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Kubo

Kubo is the first and most widely used InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) node, a Go application that stores, retrieves, and shares content-addressed files for…

  • Cloud
  • Tools & Utilities
Kubo is the first and most widely used InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) node, a Go application that stores, retrieves, and shares content-addressed files for self-hosted peer-to-peer storage.

Platform availability

Available on 1 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid (not listed)
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox
  • Helm (not listed)
  • Mac (not listed)
  • Windows (not listed)
  • Linux (not listed)

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

78/100 Good

Maintained
100last commit 27 days ago
Popular
8517,156 GitHub stars
Easy to install
251 install platform, install notes
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

Availability: platform listings confirmed today

No GitHub repository data collected yet.

Resources & Compatibility

Requirements not published yet.

First-install notes

  • Initialize Kubo before starting Run ipfs init --profile=unixfs-v1-2025 to create Kubo's repo, the local folder that stores settings, keys, and content. Without it, Kubo has no identity or storage location, so later commands will not work properly. source
  • Start the daemon and test a file Start the background service (the IPFS node) with ipfs daemon, then try ipfs add and ipfs cat on a small file. If the daemon is not running, IPFS commands cannot add, get, or sync your files. source
  • Add a bootstrap node if Kubo is stuck If Kubo won't connect, run ipfs bootstrap add /ip4/104.236.76.40/tcp/4001/p2p/QmSoLV4Bbm51jM9C4gDYZQ9Cy3U6aXMJDAbzgu2fzaDs64 to add a known bootstrap node. A bootstrap node is a starter Kubo peer that helps your new node find the network and fetch missing content. source

Fetched today - each note links to its source

Alternatives

No alternatives collected yet.

Common questions

How do I initialize Kubo before first use?

Run ipfs init --profile=unixfs-v1-2025 to create Kubo's repo, which stores settings, keys, and content. Without this repo, Kubo has no identity or storage location and later commands will not work properly.

How can I find my Multiaddr using the Kubo CLI?

Run ipfs id. Use /p2p/{YourPeerID} to test your PeerID, or choose one of the listed addresses to test a particular address.

What should I change if a retrieval check says it could not connect to my Multiaddr?

It means machines on the internet cannot reach your machine. Fix your firewall, add port forwarding, or use a relay.

Answers sourced from check.ipfs.network, github.com

Community

Collected today - public community threads