Introducing Infura Support for Filecoin Developers!

To support the recent launch of the Filecoin Mainnet, Infura is offering free access to our Filecoin Network API Beta for select users. The Beta allows developers to connect to the Filecoin Mainnet and build Filecoin-based applications.

A Quick Explainer

Filecoin is a peer-to-peer network that facilitates open markets for storing and retrieving files. Anyone can participate in the network, either by storing files or getting paid to store files for others. This decentralized model means no single entity controls the storage availability or price. People seeking storage will have the opportunity to buy from a range of Filecoin storage providers at a range of prices.

Becoming a Filecoin Storage Provider

Any person or organization can become a storage provider by running a ‘miner,’ i.e. any internet-connected computer with spare disk space, or a dedicated system with lots of storage built specifically for Filecoin. Miners are compensated with Filecoin tokens (FIL) in return for contributing storage to the network.

Source: Filecoin Docs

Connecting Your Application to Filecoin Via Infura

Developers admitted into the Infura Filecoin API Beta will receive private access to the Filecoin Network API with full integration into the Infura Dashboard where they can create Filecoin projects and monitor their Filecoin network usage.

The API provides an immediate connection so you can:

• Get real time chain state
• Read from the Filecoin chain
• Send payments and other messages to the Filecoin network
• Query the state of Filecoin markets

You can use the Filecoin API to:

• Send FIL transactions directly in your application
• Monitor the status of data that your application stores on the Filecoin network
• Build a fully functional web application that interacts directly with the Filecoin network
• Inspect the chain for network observability, protocol analysis, and design improvement proposals for the Filecoin protocol
• And much more!

Requesting access to the Infura Filecoin API Beta

You’ll need to register with Infura in order to access the Filecoin API. If you haven’t created an account yet, you can sign up here. Once you’ve registered:

• Log into your Infura Dashboard
• Click the Filecoin icon in the navigation bar
• Click Add Me to Waitlist

Getting Started

Once admitted into the Beta program, you’ll receive an email prompting you to log into your Infura Dashboard. Once logged in, click the Filecoin icon in the left hand navigation bar. Here, you’ll find some helpful information about how to get started, including documentation.

Enter a name to create your first Filecoin project. From there you will see your project keys and endpoints. Select a Filecoin project to access your API credentials and see usage statistics.

Going forward, you will be able to see all of your existing Filecoin projects in this workspace.

You can view all of the Infura Filecoin API docs here.

Learn more about developing with Filecoin from the Protocol Labs team.