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IPFS Companion is a browser extension that enables seamless interaction with the decentralized web (DWeb) by integrating your local IPFS node directly into your browser. It supports ipfs:// and ipns:// addresses, automatically redirects content-addressed paths (like /ipfs/{cid} or /ipns/{peerid}) to your local IPFS gateway, and enhances browsing with features such as:

Right-click file import to upload and pin files to your IPFS node.
Quick access to IPFS API status, peer count, and gateway info via the browser toolbar icon.
Drag-and-drop import of content from browser tabs.
Pin/unpin IPFS resources and copy shareable links (CIDs, public gateway URLs) directly from the menu.
DNSLink support: Automatically routes sites using DNSLink (e.g., docs.ipfs.tech) to your local node.
Subdomain gateway isolation: Provides unique origins for each site (e.g., site.ipfs.localhost) to ensure same-origin compatibility.

Requirements

To use IPFS Companion fully, you must have a local IPFS node running. This can be set up via:

IPFS Desktop (recommended for beginners).
Kubo CLI & Daemon (for advanced users).
Brave Browser (which includes a built-in managed IPFS node).

⚠️ Note: IPFS Companion does not function without a local node. The extension redirects requests to http://localhost:8080 (default IPFS gateway port).

Installation

Available on:

Chrome Web Store: IPFS Companion
Firefox Add-ons: IPFS Companion
Also supports Edge, Opera, and other Chromium-based browsers.

Advanced Features & Controls

Disable redirects globally or per site via the extension menu.
Use #x-ipfs-companion-no-redirect or ?x-ipfs-companion-no-redirect in URLs to bypass redirection.
Experimental protocols like ipfs://$cid can be routed to public or custom gateways.
Access the IPFS Web UI dashboard with one click.

Development & Support

Source code: GitHub - ipfs/ipfs-companion
Maintained by: The Shipyard team.
Privacy policy: Privacy Policy
Community help: Visit the IPFS Forums for troubleshooting and discussions.

For full documentation, visit: IPFS Companion Docs

AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.

How does IPFS Companion handle DNSLink resolution? Can I use IPFS Companion with a custom IPFS gateway? What happens if my local IPFS node crashes?

Stack Overflow

stackoverflow.com › questions › 74209105 › ipfs-companion-how-to-not-load-content-from-my-node

IPFS Companion - How to NOT load content from my node? - Stack Overflow

If files have been PINNED and I want to test them I need to turn off IPFS Companion as otherwise files get served from my node. Wondering if I could set it somehow that by default I am not redirect...

Stack Overflow

stackoverflow.com › questions › 74158980 › why-is-it-so-hard-for-web-browsers-to-open-ipfs-links

Why is it so hard for web browsers to open IPFS links? - Stack Overflow

Top answer

1 of 1

You're loading the page through a gateway. So effectively, you're asking another (quite popular) IPFS node to fetch the info over IPFS, then serve it to you over HTTP. If the gateway is slowed down for any reason, all IPFS resources will seem slow to you. If a gateway is your only option for whatever reason, check out the IPFS Gateway Checker for a list of active ones.

Alternatively, you could run your own IPFS node via something like IPFS Desktop then connect it to IPFS Companion (Chrome | Firefox). IPFS Companion can be configured to redirect all IPFS gateway links to your own IPFS node, then you'll be limited by just how quickly your node can find/retrieve the data, which you'll likely find to be the superior IPFS experience.

The Brave browser also includes an integrated IPFS node. They have an article about it here.

Chrome Web Store

chromewebstore.google.com › detail › ipfs-companion › nibjojkomfdiaoajekhjakgkdhaomnch

IPFS Companion - Chrome Web Store

ABOUT IPFS Companion harnesses the power of your locally running Kubo IPFS node (either through the IPFS Desktop app or the command-line daemon) directly inside your favorite browser, enabling support for ipfs:// and ipns:// addresses, automatic ...

Hacker News

news.ycombinator.com › item

A guide to IPFS connectivity in web browsers | Hacker News

18 December 2021 - It can even "polyfill" any IPFS paths automatically (which should just be simply as replacing any ipfs:// URIs with ipfs.io gateway paths) · For anyone trying to host pinned files behind a NAT/CGNAT would it be possible to hole punch to serve paths directly?

Brave

brave.com › blog › ipfs-support

IPFS Support in Brave | Brave

22 August 2024 - If you choose to use a local node, Brave will automatically download go-ipfs as a component and will route future traffic through this node. There is no need to manually manage an IPFS node or use an extension. A user can optionally install the IPFS Companion extension, and it will make a suggestion to use the Brave managed node.

