InterPlanetary Wayback, usually called ipwb, is a free, open-source program for people who keep copies of web pages in WARC files and want those copies stored on the InterPlanetary File System. It suits archivists, researchers, librarians and developers who want captured pages to live on a decentralized network instead of a single server.
The program indexes WARC archives and replays them through IPFS content addresses, so a captured page can be retrieved by its hash rather than by a fixed web address. It is released under the MIT license and costs nothing to use. The project's code was last updated in June 2026, and its latest release is tagged 0.2024.10.24.1822, which signals an early-stage tool that rewards careful setup.
What Is a WARC File and Why Does It Matter?
A WARC file is a container format that stores HTTP responses, headers and the raw bytes of web resources in one sequence of records. Many crawlers and archiving services produce WARC files, and the format is designed so that a capture can be preserved and read later with the original structure intact.
Web pages change or disappear constantly. Researchers often call this link rot, and it breaks citations, news references and documentation. Archiving a page in WARC form keeps a faithful copy of what was served at a given moment, which is why the format is a common choice for libraries and digital preservation projects.
The weakness of a single WARC file is that it still depends on one storage location. If the disk fails or the host goes offline, the capture is gone. This is the problem that pairing WARC files with a distributed network like IPFS tries to address.
How Content Addressing Changes Web Archives
Traditional web links point to a location, such as a domain and a path. IPFS uses content addressing instead: a file is identified by a cryptographic hash of its data, and any node that holds that data can serve it. The address stays the same no matter which server currently hosts the copy.
For archives, this has a practical consequence. Two people who store the same captured page produce the same identifier, so duplicate copies can be recognized and shared across a network. A researcher can cite the identifier and be confident it refers to exactly the bytes that were archived.
Content addressing also means availability depends on someone keeping the data online. A hash does not keep a file alive by itself, so archives on IPFS usually need at least one node that continues to hold and serve them.
Who Should Consider Archiving Pages This Way?
Academic researchers are a natural audience. A paper that cites an online source can point to a preserved copy, and a distributed copy is less likely to vanish when one institution changes its website policies. Journalists and fact-checkers face a similar problem when a source edits or deletes a story after publication.
Developers and documentation teams use archives to keep older versions of reference material, or to test how a site behaved at a certain point. Small library or personal projects may want to preserve a collection of pages without setting up a conventional server.
People who only need occasional bookmarks or a simple offline copy of one article will probably find a browser extension or a plain archive tool easier to manage. A distributed setup pays off when you need long-term access and are willing to run the supporting software.
Key features
WARC indexing
Replay through IPFS
Docker-based deployment
How to install InterPlanetary Wayback on Windows
- 1
Install and start kubo
ipwb needs the IPFS daemon, kubo (formerly go-ipfs), to be installed and running before the program starts. Download kubo from its official site or the GitHub Releases page, follow its setup to initialize a node, then bring the node online so the daemon is active.
- 2
Get the ipwb build
Download the newest ipwb build from the GitHub Releases page. The project says it builds for Windows, so read the release notes before choosing a file. Verify the downloaded file against the published SHA-256 checksum before you run it.
- 3
Run ipwb alongside the daemon
Keep the kubo daemon running in one terminal window. Open a second terminal, change to the folder containing ipwb, and start the program there. If ipwb cannot reach the daemon, check that kubo is still online before troubleshooting anything else.
-
Consider the Docker route
The project also lists Docker as a platform. If a native Windows build is inconvenient, a container can be easier to reproduce on another machine. Make sure Docker Desktop is installed, and confirm that the container can reach your running IPFS node.
System requirements
- A running IPFS daemon, such as kubo, on the same machine or a reachable node
- Docker Desktop, if you choose the container route
How to use InterPlanetary Wayback
Using ipwb is a short workflow once the IPFS daemon is running. Plan on working from a terminal and keeping a few archive files ready to test with.
- Start the kubo daemon and confirm the node is online.
- Place the WARC file you want to work with in a known folder.
- Open a second terminal window and move to the folder containing ipwb.
