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.

Please open a GitHub issue if you have ideas for how to support multiple files in a fetch-compliant way.

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://self', {method: 'publish', body: 'ipfs://CID/example.txt'})

You can publish to IPNS using the PUBLISH 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.