Volunteer

No volunteers yet — be the first! · 1 peer · 0 CIDs

Requirements

Item	Minimum
RAM	1.5–2 GB (idle ~500 MB–1 GB)
Disk	Configurable — set `IPFS_STORAGE_MAX` in your `.env`
CPU	Any (ARM64 / AMD64 — RPi 3/4/5 works)
Network	Port `4001` (TCP+UDP) open in your firewall
Software	Docker (`curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com \| sh`)

Step-by-step

Install Docker
Linux / VPS / Raspberry Pi (production):
```
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
```
macOS (testing only): Docker Desktop via brew install --cask docker, or download from docker.com. Note: macOS peers are not reachable from the public internet.

Clone the coordinator repository

All configuration files and scripts are in this repo.

git clone https://github.com/rudyvdtas/ipfs-cluster-coordinator.git
cd ipfs-cluster-coordinator

Configure your peer
Create your config file and fill in your peer name and storage limit.
```
cp .env.example .env
nano .env
```
Set your CLUSTER_PEERNAME and IPFS_STORAGE_MAX. Contact us if you want to participate so we can share the needed SECRET to connect to the Cluster.
Open your firewall (Linux/VPS only)
Your node communicates with other peers on port 4001.
```
sudo ufw allow 4001/tcp
sudo ufw allow 4001/udp
```
If you use a cloud provider (Hetzner, TransIP, etc.), also open port 4001 in their separate firewall panel.
macOS: Skip this step — firewall is not required for testing.
Create the Docker network & start
This establishes the internal network the cluster uses.
```
docker network create cluster-internal
docker compose up -d
```
Verify your connection
Wait 30 seconds, then run:
```
docker exec cluster ipfs-cluster-ctl id
```
If you see a valid peer ID (e.g. 12D3...) and no errors, your node is connected and visible to the coordinator.

What happens after you join

Once your peer is visible in the cluster, the coordinator increases the replication factor so curated CIDs are distributed across your machine and the coordinator. From that point on, each CID is stored on at least 2 peers — the goal of the network is redundancy.

Your node automatically receives the assigned CIDs. You don't need to choose or manage anything. All content is verified and hosted by your IPFS node.

Check the status of all CIDs:
docker exec cluster ipfs-cluster-ctl status