0x08 / 0x0eWhere do I put data so it cannot be deleted for me?
Decentralized Storage
Content-addressed and replicated storage networks, permanent archives and simple key-authenticated blob servers, and what each one actually guarantees.
Start here
Guides
Encrypting Files, Disks and BackupsEncryption at rest is what stands between a seized or stolen device and everything on it.
beginner
1 hour
Private File Sync and BackupMaintain useful working copies, limit what a remote storage host can read, and preserve a way back from mistakes.
intermediate
None
Publishing an Uncensorable WebsiteEvery single point of control is a point of censorship. Remove them one by one: the host, the domain, the location of the server, the format.
advanced
half a day
Technologies
IPFS and Filecoin
Deep dive
✓ Battle-tested
Arweave
Deep dive
Usable
BitTorrent for Archive Distribution
Deep dive
Usable
CryptPad
Deep dive
Usable
Hypercore and Hyperdrive
Deep dive
Usable
Hyphanet and Freenet
Deep dive
Usable
IPNS and DNSLink
Deep dive
Usable
Kiwix
Deep dive
Usable
Magic Wormhole
Deep dive
Usable
OnionSharealso in anonymity
Deep dive
Usable
Secure Scuttlebuttalso in identity
Deep dive
Usable
Sia and Storj
Deep dive
Usable
Swarm
Deep dive
Usable
Syncthing
Deep dive
Usable
Tahoe-LAFS
Deep dive
Usable
Blossom: Blob Storage on Nostr
Deep dive
Experimental
Radicle
Deep dive
! Cautionary
Reference and research
Directory27 curated links
Storage and retention
- IPFS persistence and pinning — How pins protect data from garbage collection and how retention differs from content addressing
- Filecoin documentation — Storage providers, economic incentives and cryptographic storage proofs
- Arweave — Project overview of its permanent information storage network
- Tahoe-LAFS source — Canonical repository for the encrypted distributed storage system
- Tahoe-LAFS documentation — Client and server setup, architecture and grid administration
Sync and collaborative data
- Syncthing — Folder synchronization between approved devices
- Automerge — Local-first synchronization with concurrent merging and document history
- Yjs documentation — Shared CRDT types, editor integrations and network providers
- CryptPad — Collaborative documents with client-side encryption
- Local-first software — Ink & Switch essay on local copies, offline work, collaboration and user control
- CryptPad security model — Client-side encryption, instance trust and visible connection metadata
Offline libraries
- Kiwix Reader — Read Wikipedia and other ZIM archives without an internet connection
- Kiwix Server — Serve ZIM archives to browsers on a local network with kiwix-serve
Replication libraries and blob servers
- Hypercore — Signed Merkle-tree logs with sparse replication and a truncation API
- Hyperdrive — Distributed filesystem APIs with version checkouts and explicit file downloads
- Hyperswarm — Topic-based peer discovery through a DHT and encrypted peer connections
- Blossom specifications — HTTP blob-server protocol using SHA-256 addresses and Nostr identities
BitTorrent specifications
- BEP 3: BitTorrent protocol — Torrent metadata, piece hashes, trackers and peer transfers
- BEP 5: DHT — Distributed peer contact discovery for trackerless torrents
- BEP 9: Metadata exchange — Fetching torrent metadata from peers and magnet link formats
- BEP 19: Web seeds — HTTP and FTP sources for torrent data
- BEP 52: BitTorrent v2 — SHA-256-based torrent metadata and per-file Merkle trees
Mutable names
- IPNS documentation — Signed mutable names, DHT and PubSub publication, validity and caching
- DNSLink specification — DNS TXT records that associate domains with content paths
Transfer and archive services
- Magic Wormhole documentation — Transfer-tool documentation, CLI usage and protocol specifications
- Internet Archive BitTorrent help — Archive torrent downloads, web seeds and problems caused by changed items
Encrypted file transfers
- Magic Wormhole protocol overview — Short-code PAKE authentication and encrypted peer-to-peer or relayed transfers