We are pleased to announce to everyone in our community that a new version of our
browser extension has been released!

🔦 Highlights

Your node is exposed as window.ipfs on every webpage

The API aims to be compatible with interface-ipfs-core (opens new window),
which means websites can now detect if the property exists in window context
and opt-in to use it instead of creating their own js-ipfs (opens new window) node.
It saves system resources and battery (on mobile), avoids the overhead of peer
discovery/connection, enables shared repository access and more!

Make sure to read our notes on exposing IPFS API as window.ipfs (opens new window),
where we explain it in-depth and provide examples on how to use it your own dapp.

You can also play with simple demo apps that take advantage of window.ipfs:

• IPFS Peer Map (opens new window) provides a visualization of ipfs.swarm.peers
• PeerID-to-QRCode (opens new window) creates QR Codes based on ipfs.id
• and obligatory TODO App (opens new window), uses ipfs.files for storage

Embedded js-ipfs Node

The Browser Action menu provides a toggle for switching between external IPFS
node accessed over HTTP API and embedded, in-memory instance of js-ipfs.

The embedded node is great for quickly sharing files with someone, or for
testing a dapp that uses window.ipfs without having to install and start up
your own IPFS daemon.
Power users can provide own config (eg. to enable experimental pubsub) via Preferences.

Note: The embedded node does not run when external node is selected.
Every time you switch back to the embedded node, a new instance is created
on-demand. It can take a few seconds
for a brand-new node to find peers.

…and more!

For a longer walkthrough of new features see Release Notes for v2.2.0 (opens new window).

Install it today!

Firefox	Chrome / Chromium
(opens new window)	(opens new window)

Want to contribute?

Would you like to contribute to the IPFS browser extension and don't know how? Well, there are a few places you can get started:

• Opt-in for builds from beta channel (opens new window) and create a new Issue (opens new window) if you notice a bug or room for improvement
• Check the issues with the help wanted label (opens new window) and see if you can grab something
• See if there are any Open Questions at the end of latest Release Notes (opens new window)
• Improve accessibility by working on translations (opens new window)
• Hack with IPFS and show us what you made (opens new window), especially with newly added window.ipfs!

Do you have questions?

The best place to ask your questions about IPFS, how it works and what you can
do with it is at discuss.ipfs.tech (opens new window). We are also
available at the #ipfs channel on Freenode.

That is all for this post. Thank you for being part of the community. Have a great day!