theref.eth Blog

A simple Hugo-based blog deployed to IPFS, accessible at theref.eth.

Read about the setup in A Censorship Resistant Blog.

Setup

This uses the Archie theme as a git submodule.

# Clone with submodules
git clone --recursive https://github.com/theref/blog.git

# Or if already cloned, initialize submodules
git submodule update --init --recursive

Local Development

# Install Hugo (if not already installed)
brew install hugo

# Run local server
hugo server -D

# Build site
hugo --minify

The site will be available at http://localhost:1313

Deployment

Automatically deploys to IPFS on every push to main via GitHub Actions.

The workflow:

1. Builds the Hugo site
2. Deploys the public/ directory to IPFS using Storacha
3. Pins to Pinata for persistent availability
4. Posts the IPFS hash as a comment on PRs

Note: ENS contenthash updates are currently manual. After a deployment, I take the new CID and update the ENS record for theref.eth.

Required Secrets

Set these in GitHub Settings → Secrets and Variables → Actions → New repository secret:

Setting up Storacha secrets

1. Install the Storacha CLI:

   npm install -g @storacha/cli

2. Create a key for CI (outputs JSON):

   w3 key create --json

   Copy the key field value → set as STORACHA_KEY secret

3. Login and create a space:

   w3 login your-email@example.com
   w3 space create blog

4. Create a delegation proof (replace DID_OF_KEY with the DID from step 2):

   w3 delegation create did:key:DID_OF_KEY \
     -c space/blob/add \
     -c space/index/add \
     -c filecoin/offer \
     -c upload/add \
     --base64

   Copy the output → set as STORACHA_PROOF secret

Important: Both secrets must be base64-encoded strings, not file paths!

Setting up Pinata (for persistent pinning)

1. Create a free account at pinata.cloud
2. Go to API Keys → New Key
3. Give it a name (e.g., "GitHub Actions") with Admin privileges
4. Copy the JWT token → set as PINATA_JWT_TOKEN secret