IPFS concepts

New to IPFS or the distributed web? Here's where to get started on understanding the key ingredients in what makes IPFS work. Because IPFS is a system that hopes to change how we use the Internet, it comes with many new concepts! This section aims to get you up to speed quickly.

Video overviews

Want the basics in theater mode? Check out these helpful videos for an overview of how IPFS works with files and the overall data lifecycle in the d-web.

• Understanding how IPFS deals with files (IPFS Camp 2019) (opens new window)

• The lifecycle of data in the DWeb (IPFS Camp 2019) (opens new window)

• IPFS: A Whiteboard Overview (opens new window)

IPFS 101

Get the basic concepts of IPFS in one place, including:

• What is IPFS?
• How IPFS works
• IPFS primer (opens new window)
• Glossary
• FAQ

Examples and case studies

Get inspired by usage ideas, explore examples of IPFS implemented in the wild, and dig deeper with case studies on applications and projects in which IPFS plays a crucial role.

• Usage ideas & examples
• Case study: Arbol
• Case study: Audius
• Case study: Fleek
• Case study: LikeCoin
• Case study: Morpheus.Network
• Case study: OpenBazaar

Content-addressed storage

Referring to files by their content, not their location, is one of the most powerful concepts within IPFS. Learn why with explainers on:

• Content addressing
• Cryptographic hashing
• Immutability
• Persistence, permanence and pinning

Peer-to-peer file sharing

Sharing files between peers is incredibly powerful — and has many nuances! Learn about file-sharing paradigms and tools:

• Distributed Hash Tables (DHTs)
• Merkle DAGs
• Bitswap
• IPLD
• IPNS
• libp2p
• File systems

Integrating IPFS and the existing Web

IPFS aims to be the future of the internet, but it still needs to play well with today's Web. Here are some ways to do just that:

• IPFS Gateway
• DNSLink

Further reading

Want a more in-depth look into the decentralized web? Here are a few papers that are useful for understanding IPFS, whether it be understanding the IPFS spec itself or the background for the web, protocols, hashing, and so on. Read the papers →

You may also be interested in the community-made IPFS Primer → (opens new window)

Don't see what you're looking for?

We're adding more documentation all the time and making ongoing revisions to existing docs, but if you don't see what you need, please file an issue (opens new window) to let us know! We also recommend visiting the IPFS forums (opens new window) for support and discussion with IPFS enthusiasts and experts worldwide.