Here’s an overview of the main IPFS clients, including their release dates, development teams, and general reputations:
### 1. **Kubo (Formerly go-IPFS)**
- **Release Year**: 2015
- **Team**: Developed by **Protocol Labs**, the creators of the IPFS project.
- **Reputation**: Kubo (formerly known as go-IPFS) is the original and most popular IPFS client, with robust performance and high reliability. It is considered the standard for IPFS nodes and is widely used in production environments.
- **Rating**: Kubo is highly rated among developers for its stability and comprehensive feature set, though it can be more resource-intensive compared to other clients.
### 2. **js-IPFS**
- **Release Year**: Around 2017
- **Team**: Also developed by **Protocol Labs** with contributions from the open-source community.
- **Reputation**: js-IPFS is appreciated for its compatibility with web environments and lighter requirements. It is frequently used for in-browser applications that require IPFS access without a server-side setup.
- **Rating**: Known for flexibility, though it’s less performant for large-scale tasks due to the limitations of JavaScript in handling heavy network operations.
### 3. **Helia**
- **Release Year**: 2023
- **Team**: Built by **Protocol Labs** with a focus on modularity and scalability.
- **Reputation**: Helia is a newer TypeScript-based IPFS client designed to offer a more modular approach to IPFS, allowing developers to integrate IPFS functionality flexibly.
- **Rating**: Early feedback from the developer community is positive, especially among TypeScript users, but its adoption is still growing compared to Kubo and js-IPFS.
### Summary of Ratings and Community Feedback
- **Kubo** remains the go-to for most production needs, especially for server-based deployments.
- **js-IPFS** is best for web applications and in-browser use cases.
- **Helia** has promise in TypeScript/JavaScript environments but is still newer and gaining traction.
Each client is widely discussed and supported within the IPFS open-source community, and users typically select based on their project’s specific requirements and environment.
