IPFS Docs

# IPFS Desktop

IPFS Desktop bundles an IPFS node, file manager, peer manager, and content explorer into a single, easy-to-use application.

Use IPFS Desktop to get acquainted with IPFS without needing to touch the terminal — or, if you're already experienced, use the powerful menubar/taskbar shortcuts alongside the command line to make your IPFS workflow faster.

If you already have an IPFS node on your computer, IPFS Desktop will act as a control panel and file browser for that node. If you don't have a node, it'll install one for you. And either way, IPFS Desktop will automatically check for updates.

Status screen of IPFS Desktop

Files screen Explore screen Peers screen Settings screen Menubar/taskbar
Screenshot of the Files screen Screenshot of the Explore screen Screenshot of the Peers screen Screenshot of the Settings screen Screenshot of Mac/Windows menus

# Feature highlights

  • Start your node at system startup (Mac/Windows) and control it from your OS using the convenient menubar/system tray menu.
  • Quickly import files, folders, and screenshots to IPFS in a variety of convenient ways, including drag-and-drop and (for Windows) right-clicking a file/folder's icon.
  • Easily manage the contents of your node with a familiar file browser that offers quick shortcuts for renaming/moving/pinning files and folders, previewing many common file formats directly in IPFS Desktop, copying content IDs or shareable links to your clipboard, and more.
  • Quick download for CIDs, IPFS paths, and IPNS paths — choose Download... by right-clicking the IPFS icon on your computer's menubar, paste in a hash, and you're good to go.
  • Visualize your IPFS peers worldwide on a map depicting what nodes you're connected to, where they are, the connections they're using, and more.
  • Explore the "Merkle Forest" of IPFS files with a visualizer that lets you see firsthand how example datasets stored on IPFS — or your own IPFS files — are broken down into content-addressed pieces.
  • OS-wide support for IPFS files and links (on Mac, Windows, and some Linux flavors) automatically hands off links starting with ipfs://, ipns:// and dweb: to be opened in IPFS Desktop.
  • CLI Tutor Mode helps you learn IPFS commands as you go.

# Install instructions

To install IPFS Desktop, follow the specific instructions for your operating system. IPFS Desktop is built using the Electron framework (opens new window), so the application should work wherever Electron works.

Windows macOS Ubuntu
Windows icon macOS icon Ubuntu icon

Or, if you'd rather use a package manager, check this list of third-party packages maintained by the IPFS community.

# Windows

  1. Go to the IPFS Desktop downloads page (opens new window)

  2. Find the link ending in .exe for the latest version of IPFS Desktop:

    The IPFS Desktop download page.

  3. Run the .exe file to start the installation.

  4. Select whether you want to install the application for just yourself or all users on the computer. Click Next:

    The IPFS Desktop install options window.

  5. Select the install location for the application. The default location is usually fine. Click Next:

    The IPFS Desktop installation location window.

  6. Wait for the installation to finish and click Finish:

    The IPFS Desktop installation finished window.

  7. You can now find an IPFS icon in the status bar:

    The IPFS Desktop status bar menu in the Windows status bar.

The IPFS Desktop application has finished installing. You can now start to add your site.

# macOS

  1. Download the latest available .dmg file from the ipfs/ipfs-desktop releases page (opens new window)

    List of available download links in GitHub.

  2. Open the ipfs-desktop.dmg file.

  3. Drag the IPFS icon into the Applications folder:

    Drag-to-install window in MacOS.

  4. Open your Applications folder and open the IPFS Desktop application.

  5. You may get a warning saying IPFS Desktop.app can't be opened. Click Show in Finder:

    An error message showing that the computer cannot install the application.

  6. Find IPFS Desktop.app in your Applications folder.

  7. Hold down the control key, click IPFS Desktop.app, and click Open:

    Right click context menu of IPFS Desktop.app.

  8. Click Open in the new window:

    Open confirmation window.

  9. You can now find an IPFS icon in the status bar:

    The IPFS Desktop status bar menu in the macOS status bar.

The IPFS Desktop application has finished installing. You can now start to add your site.

# Ubuntu

While these instructions are specific to Ubuntu, they will likely work with most Ubuntu-related Linux distributions. For non-Ubuntu Linux distributions, check out the IPFS Desktop GitHub repository (opens new window) for install instructions.

# Install with .deb

  1. Download the latest .deb installer from the IPFS Desktop GitHub repository (opens new window).

  2. Double click to install the package with Ubuntu Software, or move into where you downloaded the installer and install from the command-line:

    sudo dpkg -i ./ipfs-desktop-[version]-amd64.deb

    Replace [version] with the version number of the IPFS package you just downloaded.

# Install using AppImage

WARNING

When installing IPFS Desktop using an AppImage executable, you will not have access to the command-line ipfs commands. This limitation is due to how AppImages work and how they containerize their processes.

If you are certain that you do not need to use the command-line ipfs commands, then go ahead and install the AppImage. Otherwise, consider using the deb installer ↑

  1. Download the latest .AppImage package from the IPFS Desktop GitHub repository (opens new window).

  2. Move into where you downloaded the .AppImage file, and make it executable:

    cd Downloads
chmod a+x ./ipfs-desktop-linux.AppImage

  3. Open the .AppImage by calling ./ipfs-desktop-linux.AppImage from the command-line:

    ./ipfs-desktop-linux.AppImage

    You can also run the .AppImage file by double-clicking on it in your file manager.

# Package Managers

Package Manager Command
Homebrew (opens new window) brew install ipfs --cask
Chocolatey (opens new window) choco install ipfs-desktop
Scoop (opens new window) maintained by @NatoBoram (opens new window) scoop bucket add extras && scoop install ipfs-desktop
AUR (opens new window) maintained by @alexhenrie (opens new window) ipfs-desktop

# Next steps

Now that you've got IPFS Desktop installed, you can start sharing files and interacting with other nodes on the network! Check out how to host a website using IPFS →

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