date | permalink | title | description | author | tags | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-04-10 |
/35-ipfs-companion-2-2-0/ |
IPFS Companion 2.2.0 brings window.ipfs to your Browser |
Lidel |
|
We are pleased to announce to everyone in our community that a new version of our browser extension has been released!
The API aims to be compatible with interface-ipfs-core, which means websites can now detect if the property exists in window context and opt-in to use it instead of creating their own js-ipfs node. It saves system resources and battery (on mobile), avoids the overhead of peer discovery/connection, enables shared repository access and more!
<iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/t1ldUp_mjDk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Make sure to read our notes on exposing IPFS API as window.ipfs, where we explain it in-depth and provide examples on how to use it your own dapp.
You can also play with simple demo apps that take advantage of window.ipfs
:
- IPFS Peer Map provides a visualization of
ipfs.swarm.peers
- PeerID-to-QRCode creates QR Codes based on
ipfs.id
- and obligatory TODO App, uses
ipfs.files
for storage
The Browser Action menu provides a toggle for switching between external IPFS node accessed over HTTP API and embedded, in-memory instance of js-ipfs.
The embedded node is great for quickly sharing files with someone, or for
testing a dapp that uses window.ipfs
without having to install and start up
your own IPFS daemon.
Power users can provide own config (eg. to enable experimental pubsub) via Preferences.
Note: The embedded node does not run when external node is selected. Every time you switch back to the embedded node, a new instance is created on-demand. It can take a few seconds for a brand-new node to find peers.
For a longer walkthrough of new features see Release Notes for v2.2.0.
Firefox | Chrome / Chromium |
---|---|
Would you like to contribute to the IPFS browser extension and don't know how? Well, there are a few places you can get started:
- Opt-in for builds from beta channel and create a new Issue if you notice a bug or room for improvement
- Check the issues with the
help wanted
label and see if you can grab something - See if there are any Open Questions at the end of latest Release Notes
- Improve accessibility by working on translations
- Hack with IPFS and show us what you made, especially with newly added
window.ipfs
!
The best place to ask your questions about IPFS, how it works and what you can
do with it is at discuss.ipfs.tech. We are also
available at the #ipfs
channel on Freenode.
That is all for this post. Thank you for being part of the community. Have a great day!