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IPLD ♦ Docs
<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/layout.css?1732633144785"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/nav.css?1732633144785"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/style.css?1732633144785"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/prismjs@1.24-themes-prism.css"> <title>IPLD ♦ Docs</title> </head> <body> <header> <div class="sidebar-button" onclick="document.getElementById('sidebar').classList.toggle('sidebar-open')"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" role="img" viewBox="0 0 448 512" class="icon"> <path fill="currentColor" d="M436 124H12c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12V80c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h424c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v32c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12zm0 160H12c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-32c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h424c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v32c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12zm0 160H12c-6.627 0-12-5.373-12-12v-32c0-6.627 5.373-12 12-12h424c6.627 0 12 5.373 12 12v32c0 6.627-5.373 12-12 12z"></path> </svg> </div> <a href="/" class="logo">IPLD</a> <aside id=breadcrumbs> <ul> <li><a href="/docs/">docs</a></li> </ul> </aside> </header> <aside id=sidebar> <nav> <ul> <li class="active-page"> <a href="/docs/">Docs</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/intro/">Intro</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/intro/hello-world/">Hello, World</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/intro/primer/">The Brief Primer</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/intro/ecosystem/">InterPlanetary Ecosystem Overview</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/intro/community/">Finding Community</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/motivation/">Motivation</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/motivation/benefits-of-content-addressing/">Benefits of Content Addressing</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/motivation/data-to-data-structures/">From Data to Data Structures</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/codecs/">Codecs</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/codecs/known/">Known Codecs</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/codecs/known/dag-cbor/">DAG-CBOR</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/codecs/known/dag-json/">DAG-JSON</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/codecs/known/dag-pb/">DAG-PB</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/data-model/">Data Model</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/data-model/node/">Nodes</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/data-model/kinds/">Kinds</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/data-model/pathing/">Pathing</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/data-model/traversal/">Traversal</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/advanced-data-layouts/">Advanced Data Layouts</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/advanced-data-layouts/intro/">Intro to ADLs</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/advanced-data-layouts/naming/">ADL Naming</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/advanced-data-layouts/signalling/">Signalling ADLs</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/advanced-data-layouts/dynamic-loading/">Dynamic Loading</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/advanced-data-layouts/known/">Known ADLs</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/">Schemas</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/intro/">Introduction</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/intro/compare/">compare</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/intro/goals/">Goals</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/intro/feature-summary/">Feature Summary</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/features/">Features</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/features/typekinds/">Type Kinds</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/features/representation-strategies/">Representation Strategies</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/features/links/">Links</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/features/indicating-adls/">Using ADLs in Schemas</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/using/">Using Wisely</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/using/authoring-guide/">Authoring Guide</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/schemas/using/migrations/">Migrations</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/docs/synthesis/">Synthesis</a><ul> <li> <a href="/docs/synthesis/gtd/">Getting Things Done</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/synthesis/building-in-alignment/">Building in Alignment</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/synthesis/how-ipfs-web-gateways-work/">How IPFS Web Gateways Work</a></li> <li> <a href="/docs/synthesis/encryption/">Working With Encryption</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/">Specs</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/about/">About the Specifications</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/">Codecs</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cbor/">DAG-CBOR</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cbor/spec/">Spec</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cbor/fixtures/">DAG-CBOR Test Fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cbor/fixtures/cross-codec/">cross-codec</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cosmos/">DAG-COSMOS</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cosmos/basic_types/">basic_types</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cosmos/cosmos_state/">cosmos_state</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cosmos/crypto_types/">crypto_types</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cosmos/tendermint_chain/">tendermint_chain</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-cosmos/typed_protobuf/">typed_protobuf</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-eth/">DAG-ETH</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-eth/basic_types/">basic_types</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-eth/chain/">chain</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-eth/convenience_types/">convenience_types</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-eth/state/">state</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-jose/">DAG-JOSE</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-jose/spec/">Spec</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-jose/fixtures/">fixtures</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-json/">DAG-JSON</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-json/spec/">Spec</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-json/fixtures/">DAG-JSON Test Fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-json/fixtures/cross-codec/">cross-codec</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-pb/">DAG-PB</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-pb/spec/">Spec</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-pb/fixtures/">DAG-PB Test Fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/codecs/dag-pb/fixtures/cross-codec/">cross-codec</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/advanced-data-layouts/">Advanced Data Layouts</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/advanced-data-layouts/fbl/">FBL