# Fixed "DefaultLinksPerBlock" value and the ipfs add command

**URL:** <https://discuss.ipfs.tech/t/fixed-defaultlinksperblock-value-and-the-ipfs-add-command/17635>\
**Category:** Help\
**Tags:** ipld, kubo\
**Created:** [March 1, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/t/fixed-defaultlinksperblock-value-and-the-ipfs-add-command/17635 "2024-03-01T16:14:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SethDocherty](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.ipfs.tech/sethdocherty/32/8408_2.png) [@SethDocherty](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/u/SethDocherty)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/t/fixed-defaultlinksperblock-value-and-the-ipfs-add-command/17635/1 "2024-03-01T16:14:27Z")

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Hey all! I have a question about the [add command](https://docs.ipfs.tech/reference/kubo/cli/#ipfs-add), and specifically if there is any way to specify the number of links per node? As far as I’m aware, there’s no command option to pass to enable this behavior. Why am I asking about this?

[Singularity](https://data-programs.gitbook.io/singularity/overview/readme) is being used in my data onboarding pipeline so my downstream components rely on the CIDs generated with Singularity. I’m unable to generate the same CID for files larger than 174mb when running:

`ipfs add -n --chunker size-1048576 --cid-version 1 </path/to/file>`

This checks out because Singularity has set the [max number of links per node](https://github.com/data-preservation-programs/singularity/blob/0bcd9730627f30ed110c4a8cd3e09226e258fbde/pack/packutil/util.go#L26) to 1024 while for Kubo it’s [set to 174](https://github.com/ipfs/boxo/blob/89248079aaf6689e010d5ea1dd689ed717f0c8b6/ipld/unixfs/importer/helpers/helpers.go#L29) when navigating through the [add.go imports](https://github.com/ipfs/kubo/blob/121cfaec6014037cefc9d68c02dd528704e18a50/core/coreunix/add.go#L118). Clearly there is a reason for setting this value per the notes in _helper.go_ but I believe this value should be exposed as a parameter when adding content to IPFS. This ensures that CID’s can be consistently recreated across different tooling in the IPFS ecosystem.

While I could fork the Kubo repo and make the adjustment myself, I wanted to get some insight from the community before heading down that path. Maybe I can use [Helia](https://github.com/ipfs/helia) in lieu of the IPFS cli?

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**Author:** ![achingbrain](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.ipfs.tech/achingbrain/32/3083_2.png) [@achingbrain](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/u/achingbrain)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 6:20am UTC](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/t/fixed-defaultlinksperblock-value-and-the-ipfs-add-command/17635/2 "2025-07-01T06:20:03Z")

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As of 0.35.0 Kubo supports this as a `--max-links` option to `ipfs add` - [Releases · ipfs/kubo · GitHub](https://github.com/ipfs/kubo/releases#new-dag-shaping-ipfs-add-options)

Helia also supports configurable dag link limits and has done since forever.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SethDocherty](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.ipfs.tech/sethdocherty/32/8408_2.png) [@SethDocherty](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/u/SethDocherty)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/t/fixed-defaultlinksperblock-value-and-the-ipfs-add-command/17635/3 "2025-07-01T17:45:14Z")

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I had hoped that would be the case with the 0.35.0 release, but I ran some tests and found that the CIDs differ when the file is larger than 1024 MB. See this [post](https://discuss.ipfs.tech/t/should-we-profile-cids/18507/41) for more details.