How to check if an IPFS gateway is down?

The IPFS Public Gateway Checker provides real-time status updates by continuously pinging gateways and displaying online/offline indicators on its GitHub Pages site, so you can quickly see availability.

IPFS Public Gateway Checker vs IPFS Desktop for local gateway hosting?

The checker monitors public gateways for status, while IPFS Desktop is for self-hosting a local gateway. Use the checker to find reliable public options, but for secure apps like wallets, self-hosting with IPFS Desktop is recommended.

How to add a new public gateway to the IPFS Public Gateway Checker?

Edit the gateways.json file, add the gateway address to the top, ensure it's set up as a subdomain gateway for security, and submit a pull request following the PR template for quick processing.

What does the warning symbol mean on IPFS gateways in the checker?

The ⚠️ symbol indicates gateways lacking origin isolation, meaning they share localStorage, cookies, and session data across sites, posing security risks for complex web apps as explained in the security notes.

How to access IPFS gateways via Tor using this tool?

The checker includes a list of .onion gateways that require Tor Browser. For local testing, configure Tor Browser settings to allow localhost access, but remember to reset them afterward.

Is the IPFS Public Gateway Checker reliable for production use?

It's useful for monitoring but not guaranteed for production due to its community-maintained nature. For critical applications, rely on official gateways or self-hosted solutions as per the security warnings.

Why are some IPFS gateways marked with a warning in the checker?

Gateways marked with ⚠️ lack origin isolation, which can lead to security vulnerabilities like data leakage across websites, so they're not recommended for complex applications.

Open-Awesome

Public Gateway Checker

NOASSERTIONTypeScriptv1.23.0

A web tool that checks and displays the online/offline status of public IPFS gateways with security warnings.

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2.1k stars383 forks0 contributors

What is Public Gateway Checker?

IPFS Public Gateway Checker is a web-based tool that monitors and displays the real-time online/offline status of public IPFS gateways. It helps users and developers quickly identify which gateways are available for accessing IPFS content and provides important security warnings about gateway configurations. The tool is community-maintained and includes both regular and Tor onion gateways.

Target Audience

IPFS users, developers, and administrators who need to access or share content via public IPFS gateways and want to ensure gateway availability and security.

Value Proposition

It offers a centralized view of gateway health with critical security annotations, helping users avoid insecure gateways and promoting safer practices in the decentralized web ecosystem.

Overview

Checks which public gateways are online or not

Use Cases

Best For

Checking if a specific public IPFS gateway is currently online
Identifying secure subdomain gateways for web app deployment
Monitoring gateway uptime for reliability assessment
Finding Tor-accessible IPFS gateways for privacy-focused usage
Learning about gateway security risks like origin isolation
Developing or testing IPFS-based applications that depend on public gateways

Not Ideal For

Teams needing automated, programmatic gateway monitoring with API access
Projects requiring detailed historical uptime analytics or SLA guarantees
Users managing private or self-hosted IPFS gateways (only covers public ones)
Applications where official, centrally-maintained gateway lists are mandatory

Pros & Cons

Pros

Real-time Status Updates

Continuously checks and displays online/offline status of public IPFS gateways, enabling quick identification of available options via the GitHub Pages site.

Security Warnings

Highlights gateways lacking origin isolation with ⚠️ symbols, warning about shared localStorage and cookie risks based on documented security issues.

Subdomain Gateway Focus

Promotes and identifies subdomain gateways for improved security, encouraging safer configurations as per IPFS documentation.

Tor Onion Gateway List

Includes a separate list of .onion gateways accessible via Tor Browser, catering to privacy-focused users without extra setup.

Local Testing Support

Provides clear instructions for running the checker locally with npm, aiding development and testing without external dependencies.

Cons

Unofficial Maintenance

The list is community-maintained with no central authority, leading to potential inconsistencies or delays compared to IPFS Foundation's official gateways.

No Programmatic Access

It's a static web interface without an API, making it unsuitable for integrating gateway checks into automated workflows or monitoring systems.

Inherent Security Limitations

Only monitors status and provides warnings; it doesn't mitigate risks, requiring users to self-host for critical apps like wallets as advised in the README.

Tor Testing Complexity

Local testing with Tor Browser requires manual configuration changes in about:config (e.g., proxy settings), which is error-prone and must be reset after use.

Frequently Asked Questions

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