NAME.md

Name API

• ipfs.name.publish(value, [options])
  • Parameters
  • Options
  • Returns
  • Example
  • Notes
• ipfs.name.pubsub.cancel(name, [options])
  • Parameters
  • Options
  • Returns
  • Example
• ipfs.name.pubsub.state([options])
  • Parameters
  • Options
  • Returns
  • Example
• ipfs.name.pubsub.subs([options])
  • Parameters
  • Options
  • Returns
  • Example
• ipfs.name.resolve(value, [options])
  • Parameters
  • Options
  • Returns
  • Example

ipfs.name.publish(value, [options])

Publish an IPNS name with a given value.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
value	CID	The content to publish

Options

An optional object which may have the following keys:

Name	Type	Default	Description
resolve	boolean	true	Resolve given path before publishing
lifetime	String	24h	Time duration of the record
ttl	String	undefined	Time duration this record should be cached
key	String	'self'	Name of the key to be used
allowOffline	boolean	true	When offline, save the IPNS record to the the local datastore without broadcasting to the network instead of simply failing.
timeout	Number	undefined	A timeout in ms
signal	AbortSignal	undefined	Can be used to cancel any long running requests started as a result of this call

Returns

Type	Description
Promise<Object>	An object that contains the IPNS hash and the IPFS hash

example of the returned object:

{
  name: "/ipns/QmHash.."
  value: "/ipfs/QmHash.."
}

Example

Imagine you want to publish your website under IPFS. You can use the Files API to publish your static website and then you'll get a multihash you can link to. But when you need to make a change, a problem arises: you get a new multihash because you now have a different content. And it is not possible for you to be always giving others the new address.

Here's where the Name API comes in handy. With it, you can use one static multihash for your website under IPNS (InterPlanetary Name Service). This way, you can have one single multihash poiting to the newest version of your website.

// The address of your files.
const addr = '/ipfs/QmbezGequPwcsWo8UL4wDF6a8hYwM1hmbzYv2mnKkEWaUp'

const res = await ipfs.name.publish(addr)
// You now have a res which contains two fields:
//   - name: the name under which the content was published.
//   - value: the "real" address to which Name points.
console.log(`https://gateway.ipfs.io/ipns/${res.name}`)

This way, you can republish a new version of your website under the same address. By default, ipfs.name.publish will use the Peer ID. If you want to have multiple websites (for example) under the same IPFS module, you can always check the key API.

A great source of examples can be found in the tests for this API.

Notes

The allowOffline option is not yet implemented in js-ipfs. See tracking issue ipfs/js-ipfs#1997.

ipfs.name.pubsub.cancel(name, [options])

Cancel a name subscription

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
name	String	The name of the subscription to cancel

Options

An optional object which may have the following keys:

Name	Type	Default	Description
timeout	Number	undefined	A timeout in ms
signal	AbortSignal	undefined	Can be used to cancel any long running requests started as a result of this call

arg is the name of the subscription to cancel.

Returns

Type	Description
Promise<Object>	An object that contains the result of the operation

example of the returned object:

{
  canceled: true
}

Example

const name = 'QmQrX8hka2BtNHa8N8arAq16TCVx5qHcb46c5yPewRycLm'

const result = await ipfs.name.pubsub.cancel(name)
console.log(result.canceled)
// true

A great source of examples can be found in the tests for this API.

ipfs.name.pubsub.state([options])

Query the state of IPNS pubsub

Parameters

None

Options

An optional object which may have the following keys:

Name	Type	Default	Description
timeout	Number	undefined	A timeout in ms
signal	AbortSignal	undefined	Can be used to cancel any long running requests started as a result of this call

Returns

Type	Description
Promise<Object>	An object that contains the result of the operation

example of the returned object:

{
  enabled: true
}

Example

const result = await ipfs.name.pubsub.state()
console.log(result.enabled)
// true

A great source of examples can be found in the tests for this API.

ipfs.name.pubsub.subs([options])

Show current name subscriptions

Parameters

None

Options

An optional object which may have the following keys:

Name	Type	Default	Description
timeout	Number	undefined	A timeout in ms
signal	AbortSignal	undefined	Can be used to cancel any long running requests started as a result of this call

Returns

Type	Description
Promise<Array>	An array of subscriptions

example of the returned array:

['/ipns/QmQrX8hka2BtNHa8N8arAq16TCVx5qHcb46c5yPewRycLm']

Example

const result = await ipfs.name.pubsub.subs()
console.log(result)
// ['/ipns/QmQrX8hka2BtNHa8N8arAq16TCVx5qHcb46c5yPewRycLm']

A great source of examples can be found in the tests for this API.

ipfs.name.resolve(value, [options])

Resolve an IPNS name.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
value	PeerId or string	An IPNS address such as /ipns/ipfs.io

Options

An optional object which may have the following keys:

Name	Type	Default	Description
recursive	boolean	false	Resolve until the result is not an IPNS name
nocache	boolean	cache	Do not use cached entries
timeout	Number	undefined	A timeout in ms
signal	AbortSignal	undefined	Can be used to cancel any long running requests started as a result of this call

Returns

Type	Description
AsyncIterable<String>	An async iterable that yields strings that are increasingly more accurate resolved paths.

Example

// The IPNS address you want to resolve.
const addr = '/ipns/ipfs.io'

for await (const name of ipfs.name.resolve(addr)) {
  console.log(name)
  // /ipfs/QmQrX8hka2BtNHa8N8arAq16TCVx5qHcb46c5yPewRycLm
}

A great source of examples can be found in the tests for this API.