InterPlanetary File System
content-addressable, peer-to-peer hypermedia distribution protocol
The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol, hypermedia and file sharing peer-to-peer network for sharing data using a distributed hash table to store provider information. By using content addressing, IPFS uniquely identifies each file in a global namespace that connects IPFS hosts, creating a distributed system of file storage and sharing.
IPFS allows users to host and receive content in a manner similar to BitTorrent. As opposed to a centrally located server, IPFS is built around a decentralized system of user-operators who hold a portion of the overall data. Any user in the network can serve a file by its content address, and other peers in the network can find and request that content from any node who has it using a distributed hash table (DHT).
In contrast to traditional location-based protocols like HTTP and HTTPS, IPFS uses content-based addressing to provide a decentralized alternative for distributing the World Wide Web.
History
IPFS was created by Juan Benet, who later founded Protocol Labs in May 2014. An alpha version was launched in February 2015, and by October of the same year was described by TechCrunch as "quickly spreading by word of mouth."
Network service provider Cloudflare started using IPFS in 2018 and launched its own IPFS gateway in 2022.
In March 2020, the Opera browser provided access to the centralized resources of the Unstoppable Domains provider by hosting content in IPFS.
Design
The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a decentralized protocol, hypermedia, and peer-to-peer (P2P) network for distributed file storage and sharing. By using content-addressing, IPFS uniquely identifies files in a global namespace that interlinks IPFS hosts, creating a hypermedia system that enables efficient and reliable data distribution.
The public source identifies “InterPlanetary File System” as content-addressable, peer-to-peer hypermedia distribution protocol. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around InterPlanetary, File and System.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21422344. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2022.
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This entry incorporates text from “InterPlanetary File System” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.