# ipfs/ipfs

Peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol

Repository: https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ipfs
Homepage: https://ipfs.tech
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: ipfs, p2p, ipld, multiformats, js-ipfs, protocol, paper, ipfs-protocol, ipfs-web
Last push: 2025-05-01T07:37:22+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 41/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 19, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4586, "days_push": 489, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 23055, forks 1548 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:34.375917+00:00)

## What it is
IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is an open peer-to-peer protocol and suite of tools for content-addressed storage and transfer of data without a central server. This repository serves as the umbrella project for the protocol, pointing to implementations like Kubo (CLI node), IPFS Desktop (GUI), IPFS Companion (browser extension), and SDKs like Helia and Boxo.

## Use cases
- share and retrieve files by content identifier without a central server
- host static websites and dapps on a decentralized network
- build resilient data sync across unreliable or offline networks
- publish verifiable, tamper-evident data with CIDs
- run a local IPFS node to pin and serve content
- add ipfs:// support to a browser via an extension

## When to choose
- you need content-addressed, verifiable data storage or transfer
- you want to publish sites or data resilient to single-server failure or censorship
- you are building decentralized applications that need p2p data addressing
- you need offline-tolerant file sync across distributed locations

## When to avoid
- you need a traditional centralized database with query capabilities
- you require guaranteed low-latency retrieval of frequently changing dynamic content
- you need strict data deletion guarantees, since content persists as long as any peer pins it
- you want a turnkey managed storage service rather than running nodes or using pinning services

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: stable
- function: networking, p2p, file-system, object-storage, developer-tools
- domain: microservices, networking, web-development, privacy, censorship-circumvention, files
- platform: cross-platform, windows, browser, cli, self-hosted
- tags: ipfs, content-addressing, peer-to-peer, distributed-file-system, ipld, multiformats, decentralized-web, protocol, cid, static-site-hosting, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- ipfs/ipfs (main) score 41

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:34.375917+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 2026-08-29T16:56:48.685533+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:34.375917+00:00, sha 390a662a3c96)
  - homepage: https://ipfs.tech (fetched 2026-08-29T07:55:07.285087+00:00, sha 7be716badf3b)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/ (fetched 2026-08-29T07:55:07.294782+00:00, sha b89d3d0e0e01)
  - site_page: https://docs.ipfs.tech/install/ipfs-desktop (fetched 2026-08-29T07:55:07.296866+00:00, sha 461804ceae39)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.