ipfs-deploy

Upload static website to IPFS pinning services and optionally update DNS.

The goal of ipfs-deploy is to make it as easy as possible to deploy a static website to IPFS.

Table of Contents

1. Install
   1. No install
2. Usage
   1. Supported Pinning Services
   2. Supported DNS Services
3. API
4. Security
5. Contributing
   1. Contributors
   2. Add a Pinning Service
   3. Add a DNS Provider
6. Users
7. License

Install

npm install -g ipfs-deploy

Or

yarn global add ipfs-deploy

You can call it either as ipd or as ipfs-deploy:

ipd public/
ipfs-deploy public/

No install

You can run it directly with npx without needing to install anything:

npx ipfs-deploy _site

It will deploy to a public pinning service and give you a link to ipfs.io/ipfs/your-hash so you can check it out.

Usage

You can get started just by typing out ipd and it will have smart defaults. By default, it deploys to Infura, which doesn't need signup and you'll get a link like ipfs.io/ipfs/QmHash that you can use to see if everything went ok.

When you don't specify a path argument to deploy, ipfs-deploy tries to guess it for you based on the build directories used by the most popular static site generators by the following order:

Path	Static generators
_site	jekyll, hakyll, eleventy
site	some others
public	gatsby, hugo, hexo
dist	nuxt
output	pelican
build	create-react-app, metalsmith, middleman
website/build	docusaurus
docs	many others

Some pinning services and DNS providers require signup and additional environment variables to be set. We support and use .env files. Read the section bellow to find out about which services are supported and how to enable them.

For further information about the CLI, please run ipfs-deploy --help.

Supported Pinning Services

Some things to keep in mind:

• Please note the __ (double underscore) between some words (such as after PINATA and CLOUDFLARE).
• Don't commit the .env file to source control unless you know what you're doing.

These services are subject to their terms. Not a decentralization nirvana by any stretch of the imagination, but a nice way to get started quickly with a blog, static website, or frontend web app.

Infura

Infura is a freemium pinning service that doesn't require any additional setup. It's the default one used. Please bear in mind that Infura is a free service, so there is probably a rate-limiting.

How to enable

Use flag -p infura.

Pinata

Pinata is another freemium pinning service. It gives you more control over what's uploaded. You can delete, label and add custom metadata. This service requires signup.

Environment variables

IPFS_DEPLOY_PINATA__API_KEY=<api key>
IPFS_DEPLOY_PINATA__SECRET_API_KEY=<secret api key>

How to enable

Use flag -p pinata.

Fission

Fission is a backend-as-a-service that uses IPFS and supports pinning. This service requires signup.

Environment variables

IPFS_DEPLOY_FISSION__USERNAME=<username>
IPFS_DEPLOY_FISSION__PASSWORD=<password>

How to enable

Use flag -p fission.

IPFS Cluster

You can use IPFS Cluster to pin your website. It can be either self-hosted or just any IPFS Cluster you want.

Environment variables

IPFS_DEPLOY_IPFS_CLUSTER__HOST=<multiaddr>
IPFS_DEPLOY_IPFS_CLUSTER__USERNAME=<basic auth username>
IPFS_DEPLOY_IPFS_CLUSTER__PASSWORD=<basic auth password>

How to enable

Use flag -p ipfs-cluster.

DAppNode

DAppNode is not a centralized IPFS provider. It is an operation system that allows you to effortless host a number of decentralized apps on your own hardware. Default installation of DAppNode includes an IPFS node, available via VPN at ipfs.dappnode. If you can't reach the node make sure that you are connected to your DAppNode VPN.

How to enable

Use flag -p dappnode.

Supported DNS Providers

Cloudflare DNS

Cloudflare is a freemium DNS provider. Supports CNAME flattening for naked domains and integrates with their IPFS gateway at cloudflare-ipfs.com.

Bear in mind that Cloudflare IPFS doesn't host the content itself (it's a cached gateway), so a stable pinning service is needed if you don't want to rely on your computer's IPFS daemon's availability to serve your website.

In order to use a Cloudflare API token you need to grant zone read and dns edit permissions (both under the zone section). You also need to not restrict the zone resources to a specific zone. (This is because the list zones API call doesn't work if you only allow access to a specific zone and that is needed to look up the id of the zone you specify.)

Environment variables

# credentials
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__API_EMAIL=
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__API_KEY=
# or...
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__API_TOKEN=

# dns info
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__ZONE=
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__RECORD=

Example with top-level domain:

# cloudflare dns info
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__ZONE=agentofuser.com
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__RECORD=_dnslink.agentofuser.com

Example with subdomain:

# cloudflare dns info
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__ZONE=agentofuser.com
IPFS_DEPLOY_CLOUDFLARE__RECORD=_dnslink.mysubdomain.agentofuser.com

How to enable

Use flag -d cloudflare.

DNSimple

DNSimple is a paid-for DNS provider. They have no specific IPFS support, but allow the setting of DNS TXT records which underlies IPFS DNSLink.