IPFS

docs.ipfs.tech › install › ipfs-companion

IPFS Companion | IPFS Docs

15 December 2025 - The IPFS Companion browser extension allows you to interact with your IPFS node and the extended IPFS network through your browser. Learn how to install it here.

Chrome Web Store

chromewebstore.google.com › detail › ipfs-support › bgkgpjkailocmhjioiakogohkahhfbhp

IPFS Support - Chrome Web Store

Adding standalone IPFS native URL support for chromium based browsers without installing IPFS in your machine.

Mozilla Add-ons

addons.mozilla.org › en-US › firefox › addon › ipfs-companion › versions

IPFS Companion version history - 25 versions – Add-ons for Firefox (en-US)

👋 Better welcome experience When you first install the extension or don't have a node running, the welcome page now has: - Updated links to current IPFS resources and documentation - Tutorial videos about content addressing and routing - Faster loading with local video thumbnails instead of external embeds - Clearer language explaining what "Kubo RPC API" means 🎨 UI polish Long version strings from your IPFS Kubo node no longer break the popup layout. The version display now handles strings up to 128 characters without affecting the icon positioning. Full Changelog See: https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs-companion/releases/tag/v3.3.0

Find elsewhere

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GitHub

github.com › ipfs › ipfs-companion

GitHub - ipfs/ipfs-companion: Browser extension that simplifies access to IPFS resources on the web

IPFS Companion harnesses the power of your locally running IPFS Kubo node (either through the IPFS Desktop app or the command-line daemon) directly inside your favorite Chromium-based or Firefox browser, enabling support for ipfs:// addresses, ...

Starred by 2.2K users

Forked by 331 users

IPFS

docs.ipfs.tech › how-to › companion-node-types

Node types | IPFS Docs

15 December 2025 - IPFS Companion's preferences screen allows you to choose from different node types. The available types you'll see in your Companion preferences depends on the browser you're using (i.e.

Jelurida

ardordocs.jelurida.com › How_to_deploy_IPFS_node

How to install and deploy IPFS node

2. IPFS Companion, a browser extension that simplifies access to IPFS resources and adds support for the IPFS protocol.

Mozilla Add-ons

addons.mozilla.org › en-US › firefox › addon › ipfs-companion

IPFS Companion – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)

27 September 2025 - IPFS Companion harnesses the power of your locally running IPFS node (either through the IPFS Desktop app or the command-line daemon) directly inside your favorite browser, enabling support for ipfs:// addresses, automatic IPFS gateway loading ...

Rating: 4.8 - 73 votes

IPFS

docs.ipfs.tech › install › ipfs-desktop

IPFS Desktop | IPFS Docs

5 January 2026 - IPFS Companion Browser Extension · Kubo Daemon & CLI · Kubo in Docker · IPFS Cluster · Rainbow Gateway (opens new window) Someguy Delegated Router (opens new window) Helia SDK for JS (opens new window) Boxo SDK for Go (opens new window) Other Implementations ·

Brave Community

community.brave.app › browser support › desktop support

IPFS companion extension UI bug - Desktop Support - Brave Community

17 December 2020 - Hey, the latest update to Brave desktop on linux ( V1.21.73 (Mar 3, 2021) sems to have introduced a UI bug relating to the IPFS companion extension. Problem is this: IPFS companion UI shows that it is always offline. Here is a picture: As you can see, the extension is grey-colored, and is not ...

reddit.com › r/ipfs › problem with ipfs companion (in brave and chromium browsers) with dns link domains

Problem with IPFS Companion (in Brave and Chromium ...

5 June 2025 -

When I specify the Brave and Chromium browsers, I only mean I haven't tested others, not that this problem is exclusive to them.

To reproduce, first, I publish an website on IPFS, (as a root directory with an index.html file.)

I then Publish an IPNS record that points to it.

I can visit the IPNS name with either ipns://key or localhost:8080/ipns/key so far, so good.

Next, I add a DNS record to a domain in the form of _dnslink.site.domain.com with Txt record "dnslink=/ipns/key"

Now where things get strange. If I close the browser and re-start it, and put site.domain.com in the address bar, even though my node and running and ipfs companion is connected to it, it will always redirect me to a dweb.link address. The site still loads, but of course, data transfer is not as fast as I would like. This behaviour persists even if I try changing default publlic gateway to the IP my local node, and turn off Use Subsomains.

However, if I instead explicitly enter the ipns address, either in the form of ipns://key or http://localhost:8080/ipns/key,, or even dweb.link/ipns/key it will redirect to a subdomain on my local node as expected.

Once I have visited the ipns address this way, trying to visit the domain name address (ie, http://site.domain.com) will redirect to my local node as well, the way I would have expected. It will continue to work until I close the browser and start up a fresh session.