What’s the Textile Hub?

Built on Libp2p, IPFS, and Filecoin, the Textile Hub provides a centralized API to three peer-to-peer stacks:

• ThreadDB: A server-less p2p database built on Libp2p
• Powergate: File storage built on Filecoin and IPFS
• Buckets: File and dynamic directory storage built on ThreadDB, Powergate, and UnixFS.

The Hub was built to on-board developers to the Textile stack who didn’t want to run their own ThreadDB peer, IPFS peer, or Powergate service. It also serves as a large ThreadDB relayer and encrypted backup service.

Since it’s release in 2019, the Hub has become… well, a true “hub” of activity:

• ~100,000 developer accounts created
• ~113,000 ThreadDB databases created
• ~73,000 IPNS keys created
• Hundreds of thousands of Buckets created on ThreadDBs, resulting in one of the biggest IPFS nodes on the Internet (7.8TB)

Why are we shutting it down?

We’re sad to let the Hub go, but it was never meant to be a long-term solution for folks to build on. It was meant to be an on-ramp for developers, and it no longer serves that purpose in a sustainable way. As it turns out, centralized on-ramps tend to be sticky!

However, we remain completely dedicated to building a database layer for the next web. That’s why last year we kicked off Tableland, a decentralized database and network built on SQLite and the EVM. The knowledge and experience we gained over the years with the Textile stack has been instrumental in the design of Tableland. At its heart is a ruthless focus on sustainability and developer experience. Unlike the Textile stack, Tableland will be an incentivized network, removing the need for costly federated relays and backup nodes in the long term like the Hub.

What’s happening with my Hub data?

Textile has been a member of the IPFS/Filecoin community since the early days, and we’re here to stay. That is why we are committed to working with folks to ensure a smooth transition off the Hub. Our intent is to shut down the Hub for good on January 9, 2023. At this time, all ThreadDB and Bucket data will no longer be available, and will subsequently be removed.

If you need more time to migrate, no problem! Just let us know by opening a support ticket on our Discord.

Here’s how it is going to play out:

• On November 28th, 2022, the Hub will stop supporting Bucket archives to Filecoin.
• On December 12th, 2022, the Hub will stop accepting new developer accounts.
• On January 9th, 2023, we will take the Hub offline and delete all ThreadDB and Bucket data.

We are here for you every step of the way, and there are multiple options for migrating data off the Hub:

1. Migrate data to Tableland
   1. It’s just SQL! Get started with the docs here.
   2. For questions, create a support ticket in our Discord.
2. Use one of these other awesome solutions
   • Filecoin is ready for prime-time and doesn't require tools like the Hub make it useful in your application.
   • NFT.Storage and Web3.Storage are crushing Filecoin data onboarding.
   • Estuary is another great solution for getting data onto Filecoin and pinning it on IPFS... the easy way.
   • Filebase, Fleek, and Pinata run excellent and widely used IPFS pinning infrastructure.
3. Deploy your own Hub
   1. See here for an example of deploying the Hub to Google Kubernetes Engine.
   2. For questions, create a support ticket in our Discord.

What’s happening with my FIL balance?

A small number of you transferred FIL into the deal making address that was associated with your Hub account. If that’s you, and you’d like for us to transfer that balance to a new wallet, let us know by opening a support ticket on our Discord, by January 9th, 2023. After January 9th we will require you to verify ownership of the account email address. Any remaining funds will be donated to future Filecoin hackathon teams.

FAQ

1. Will Hub code still be open source? YES
2. Can I run the Hub on my own infrastructure? YES
3. Can I get help deploying my own Hub? YES