# ipfs/ipfs-desktop

An unobtrusive and user-friendly desktop application for IPFS on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Repository: https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs-desktop
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ipfs-desktop
Homepage: https://docs.ipfs.tech/install/ipfs-desktop/
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: menubar, ipfs, p2p, desktop, protocol, dweb, ipfs-desktop, ipfs-gui, ipns, pinning, unixfs
Last push: 2026-08-25T00:15:54+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 84, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4113, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 30, "gap_med": 41, "n_releases_24m": 18}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6563, forks 905 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:45.219260+00:00)

## What it is
IPFS Desktop is a user-friendly desktop application that bundles a complete IPFS node (Kubo) with a GUI file manager, peer map, and content explorer. It lets users store, share, and retrieve content-addressed files on the IPFS network without touching the terminal.

## Use cases
- run an ipfs node on my desktop without the command line
- pin files to ipfs with a gui
- share files via content identifiers
- browse and manage files on my ipfs node
- visualize my ipfs peers on a map
- download files by cid or ipns path
- publish a static site to ipfs from my computer

## When to choose
- you want an easy, GUI-based way to run an IPFS node on Windows, Mac, or Linux
- you want menubar/tray shortcuts and drag-and-drop importing to IPFS
- you are new to IPFS and want to explore the network without the terminal
- you want a control panel and file browser for an existing local IPFS node

## When to avoid
- you need a headless IPFS node for servers or VMs - use Kubo CLI or Docker instead
- you need fine-grained, scriptable control over node commands - Kubo's CLI and RPC API are more granular
- you only want ipfs:// support in your browser - IPFS Companion is the lighter option
- you need clustered or horizontally scaled IPFS infrastructure - use IPFS Cluster

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: gui, file-system, p2p, self-hosted, developer-tools
- domain: files, privacy, web-development, cross-platform, self-hosted
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: ipfs, p2p, dweb, content-addressing, pinning, ipns, menubar-app, electron, file-manager, decentralized-web, macos, linux, desktop

## Member repositories
- ipfs/ipfs-desktop (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:45.219260+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:44:02.937569+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs-desktop (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:45.219260+00:00, sha 3264f77a3662)
  - homepage: https://docs.ipfs.tech/install/ipfs-desktop/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.443262+00:00, sha 51596dd680c1)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.452460+00:00, sha b89d3d0e0e01)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/install (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.454229+00:00, sha 563d207cad62)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/quickstart/retrieve (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.455978+00:00, sha f049ae2a63b4)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/quickstart/pin (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.457592+00:00, sha 23a166e80a6e)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/quickstart/pin-cli (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.459401+00:00, sha 07d23706e5a2)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/install/ipfs-companion (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.461272+00:00, sha 23b3f1f277c5)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/install/command-line (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.462939+00:00, sha b55f71570a1d)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/install/run-ipfs-inside-docker (fetched 2026-08-29T08:40:35.464755+00:00, sha a6087a76dbf8)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.