| Solution | Key Idea | AVAILABLE TODAY SOLUTION | Reliability | Speed / Costs | Security (PQC) | Complexity | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. RETRIEVING CID FROM ANY BROWSER | |||||||
| Public gateways (ipfs.io) | Free "out-of-the-box" access via HTTPS gateway | ipfs.io, dweb.link cloudflare-ipfs.com Official gateways from Protocol Labs and Cloudflare. Documentation |
Low | 🟡 Medium | 🔒 Low | Low | Only tests / prototypes |
| Cloudflare IPFS gateway | Global CDN, high performance | cloudflare-ipfs.com Free public gateway with CDN caching. Requires registration for guaranteed SLA. Documentation |
High | Very High | 🔒 Low (centralized) | Low | Fast access to public data |
| Trustless gateway | Client verifies hash — prevents gateway spoofing | trustless-gateway.link dag.w3s.link w3s.link IPFS Foundation and Web3.Storage. Support verifiable retrieval (car-files + range requests). https://trustless-gateway.link/ipfs/{CID} |
Very High | High | 🔒 High | Medium | Production |
| Service Worker Gateway | P2P directly from the browser without a central server | inbrowser.link Helia SW Implementation by IPFS Foundation + ChainSafe. Automatically connects to the IPFS network via libp2p in the browser. Repository https://inbrowser.link/ipfs/{CID} |
High | High | 🔒 Very High | High | Maximum decentralization |
| ipfs-smart-gateway | Automatic failover + selection of the fastest gateway | public-gateway-checker Utilities: public-gateway-checker, JS version. Automatic switching between 20+ gateways. |
Very High | 🚀 Maximum | 🔒 Low | Medium | For production where speed is critical |
| II. STORING CID (pinning, persistence) | |||||||
| Pinning services | Provider stores data on their IPFS nodes |
Pinata — 1 GB free, API, CDN, NFT-oriented pinata.cloud Filebase — enterprise, S3-compatible API, 5 GB free filebase.com Lighthouse — IPFS + Filecoin, perpetual storage, encryption lighthouse.storage 4EVERLAND — pinning + frontend hosting 4everland.io IPFS.NINJA — private gateways, 1 GB free, no API key required. |
High | 💰 Low costs (free tier available) | 🔒 Medium (trust in provider) | Low | Project startups, small volumes |
| IPFS Cluster | Your own network of nodes with replication |
ipfs-cluster.org Docker Compose for production cluster guide Repository: https://github.com/ipfs-cluster/ipfs-cluster Commands: ipfs-cluster-service + ipfs-cluster-ctl
|
🚀 Very High | 💸 High (server maintenance) | 🔒 High | High | Enterprise, uptime 99.99% |
| Filecoin | Economic incentives for miners to store data |
Filecoin (FIL) Tools: filcdn.io (CDN for retrieval), Storacha, Curio Storage Market Best used via wrappers: Lighthouse (automatic deals), NFT.Storage (deprecated, but alternatives exist). Documentation |
Very High | 💰💰 High (storage + retrieval fees) | 🔒 High (crypto-economics) | High | Archives, long-term >5 years |
| Local storage + CID in JSON / SQLite |
Store hashes only on your own disk |
Any DB: SQLite, PostgreSQL, or simply cid.json.For backup automation — ipfs pin remote + cron.Manual CID export via ipfs pin ls.
|
Low | 🟢 Zero | 🔒 Medium | Low | Only for personal use |
| III. POST-QUANTUM RESISTANCE (PQC) FOR CID/IPNS | |||||||
| Post-quantum signatures in IPNS | Protecting the "IPNS → CID" mapping against quantum attacks on signatures |
CRYSTALS-Dilithium (ML-DSA) Falcon SPHINCS+ Experimental implementations: js-multiformats + pqcrypto. Not yet built into libp2p/Helia. Hybrid keys (Ed25519 + Dilithium) — a direction for IPFS development in 2025–2026.npm: @btc-vision/post-quantum |
High | 📉 Low speed, large signature size | 🔒 High | High | For data with long lifetime (>10 years) |
| Hybrid schemes (PQC + classic) | Simultaneous verification of Ed25519 + PQC |
Hybrid KEM + Signature Current research: NIST SP 800-227, hybrid TLS + ML-KEM (Kyber). In IPFS/libp2p — proposal for hybrid_peer_id (Ed25519 + ML-DSA).Implementations: libp2p + @chainsafe/libp2p-noise + hybrid KEM. |
Very High | 🟡 Medium | 🔒 High | High | Pragmatic choice |
| Blockchain with hash-based signatures | Registering CID on a blockchain resistant to quantum attacks |
QRL (Quantum Resistant Ledger) Uses XMSS (eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme). Supports storage of arbitrary data (CID). theqrl.org Alternatives: QRPL (project, concept), IOTA (Winternitz). |
Maximum | 🔴 Low throughput | 🔒 Quantum-safe | Very High | Specific quantum-protected registries |
| Regular blockchain (Ethereum, Solana) — without PQC | Storing CID in a smart contract |
Ethereum (ECDSA) Solana (Ed25519) Simple smart contracts in Solidity / Anchor. For long-term CID storage — not protected against quantum attacks. Example: ipfs-nft-storage |
High (today) | 💰💰 Gas costs | 🔻 Vulnerable | Medium | Only if migration is possible before the QC era |
| "Cold" local storage (offline) | CID written on paper/media, no network and no cryptography |
QR code on paper Vinktar (paper wallet) Metal plate Generating QR code from CID: any QR generator. Print and store in a safe. Software solution: ipfs-rust (offline tool). |
Absolute | 🐢 Low (manual entry) | 🔒 Perfect | Low | Master keys, archival backups |