Open Grant Proposal: `IPFS VS Code Extension`

Name of Project: IPFS VS Code Extension

Proposal Category: integration-adoption

Proposer: @yjliu-dataseek

(Optional) Technical Sponsor: none

Do you agree to open source all work you do on behalf of this RFP and dual-license under MIT, APACHE2, or GPL licenses?: Yes

Project Description

It's like "IPFS Desktop" but made for Visual Studio Code IDE to provide developers with a more integrated development experience and convenient developer tooling.

The problem with developing with IPFS is it often requires developers to run a local IPFS node or use a hosted node (e.g. Infura) to be able to use it. This project aims to give developers a one-click experience to IPFS.

Value

This integration project is able to improve the speed and the experience of developers who are seeking to interact with IPFS fast. It provides a "one-click" experience on IPFS node installation and a convenient way to deploy files and code to IPFS for storage.

This can improve the experience of developers and be offered on IPFS docs as an alternative way of interacting with the technology.

It speeds up developer's time it takes to upload their first file to IPFS which will improve satisfaction.

Major risks are unknown/undocumented limitation of the VS code environment stopping implementation of major function.

Deliverables

The extension needs to allow developers to get a range of tools that helps speed up using IPFS and upload files without having to manually install IPFS.

It should:

automate IPFS CLI installation process
provide terminal panel to monitor IPFS node
provide UI for uploading file(s) to IPFS
allow any code file to be deployed to IPFS
detect CIDs in code and display information

Development Roadmap

Mocked UI (not a prototype):

Team members: 1x Product Manager 1x UX Designer (contract) 1x Lead Developer

--- Milestone 1 ---

Breakdown requirements and technical spikes.

Tasks:

design UI elements
work out user flows
discover tech challenges
break down tasks to manageable sizes

Time: 2 week Funding: $6,500

--- Milestone 2 ---

Implement the core functionality

When extension is installed:

checks if IPFS cli is already install, if not
detect OS and install corresponding latest stable IPFS CLI tooling
run IPFS node daemon in a new terminal
checks if IPFS node is running correctly
create a new IPFS activity bar with IPFS logo
create a new IPFS status bar
jump to IPFS view in sidebar
jump a new terminal panel called IPFS and show daemon print out

In IPFS activity sidebar:

show IPFS node status: online | offline
show node information: Peer ID, connected peer numbers, gateway address, API address, public key
accordion to show list of pinned files
allow preview of the file in web view
allow user to use a button to select and upload file(s) to IPFS
pin the files
display CID after uploading file(s) in IPFS panel

Time: 8 weeks Funding: $24,000

--- Milestone 3 ---

Status Bar:

show IPFS node status: online | offline

Sidebar UI - right click on any file in sidebar, a file or a folder:

allows send to IPFS via context menu
show results on IPFS terminal

Code editor:

Display an IPFS toolbar button to upload the file to IPFS
show result in the IPFS terminal
Detect v0 & v1 CID string syntax and highlight in editor

When user hover over a detected CID:

CID version
Display human readable CID
Multibase information (prefix, name)
Multibase information (code, name, bits, Digest)

Look for test users.

Time: 4 weeks Funding: $12,000

--- Milestone 4 ---

Test and improve functions, performance and UI.

Acquire test users/developers of the VScode and:

conduct 5-6 user interviews
improve the UI of the extension
improve the functionality of the extension
improve performance of the extension
refactor code & address tech debit incurred earlier

Time: 4 weeks Funding: $9,000

12 months post-release support

Suport include:

bug fixes
changes to IPFS implementation
small improvements based on user feedback

Funding: $10,000

Total Budget Requested

$61,500

Maintenance and Upgrade Plans

A part of the budget is allocated to keep staff on a casual basis to perform fixes, improvements over 12 months after the release of the tool.

This project will be open source so the community can contribute and help maintain the VS code extension.

If major changes to IPFS, then another grant will be required to run it.

Team

Team Members

YJ Liu - Project Manager - yjliu@dataseek.info

Bo Liu - Lead Developer - liubo@dataseek.info

One UX/UI designer will be hired when the grant is approved

Team Website

Dataseek Agency

Relevant Experience

See "Our work" section on our agency website please.

Team code repositories

https://github.com/DataseekCN/ipfs-vscode-extension

Additional Information

How did you learn about the Open Grants Program?

Filecoin Hackathon

Please provide the best email address for discussing the grant agreement and general next steps.

yjliu@dataseek.info

filecoin-project / devgrants