ipfs-gate

A standalone, Hive-payment-gated IPFS pinning service. Think of it as nGate for IPFS hosting — anyone can run one, anyone can use one, payment and identity are handled via the Hive blockchain.

⚠️ Pre-v0.1. Planning and architecture complete; code not yet written. The first working build will support encrypted jpeg attachments inside v4call rooms. See roadmap_status.md for current progress.

What it does

A user encrypts a file in their browser, pays a small fee (CNOOBS for v0.1, multi-currency later), and uploads the ciphertext to an ipfs-gate. The gate pins it to its local Kubo IPFS node for a configurable TTL. Anyone with the CID and the right decryption key can retrieve and decrypt.

Three things make ipfs-gate distinctive:

1. Hive identity + payment — uploads are gated on Hive signatures and on-chain payments. No accounts to sign up for, no credit cards, no email verification.
2. Standalone service — ipfs-gate doesn't know or care about v4call (or any other app). v4call is just the first client; other apps can use the same ipfs-gate.
3. Operator-owned + libre — each operator runs their own server. No central service, no SaaS dependency. MIT licensed.

The architecture in one diagram

[Sender browser]                                [ipfs-gate server]
  - Encrypts file in browser                      - Verifies Hive payment
  - Pays via Hive Keychain    ──HTTPS upload──►   - Pins to local Kubo
  - Gets back a CID                               - Returns CID

[Recipient browser]                             [ipfs-gate gateway]
  - Receives CID + key envelope                   - Serves ciphertext bytes
  - Fetches ciphertext         ──HTTPS GET───►    - (just an IPFS gateway)
  - Decrypts in browser

For v0.1, the integrating client is v4call. The v4call server routes a tiny envelope (CID + per-recipient encrypted decryption keys) over its existing Socket.io transport. The actual file bytes never touch v4call's infrastructure.

Status

• v0.1 (pre-build): planning + architecture complete, code not yet written. See roadmap_status.md.
• v0.2+: features sketched but explicitly deferred. See roadmap.

Use cases (current and prospective)

• Encrypted file attachments in v4call rooms (v0.1)
• Async voice/video messages between v4call users (v0.2+, inherits ipfs-gate transport)
• Cross-server file transfer between federated v4call peers (v0.2+)
• Any third-party app needing Hive-paid IPFS pinning — ipfs-gate is app-agnostic
• Paid public file sharing — operator can offer unencrypted public hosting as a tier
• Future: Filecoin-tier cold storage via adapter pattern (v0.5+)

Stack (all libre, all permissive)

• Node.js + Express — HTTP server
• Kubo (go-ipfs) — IPFS daemon
• better-sqlite3 — quota + payment ledger DB
• Nginx — reverse proxy, HTTPS termination
• Docker — deployment
• Hive — identity + payment
• Hive Keychain — browser-side payment authorization

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Project context

• Repository: https://github.com/CompleteNoobs/ipfs-gate (will be created)
• Author: CompleteNoobs (completenoobs.com)
• Sister project: v4call — decentralised paid video/voice/text platform on Hive (first ipfs-gate client)
• Related project: nGate (Nostr identity-gated relay; same architectural philosophy)

Documentation

• roadmap_status.md — current progress, locked decisions, planned features
• CLAUDE.md — project context for AI coding assistants (and humans wanting a deep-dive)