Suggesting a live discussion about js-ipfs connecting to mainnet and local browser extensions and nodes out of the box.
We are confirmed for: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 5:30 PM
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Notes / background on related issues from Fission’s early research.
What we are trying to accomplish is to have really great native IPFS support with js-ipfs. By native, we mean IPFS connections, not HTTP gateway connections. This is all likely related to the IPFS in Browser mission.
Fission Background
By default js-ipfs connects to 4 *.preload.ipfs.io , 4 bootstrap.libp2p.io , and 4 delegate nodes. We have been told that those are demo servers, so Fission runs WSS on our core IPFS servers and connects to them automatically when we initialize a js-ipfs instance.
We also set things up with a (shared) web worker so that one instance of js-ipfs is shared in an iframe across apps / subdomains that are on Fission.
We use js-ipfs to “pin” locally, and then publish updates to our end point, which updates a _dnslink per user. Additionally we run a Fission IPFS node that pins all the user’s data.
Brooke spoke in depth at the IPFS Security WG for more details.
libp2p has disabled ws connections by default
See https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p-websockets/releases/tag/v0.15.0 breaking changes. We need to override this when we want to connect to the user’s local ipfs node.
Can’t connect to local nodes
Because there’s no listener for web sockets by default.
Neither WS or WSS.
Ideally the transport should be enabled by default.
IPFS Companion window.ipfs support
Can’t connect to IPFS companion because window.ipfs is disabled.
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Live notes from call https://hackmd.io/5r1NtTuuSYeAQ955dRatnw?both
Cut / Paste of Markdown from HackMD
js-ipfs local node connectivity review
- What the plan to make companion to work ?
- making js-ipfs work with the whole stack ?
- Work natively with network
js-ipfs bootstrap servers?
- Who runs them?
- Vasco: rendezvous?
- less of a centralization point
- rendezvous discovery – eg. webrtc-* – centralized solution
- set of rendezvous servers, you register, you can also discover people who provide the service
- use them as bootstrap nodes – register the peers that are important, other peers can find them, by making a query
js-ipfs pubsub? which servers
- register and discover
- register – it’s a string – pubsub and topic
- register in the rendezvous server as providing pubsub? not just pubsub, but the topic that is being available
bootstrap servers aren’t going away
http delegates are flaky
webrtc needs to be run ourselves
Dashboard of bootstrap nodes
Like http gateways
Leveraging Brave, IPFS Companion
Lidel is working on this?
Browser js-ipfs <–> full node in Brave / IPFS Companion, this should work out of the box!
ipfs.provider – then it spins up locally
All the stuff in the browser isn’t in the local node?
Pin everything in Fission IPFS in the cloud <–> local node, pin everything
Why local nodes?
More capable - storage, caching, connectivity to network
Offline
mDNS – discover each other
Discovery – like bootstrap – Default to trying to discover peers to IPFS Companion, Brave? Same ports available
Like mDNS – try discovery from browser – dial localhost, known ports
Try and create Circuit Relay with local node? UDP on localhost?
QUIC / websockets
IPFS Companion – not more powers, but daemon, systray, go-ipfs – browser node could leverage
When Fission app is trying to connect to it – instead of rejecting, using a native UI, give it permission, store data on disk – can accept connections for those. By creating Circuit Relay you get more powerful capabalities.
IPFS Cluster – some overlap with “follow”
Get users to progressive adopt a local node
Local node as cluster endpoint? That’s for sync
Circuit Relay – this is for systray local app
HTTP API to configure Circuit Relay
Identity Dapps – identifying where the gaps are?
Fleek – building similar things, Space
Brave – Lidel. No story of node sharing with content.
- problem of isolation isn’t solved
- even if you do a desktop thing – assumption is in full control? CSP when you load – not access to read or write into it
- everyone write and delete – spying issues
Funded person?
yes! find scope going forward
ws / localhost
Leveraging ws://localhost provided by local IPFS node · Issue #177 · ipfs/in-web-browsers · GitHub
treat localhost as not secure for some browsers
dial a peer? can configure it as a delegate, but can’t connect to it
Configure it as a relay
Storytelling – what are the needs?
Help team talk about challenges! Collect more needs and stories
go-ipfs / js-ipfs do the forwarding?
Have to configure being a relay? Be a relay for local by default?
PeerIDs, exchange keys, then they relay
Pinning services should do this, too
Which repo to use?
Lidel
Pitches from community?
Look for that
Links
Gozala Symbiotic network Symbiotic network - HackMD
Fission notes Js-ipfs local node connectivity review - #2 by boris