ADL</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/advanced-data-layouts/fbl/spec/">spec</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/advanced-data-layouts/hamt/">HAMT ADL</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/advanced-data-layouts/hamt/spec/">spec</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/advanced-data-layouts/hamt/fixture/">HashMap (HAMT) Test Fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/advanced-data-layouts/hamt/fixture/alice-words/">alice-words</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/schemas/">Schemas</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/schemas/prelude/">prelude</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/">Transports</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/car/">CAR</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/car/carv1/">CARv1 Specification</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/car/carv2/">CARv2 Specification</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/car/fixture/">CAR Test Fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/car/fixture/carv1-basic/">carv1-basic</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/car/fixture/carv2-basic/">carv2-basic</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/graphsync/">Graphsync</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/graphsync/known_extensions/">known_extensions</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/trustless-pathing/">Trustless Pathing</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/trustless-pathing/fixtures/">Trustless Pathing Fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/transport/trustless-pathing/fixtures/unixfs_20m_variety/">unixfs_20m_variety</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/selectors/">Selectors</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/selectors/fixtures/">fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/selectors/fixtures/selector-fixtures-1/">selector-fixtures-1</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/selectors/fixtures/selector-fixtures-adl/">selector-fixtures-adl</a></li> <li> <a href="/specs/selectors/fixtures/selector-fixtures-recursion/">selector-fixtures-recursion</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/specs/patch/">Patch</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/patch/fixtures/">IPLD Patch Test Fixtures</a><ul> <li> <a href="/specs/patch/fixtures/fixtures-1/">fixtures-1</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/libraries/">Libraries</a><ul> <li> <a href="/libraries/golang/">Golang</a></li> <li> <a href="/libraries/javascript/">JavaScript</a></li> <li> <a href="/libraries/python/">Python</a></li> <li> <a href="/libraries/rust/">Rust</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/design/">Design</a><ul> <li> <a href="/design/objectives/">Objectives</a></li> <li> <a href="/design/concepts/">Concepts</a><ul> <li> <a href="/design/concepts/type-theory-glossary/">type-theory-glossary</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/design/libraries/">Libraries</a><ul> <li> <a href="/design/libraries/nodes-and-kinds/">nodes-and-kinds</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/design/tricky-choices/">Tricky Choices</a><ul> <li> <a href="/design/tricky-choices/dag-pb-forms-impl-and-use/">dag-pb-forms-impl-and-use</a></li> <li> <a href="/design/tricky-choices/map-key-domain/">map-key-domain</a></li> <li> <a href="/design/tricky-choices/numeric-domain/">numeric-domain</a></li> <li> <a href="/design/tricky-choices/ordering/">ordering</a></li> <li> <a href="/design/tricky-choices/string-domain/">string-domain</a></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/design/open-research/">Open Research</a><ul> <li> <a href="/design/open-research/ADL-autoexecution/">ADL autoexecution</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li> <a href="/tools/">Tools</a></li> <li> <a href="/glossary/">Glossary</a></li> <li> <a href="/media/">Media</a></li> <li> <a href="/FAQ/">FAQ</a></li></ul> </nav> </aside> <main> <div class=content> <h1>IPLD</h1> <p>Welcome to the internet of data structures!</p> <p>IPLD stands for <strong>I</strong>nter<strong>P</strong>lanetary <strong>L</strong>inked <strong>D</strong>ata.</p> <p>IPLD is an ecosystem of formats and data structures for building applications that can be fully decentralized.</p> <p>The goal of IPLD is to enable decentralized data structures that are universally addressable and linkable, which in turn will enable more decentralized applications. These addressable and linkable data structures will allow us to do for data what URLs and links did for HTML web pages.</p> <p>We say IPLD is an ecosystem, rather than a project or a library, because this ecosystem is held together by a few concepts and standards that ensure compatibility between formats and programming languages.</p> <p>You'll find numerous libraries for working with IPLD. You may even create a few of your own. That library is part of the IPLD ecosystem and you're now a part of its community. You don't need to be a committer in a repository in the IPLD GitHub org to be a part of this community; you're already almost there just by reading this far.</p> <h2 id="navigating-this-site" tabindex="-1"><a class="header-anchor" href="#navigating-this-site">Navigating this Site</a></h2> <p>We've broken down the information into several major categories:</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align:right"></th> <th></th> <th></th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align:right"><a href="/docs/">Docs</a></td> <td>-</td> <td>human readable stuff. Guides, tutorials, and practical information.</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:right"><a href="/specs/">Specs</a></td> <td>-</td> <td>the nitty-gritty. Detailed mechanical information, test fixtures, etc.</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:right"><a href="/libraries/">Libraries</a></td> <td>-</td> <td>information about IPLD libraries (that we know about!), and tips on design patterns for making more.</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:right"><a href="/design/">Design</a></td> <td>-</td> <td>information on <em>why</em> IPLD is the way it is -- the goals, the vision, and how we got here.</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:right"><a href="/tools/">Tools</a></td> <td>-</td> <td>an index of tools for working productively with IPLD.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>And a couple more short pages which provide connections:</p> <ul> <li><a href="/glossary/">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="/media/">Media</a></li> <li><a href="/FAQ/">FAQ</a></li> </ul> <p>The following chapters in the Docs section provide human-readable guides to IPLD technology.</p> <table cellspacing=6 class="children-table"> <tr> <td><a href="/docs/intro/">Intro</a></td> <td> - </td> <td>Overviews, quick-read primers, and how IPLD relates to other systems.</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/docs/motivation/">Motivation</a></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/docs/codecs/">Codecs</a></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/docs/data-model/">Data Model</a></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/docs/advanced-data-layouts/">Advanced Data Layouts</a></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/docs/schemas/">Schemas</a></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/docs/synthesis/">Synthesis</a></td> <td></td> <td></td> </tr></table> <h2 id="the-source" tabindex="-1"><a class="header-anchor" href="#the-source">The Source</a></h2> <p>This site and its content is developed in the open. The source repository can be found on github, at <a href="https://github.com/ipld/ipld/tree/2021">github.com/ipld/ipld/</a>.</p> </div> </main> </body> </html>