IPFS

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol and peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system. IPFS uses content-addressing to uniquely identify each file in a global namespace connecting all computing devices.

IPFS allows users to not only receive but host content, in a similar manner 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, creating a resilient system of file storage and sharing. 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).

Upload to IPFS

There is a GitHub Action which allows to upload a DApp to IPFS on Marketplace.

Input parameters:

Parameter	Required	Service	Description
path	Yes		Directory’s path to upload.
service	No		Type of target service to upload. Supported services [ipfs, pinata, infura]. Default ipfs
timeout	No		Request timeout. Default 60000 (1 minute)
verbose	No		Level of verbosity [false - quiet, true - verbose]. Default false
host	No	ipfs	IPFS host. Default ipfs.komputing.org
port	No	ipfs	IPFS host’s port. Default 443
protocol	No	ipfs	IPFS host’s protocol. Default https
headers	No	ipfs	IPFS headers as json object. Default {}
pinataKey	Yes*	pinata	Pinata Api Key. Required for pinata service.
pinataSecret	Yes*	pinata	Pinata Secret Api Key. Required for pinata service.
pinataPinName	No	pinata	Human name for pin.

In order to use it, you need to add step to main.yml:

- uses: aquiladev/ipfs-action@v0.1.1
  id: upload
  with:
    path: ./build

There will be a build artifact on a runner after steps (usually in directory build or dist). You need to pass the directory as a path parameter.

The step will have hash output — it is needed for later use. Token ${{ steps.upload.outputs.hash }} can be used in next steps where upload is the id of current step.

Upload to IPFS Pinata pinning service

The same GitHub Action allows to upload a DApp to Pinata pinning service. Pinata simplifies immutable data with simple IPFS API and toolkit.

In order to use it, you need to add step to main.yml:

- uses: aquiladev/ipfs-action@v0.1.3
  id: pinata
  with:
    path: ./build
    service: pinata
    pinataKey: ${{ secrets.PINATA_KEY }}
    pinataSecret: ${{ secrets.PINATA_SECRET }}
    pinataPinName: {pin_name}

The output of the upload action is similar to the previous example.