Environment variables

# credentials
IPFS_DEPLOY_DNSIMPLE__TOKEN=

# dns info
IPFS_DEPLOY_DNSIMPLE__ZONE=
IPFS_DEPLOY_DNSIMPLE__RECORD=

Example with top-level domain:

# dnsimple dns info
IPFS_DEPLOY_DNSIMPLE__ZONE=agentofuser.com
IPFS_DEPLOY_DNSIMPLE__RECORD=_dnslink.agentofuser.com

Example with subdomain:

# dnsimple dns info
IPFS_DEPLOY_DNSIMPLE__ZONE=agentofuser.com
IPFS_DEPLOY_DNSIMPLE__RECORD=_dnslink.mysubdomain.agentofuser.com

How to enable

Use flag -d dnsimple.

API

This is still pretty unstable and subject to change, so I will just show how the executable currently uses the API.

const deploy = require('ipfs-deploy')

;(async () => {
  try {
    const deployOptions = {
      publicDirPath: argv.path,
      copyHttpGatewayUrlToClipboard:
        !(argv.clipboard === false) && !argv.C && !argv.noClipboard,
      open: !(argv.open === false) && !argv.O && !argv.noOpen,
      remotePinners: argv.pinner,
      dnsProviders: argv.dns,
      siteDomain: argv.siteDomain,
      credentials: {
        cloudflare: {
          apiKey: argv.cloudflare && argv.cloudflare.apiKey,
          apiToken: argv.cloudflare && argv.cloudflare.apiToken,
          apiEmail: argv.cloudflare && argv.cloudflare.apiEmail,
          zone: argv.cloudflare && argv.cloudflare.zone,
          record: argv.cloudflare && argv.cloudflare.record,
        },
        dnsimple: {
          token: argv.dnsimple && argv.dnsimple.token,
          zone: argv.dnsimple && argv.dnsimple.zone,
          record: argv.dnsimple && argv.dnsimple.record
        },
        pinata: {
          apiKey: argv.pinata && argv.pinata.apiKey,
          secretApiKey: argv.pinata && argv.pinata.secretApiKey,
        },
        fission: {
          username: argv.fission && argv.fission.username,
          password: argv.fission && argv.fission.password,
        },
        ipfsCluster: {
          host: argv.ipfsCluster && argv.ipfsCluster.host,
          username: argv.ipfsCluster && argv.ipfsCluster.username,
          password: argv.ipfsCluster && argv.ipfsCluster.password,
        },
      },
    }

    deploy(deployOptions)
  } catch (e) {}
})()

Security

We use dotenv to handle credentials. Don't commit your .env file to source control.

Contributing

Contributors

This project was initially started by @agentofuser, who made a lot of awesome work in here. Posteriorly, it was transferred to ipfs-shipyard. Thanks for starting this awesome project!

Everyone is welcome to contribute and add new features! See everyone who has contributed!

Add a Pinning Service

To add support to a new pinning service, you must start by creating a file with the name of the pinning service. Let's say it's called PinFree: create a file called src/pinners/pinfree.js with a content similar to this one:

module.exports = {
  name: 'PinFree',
  builder: opts => {
    // Validate the options. If bad, throw.
    // Return an api or the options you want to use later.

    return api
  },
  pinDir: async (api, dir, tag) => {
    // Pin a directory asynchronously, using the api
    // returned by builder and a tag.

    return hash
  },
  pinHash: async (api, hash, tag) => {
    // Pin an hash asynchronously, using the api
    // returned by builder and a tag.
    // Just throw an error if the service doesn't
    // support this action.
  },
}

Now, you have your pinner service almost set up. Go to src/pinners/index.js and add your pinner like this to the exports:

pinfree: makePinner(require('./pinfree')),

Finally, go to bin/ipfs-deploy.js and add pinfree to the list of supported pinners. Also, do not forget to update the README with the new options.

Add a DNS Provider

To add support to a new DNS service, you must start by creating a file with the name of the DNS service. Let's say it's called DNSFree: create a file called dnsfree.js with a content similar to this one:

module.exports = {
  name: 'DNSFree',
  validate: opts => {
    // Validate the options. If bad, throw.
  },
  link: async (domain, hash, opts) => {
    // DNSLink the domain to the hash using the
    // validated options.

    return {
      record: someValue,
      value: someOtherValue,
    }
  },
}

Now, you have your DNS service almost set up. Go to src/dnslink/index.js and add your pinner like this to the exports:

dnsfree: makeDnslink(require('./dnsfree')),

Finally, go to bin/ipfs-deploy.js and add dnsfree to the list of supported DNS providers. Also, do not forget to update the README with the new options.

Users

• agentofuser.com
• jaack.me
• Your website here

If you use this package to deploy your website, please send a pull request so I can add it to the Users section in the README. (I reserve the right to exercise discretion.)

License

BlueOak-1.0.0 OR BSD-2-Clause-Patent OR MIT © Agent of User

(The first two are the most permissive possible ever, more than MIT, which doesn't have a patent waiver. Use whichever satisfies your lawyer better.)