The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) engineering collective Shipyard will halt operations on Sept. 30 following Protocol Labs' decision not to extend its funding support.
Shipyard’s closure will leave several key IPFS projects without dedicated maintainers, including Kubo, Helia, Boxo, Rainbow, IPFS Desktop and IPFS Companion, according to a Monday blog post. The collective was established in 2024 as an independent group of longtime IPFS developers who previously worked at Protocol Labs.
IPFS, an open-source protocol for decentralized data storage and sharing across peer-to-peer networks, will not shut down entirely. Protocol Labs, the research and development organization behind IPFS and Filecoin, will transition stewardship to a lighter-weight model through IPFS Foundation grants to individual maintainers. Development on decentralized public infrastructure is expected to continue.
Shipyard will also cease operating public infrastructure, including ipfs.io, dweb.link, delegated-ipfs.dev and IPFS bootstrap nodes. Protocol Labs, which owns the associated domains and infrastructure, will determine the future of these resources.
Protocol Labs’ engineering and research lead Molly Mackinlay confirmed the shift in a forum discussion, emphasizing that IPFS development would persist under the new model.
