How Storage Works
Storage is a solution that simplifies the uploading, pinning, and downloading of files to and from IPFS. It utilizes a pinning service, Pinata, to pin files to IPFS and other solutions simultaneously.
This mechanism stops data from being deleted automatically because it's not being used or is unpopular. This can happen in decentralized storage systems where users need incentives to provide storage space.
Storage powers various functionalities within thirdweb products, including smart contract ABIs for deployment, the IPFS Renderer UI, NFT metadata fetching in the SDK, and NFT metadata uploading via the dashboard.
Uploading Data
Uploading data to IPFS or decentralized storage is a process that involves:
- Data Splitting: Data is broken into smaller pieces by the IPFS Server to make it easier to manage.
- Upload: We choose IPFS to store these pieces of data, and within the IPFS network, several computers (nodes) store the uploaded data.
- Access: When you want to retrieve your data, the network puts all the pieces together and unlocks it for you. You can access the file through a Gateway
Learn how to upload to IPFS using Storage in the Upload Files to IPFS guide.
Accessing Data
Accessing data from IPFS requires an IPFS Gateway, which allows retrieval of data from the IPFS protocol on web browsers and other HTTP clients.
Learn more about gateways from the Gateway documentation.