- Run ipwb against your WARC file so it builds an index of the captured pages.
- Note the identifiers that IPFS returns for the archived content, and save them with your records.
- Start the local replay step and open the address shown in the terminal in your browser.
- Check that a few key pages load correctly before you rely on the archive.
- Keep the daemon running while others need access, because content remains available only while a node serves it.
Pros & cons
- Free to use and released under the MIT license
- Code updated as recently as June 2026
- Content addressing gives archived pages stable identifiers
- Works with standard WARC files
- Docker option for repeatable setups
- Requires a separate IPFS daemon to be running
- Windows is a build target rather than a polished installer, so expect a command-line workflow
- Early version numbering suggests the tool is still maturing
- Archives remain available only while some node keeps serving them
Is InterPlanetary Wayback safe?
Download ipwb only from its official GitHub repository or the project's GitHub Releases page. Avoid third-party mirrors and bundles that repackage the program, since they can contain modified files. Verify the SHA-256 checksum or signature of the download before running it, and compare it with the value published with the release.
Keep your antivirus enabled and do not disable it to get the program to start. If a warning appears, check the release page and the file's hash instead. Remember that anything you publish to IPFS can be copied by other nodes, so do not archive private pages, pages behind logins or material you are not allowed to distribute.
The project's code was recently updated, but the version is still early. Confirm you have the latest release on the official website before using it for important archives.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/oduwsdl/ipwb. Ignore ads and lookalike domains.
- Check the SHA-256. Compare the installer hash with the value the developer publishes before running it.
- Never share your seed phrase. No developer, support agent or website — including CryptApps — will ever ask for it.
Alternatives
ipwb sits on top of IPFS rather than replacing it. Kubo is the reference IPFS node that ipwb depends on, so the two work as a pair: kubo handles the network, and ipwb handles WARC indexing and replay. IPFS Desktop offers a tray-based view of a node, which is convenient for managing kubo but does not index WARC files.
Pinner CLI is focused on pinning content to IPFS, so it helps keep data available, while ipwb focuses on archive structure. Peergos and Storj address encrypted file storage and decentralized cloud storage, which suits private backups rather than public web captures. Agregore is a browser that can fetch IPFS content, so it is useful for reading archives rather than creating them.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- MIT
- Latest version
- 0.2024.10.24.1822
- Last update
- 15 Jun 2026
- Windows support
- Likely (builds for Windows; check releases)
- Source code
- github.com/oduwsdl/ipwb
Frequently asked questions
Yes. InterPlanetary Wayback is free and released under the MIT license, which allows you to use, modify and redistribute the code. You still need a running IPFS daemon such as kubo, which is also free to download and run on your own machine.
The project states that it builds for Windows, but the setup is command-line oriented. Check the GitHub Releases page for a current Windows build, and read the release notes before installing. The Docker route is an alternative if a native build does not suit your system.
Yes. ipwb depends on the IPFS daemon, and kubo is the standard implementation. Start the daemon and keep it running before launching ipwb. If the program cannot connect, the daemon is usually offline or not listening on the expected address.
A WARC file is a standard container format for web archives. It stores HTTP responses and their headers as sequential records, so a captured page can be preserved and later read with its original structure. Many crawlers and archiving tools produce WARC files.
Not automatically. IPFS identifies content by its hash, but the data remains available only while at least one node keeps serving it. Running your own node or having a trusted party pin the content improves the odds of long-term availability.
It serves a different purpose. A conventional archive is hosted by one organization, while ipwb stores captures on a distributed network. Choose it if you want decentralized access and stable identifiers, and keep a separate backup if you cannot tolerate gaps in availability.
Verdict
InterPlanetary Wayback suits technically comfortable users who want to archive web pages in WARC format and make them available through IPFS. Researchers, archivists and developers who are willing to run an IPFS daemon and work from a terminal will get the most value. It is free, open source and recently updated, which is reassuring for a tool in this niche.
It is less suitable for people who want a point-and-click archiving app or a polished Windows installer. Keep the official release page in view and confirm the latest version before depending on the archive for important work.