Implement IPFS as a NextCloud external storage "app"

[autonome]

See discussion here:

nextcloud/server#385

Great example of the questions that end up as blockers: privacy, encryption, space concerns, mixed public/private use.

[Bugsbane]

There is still a desperate need for an IPFS Nextcloud app.

The feature request on Nextcloud was closed as they felt (correctly) that this was best implemented as a Nextcloud App, not in Nextcloud itself. Currently, the only distributed backup solution Nextcloud has is Sia, which is complicated, requiring mining or buying an obscure cryptocurrency before being able to store anything on the network. Meanwhile, a simple IPFS solution that has a user with spare storage automatically seed encrypted data equal in size to what they're storing on the network, could have the simplicity to bring distributed storage - with IPFS - to an unprecedented number of people.

Nextcloud is growing exponentially (there are literally millions of installs - check out the NEC announcement in 2018). An IPFS app in the Nextcloud store could easily be a gateway to get the benefits of IPFS out to the world and help backup and seed data.

Nextcloud is also running a competition until the end of August for new app developers which could help raise the profile of a new, even preliminary app, manyfold.

If ever there was a time for this, it's now.

[autonome]

Thanks for the poke @Bugsbane! Here's the app contest:

https://nextcloud.com/blog/all-app-developers-put-your-hands-up-best-nextcloud-app-contest/

Here's the example storage app the Nextcloud dev pointed at to use as an example: https://github.com/icewind1991/files_external_ftp

So a start could be to clone that project, and refactor to use IPFS from PHP, connecting to a local IPFS node.

A couple of PHP adapters exist, from a cursory search:

• https://github.com/cloutier/php-ipfs-api
• https://github.com/digitalkaoz/php-ipfs-api

[zicmama]

@autonome Could work backwards?! adding to NextCloud after ipfs add command :)
https://gist.github.com/tavinus/93bdbc051728748787dc22a58dfe58d8

[justicenode]

I did a thing. Still has some issues with writing, but that's probably the best i can do for now.

[sunjam]

I did a thing. Still has some issues with writing, but that's probably the best i can do for now.

You are a god!

[autonome]

@autonome Could work backwards?! adding to NextCloud after ipfs add command :)
https://gist.github.com/tavinus/93bdbc051728748787dc22a58dfe58d8

Nice! Sorry, I didn't see this earlier... looks like a rad way to pipeline content into NextCloud.

[autonome]

I did a thing. Still has some issues with writing, but that's probably the best i can do for now.

Thanks so much for getting this started!! Huge step forward - which enables others to contribute and help.

Pretty sure we're getting metadata soon, which might help with the timestamp issues. Will look for link...

[autonome]

@justicenode metadata is already in js-ipfs, and coming to go-ipfs: ipfs/kubo#6920

[justicenode]

@autonome thanks I will most likely wait for a release with that but we'll see

[justicenode]

I was wrong. I played around with js-ipfs and got it to work after many tedious hours. If you're interested click here. It currently only supports js-ipfs version 41.0 and up.

[bam80]

I did a thing.

Good. The next thing is SWARM