IPFS In Web Browsers Working Group

Tracking the Path to getting IPFS and other Decentralized Protocols Natively Supported in Web Browsers.

Goals

• Browser Users - Browser extension exposes IPFS features in a robust and intuitive form
• Web Developers - Ensure smooth experience for web developers in browser contexts
• Browser Vendors - Browser developers are addressing requirements of the distributed web

Current Status

Browser Extension

IPFS Companion is a browser extension that simplifies access to IPFS resources and adds support for the IPFS protocol.
It runs in Firefox (desktop and android) and various Chromium-based browsers such as Chrome or Brave.
Check its features and install it today!

Exciting ongoing work: Exposing IPFS API via window.ipfs, mozilla/libdweb: native protocol handler, local DNS-SD discovery and TCP transport

JavaScript Libraries

Currently in order to run IPFS in a web browser, you have to either bundle js-ipfs (full IPFS node in JS) with your client-side application or use js-ipfs-api (HTTP API client library) to connect to external daemon running on local or remote machine. Make sure to check /examples in both repos.

..in Service Workers

• Tracking related work: #55
  • Highlight: IPFS gateway fully running on a Service Worker service-worker-gateway

IPFS Addressing in Web Browsers

See this memo. It specifies current set of URL conventions for the IPFS community.
We invite everyone to submit questions and suggestions for improvements via issues/PR.

DNSLink

DNSLink is mapping a domain name to an IPFS address by means of DNS TXT record.

Read DNSLink guide for details such as setting it up on your own website and DNSLink in IPFS Companion to see additional benefits of using our browser extension.

Resources

PM

• Meeting Notes
• ROADMAP
  • Quarterly Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)
• 

Related Endeavours

• IPFS Companion - A Web Extension to give your browser super powers.
• IPFS WebUI - The IPFS Dashboard
• js-ipfs - IPFS implementation in JavaScript
• HTTP API Documentation - When an IPFS node (go-ipfs or js-ipfs) is running as a daemon, it exposes an HTTP API that allows you to control the node and run the same commands you can from the command line.
  • js-ipfs-api - A client library for the IPFS HTTP API, implemented in JavaScript
• IPFS GUI Working Group - Unifying and leveling up IPFS interfaces and the user journey into the Distributed Web
• Dynamic Data and Capabilities in IPFS Working Group - building blocks that enable collaborative applications, providing solutions for security, identity, access control, concurrency, synchronization, offline and near-real-time collaboration on top of IPFS