js-ipfs-fetch

Use the same fetch() API browsers provide for HTTP, but for IPFS

Watch the intro video: here

Example

const IPFS = require('ipfs')
const makeIpfsFetch = require('ipfs-fetch')

const ipfs = await IPFS.create()
const fetch = await makeIpfsFetch({ipfs})

const response = await fetch('ipfs://example CID here')
const text = await response.text()

console.log(text)

JS API

const fetch = makeIPFSFetch({ipfs})

The top level of the module exports a function to create instances of ipfs-fetch.

It takes an initialized ipfs instance which you can initialize somewhere in your code.

It will then return a fetch() function which conforms to The Web API, but with the twist that it supports ipns:// and ipfs:// URLs.

Fetch API

await fetch('ipfs://CID/example.txt')

If you specify a URL for a file (no trailing slashes), it will be loaded from IPFS and the content will be sent as the response body.

The response headers will contain a Content-Length header set to the size of the file.

await fetch('ipfs://CID/example/')

If you specify a URL for a folder (has a trailing slash), the folder will be enumerated from IPFS and an HTML page listing its various files will be rendered.

Hyperlinks to files/folders will be automatically generated as relative URLs.

Links will have a trailing slash for folders.

If the folder contains an index.html it will be served as a file instead of performing a directory listing.

await fetch('ipfs://CID/example/', {headers: {'X-Resolve': none}})

If you specify the X-Resolve: none header in your request, the resolution of index.html will be ignored and a directory listing will always be performed.

await fetch('ipfs://CID/example/', {headers: {Accept: 'application/json'}})

If you specify a URL for a folder, and set the Accept header to only contain application/json, the directory will be enumerated and the list of files/folders will be returned as a JSON array.

You can get the file/folder list out of the response using await response.json().

Names will have a trailing slash for folders.

await fetch('ipfs://CID/example.txt', {method: 'HEAD'})

If you set the method to HEAD, it will be like doing a GET request but without actually loading data.

This is useful for getting the Content-Length or checking if a file exists.

await fetch('ipfs://CID/example.txt', { headers: { Range: 'bytes=0-4' })

You can specify the Range header when making a request to load a subset of a file.

await fetch('ipfs:///example.txt', {methhod: 'post', body: 'Hello World!'})

You can upload files to IPFS by using POST messages.

The response body will contain the ipfs:// URL for your data.

await fetch('ipfs:///example/', {method: 'post', body: new FormData()})

You can upload several files to IPFS by using POST messages with a FormData body.

You can append to a FormData with formData.append(fieldname, content, 'filename.txt') where fieldname gets ignored (use something like file?), the content can either be a String, Blob, or some sort of stream. The filename will be the filename inside the IPFS directory that gets created.

The response body will contain the ipfs:// URL for the directory with your files.

await fetch('ipns://CID/example.txt')

You can specify an IPNS URL to have it resolve to whatever resource you wanted using the Inter-Planetary Naming System

await fetch('ipns://KEY_NAME', {method: 'POST', body: 'ipfs://CID/example.txt'})

You can publish to IPNS using the POST method.

The body should contain the ipfs:// URL you want to point to.

The response will be an ipns:// URL for your data.

It's best to point at directories when possible so that they can be treated as origins within browser contexts.

Specify the key name in the origin portion of the ipns URL. If the key doesn't exist, it will ge generated.

Please open a GitHub issue if you have ideas for how to do key import and export.

await fetch('ipns://KEY_NAME/example.txt', {method: 'POST', body: 'Hello World!'})

You can update some data in an IPNS directory using the POST method and a file path.

The body should be the contents of your file.

If this IPNS key has already had some data published under it, the CID for the directory will be fetched, and your file will be added on top.

This enables you to have mutable folders of data on top of IPFS+IPNS without having to juggle CIDs and merge data in your application.

await fetch('ipns://KEY_NAME/example', {method: 'POST', body: new FormData()})

You can upload several files to IPNS using the POST with a FormData body.

Similar to ipfs you can append serveral files and update an existing IPFS folder with your new data.