping build IPFS by clicking the link below:

https://github.com/ipfs/devgrants?utm_source=IPFS+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1e0ec16a7a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_07_07_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cad54b2230-1e0ec16a7a-327528335

2. In the first quarter, we spent some time digging into where people are talking about IPFS and how we can better reach and serve them. You can learn more about the information ecosystem audit and its results in our community report.

3. playwright-test now allows you to run Mocha, zora, Tape and Benchmark.js scripts in real browsers

4. js-libp2p's starbust release

5. IPFS Desktop starts supporting Mac OS X Catalina.

Keep up the great work team! We can't wait to see what the next few months bring.

Q1 Community Phone Collection

Every Monday at 5pm UTC, the IPFS community comes together to share a new story about what people are doing with our favorite file system. In the past few months, we’ve had guests from Dapp Node, Infura, Robonomics, Qri, Fission, Fleek (formerly Terminal), Textile, Pinata, and more.

Next quarter we'll have talks from Berty, EDGI, Unstoppable Domains, Anytype, Microsoft, and more! Catch up on last quarter's community call, and we'll see you on Monday!

Q1 Interesting Readings

1. IPFS emerges as a tool for distributing container images: "Contributors added a new way to fetch blocks to the Bitswap protocol that cuts transfer times in half for a benchmark use case around container distribution. In previous versions of Bitswap, pulling a 300MiB image to 32 ingestion points took an average of 9.08 seconds. The optimized branch cuts that time to 3.16 seconds, 20% faster than DockerHub (3.93 seconds)."

2. Decentralized websites, how to host personal websites on IPFS: "IPFS introduces a content address scheme and a peer-to-peer network without a central server for information exchange. When other nodes need information, users using IPFS applications automatically act as servers for other nodes."

3. What is IPFS and how it changes the Internet: "IPFS is designed to fix HTTP problems and move the Internet toward a permanent web. Content is stored permanently, and no one entity controls or owns all the data."

4. How to deploy an uncensorable website for free: "I believe in a free and open internet, and to help keep it, we're going to learn how to deploy an uncensorable static website in just minutes using some free tools. To achieve censorship resistance, we're going to use IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), a distributed system for storing and accessing files, websites, and data."

5. IPFS and Docker: "With IPFS, you can share files without the need for centralized products like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Co. This means you don't need an account, and there are no size and bandwidth limits... This makes sharing files very convenient and secure."

Q1 Important Video

Go enjoy it!

1. How to use ipfs and how to store files, æternity Ekiti

2. Bring Your Own Data: A New Model for an Interoperable dWeb, Carson Farmer

3. "Point-to-Point Matrix Road", Matthew Hodgson

4. File exchange verification system based on IPFS Ethereum blockchain, Rumeel Hussain

5. Make IPFS work for you, Matt Ober

Next steps

So, what’s next for IPFS? Content routing remains our primary focus in 2020, and if you remember the roadmap, we’re very motivated by the progress our team and community of contributors have made over the past few months.

Bigger things are just around the corner, but more on that later. We’ve also invested heavily in the IPFS ecosystem, creating these working groups:

1. Browsers and Connectivity: Maximizing the availability and connectivity of IPFS on the web

2. Collabs & Community: Support IPFS users and create new opportunities through research, collaboration, and community engagement

3. Developer Experience and Maintainers: Support the IPFS technical community through documentation, contributor experience, API ergonomics, and tooling