Install IPFS/Kubo on Ubuntu 25.10

1

im working with IPFS on a project called the human web (http://huweb.space)

im trying to develop a way for regular people (non-geeks) to configure their own IPFS peers as easily as possible

i have landed on Ubuntu 25.10 as a base
. i want to figure out the easiest way to get ipfs (kubo) on it

the App Center has a very old release of ipfs, 0.17.0, released on 2022
. its submitter is Leo Arias

on a prior try, i resorted to using LinuxBrew to install ipfs 0.39.0
. that worked, but i rather not go this route
. i also want to avoid installing IPFS Desktop (which also appears to be out of date in App Center: v0.35.1, May 2024)

after running sudo apt-get update, apt search kubo and apt search ipfs do not return anything pertinent

my goal is to get people to install the current IPFS/Kubo release on their Ubuntu 25.10 systems

QUESTION
is LinuxBrew the only way to install the current (0.39.0) Kubo release on Ubuntu 25.10?

THOUGHT
i started to research what it would take for someone like myself to submit an “app” to App Center but abandoned that objective, as it seemed impossible with the results i found
. the App Center project in GitHub pertains only to developers who want to work on the store itself, not people interested on submitting apps to it

2

The easiest way for ‘regular’ people to install and configure their own node will be the IPFS Desktop you reject. Download the Debian/Ubuntu Package here: GitHub - ipfs/ipfs-desktop: An unobtrusive and user-friendly desktop application for IPFS on Windows, Mac and Linux.

And double click on it.

If you want to install the command line only version specifically, I always just download and install the tarbar. It takes two commands, but you are, after all, installing a command line tool, so I hardly see that is a problem. (If it is, stick with the Desktop, seriously.)

From whatever directory you saved the tarball

tar -xzf kubo_v0.39.0_linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo ./kubo/install.sh
And for new nodes, (kubo init)

I have no idea why would would want to complicate this with some kind of 3rd party packaging / distribution system.

2 Likes
3

thank you for your quick and thoughtful response, Rashkae

ok, GitHub
. yes, that makes a lot of sense

i have to admit that im thinking mostly in the abstract these days but with an eye on the future
. i have a couple of laptops on which im experimenting with self-hosting infrastructure, like TrueNAS and even FreeBSD (my laptops are Macs, so im not having much luck there)
. but my ultimate goal is to help regular people configure NAS devices with IPFS, Forgejo, and other open source, community-developed tools that they can use to forgo their reliance on corporate infrastructure, and to live in and contribute to the upcoming decentralized, distributed, unstoppable, and uncensorable web of the future, which will run on technologies such as IPFS and Freenet

100 years ago, refrigerators at home were a luxury
. keeping food cold required a subscription to the ice company
. i want all kinds of personal, group, and community computing at home, in people-owned hardware
. i see NAS devices as the vehicle for that
. individuals, groups, and communities do not need datacenters to satisfy their computing needs

so, im dreaming of a day when a person can get a used NAS from ebay, install some OS, click some checkboxes, and have all the infrastructure zie needs to manage zir digital life, without any ads, subscriptions, or corporate or governmental influence or obstruction

i have a personal disdain for GitHub, which is why it never even crossed my mind to get IPFS from the official IPFS channel on GitHub
. but, as long IPFS is there, that’s where people should go to get it, even if their OSs offer packaging solutions that seem convenient

but my ultimate dream is a distribution that you or your grandpa, installs on a NAS on which he configures his entire digital life, connecting it to the NASes of his trusted friends so that they back-up each other and share computing power when a need arises, without paying a single penny to any corporation or being exposed to a single ad, or being treated like a second-class citizen for who he is or who he loves or how he thinks

thank you very much, Rashkae

4

FWIW you dont need to use GitHub, one can also fetch latest packages from IPFS.
There is a convenience DNSLink at /ipns/dist.ipfs.tech/kubo/
and HTTP mirror at https://dist.ipfs.tech/kubo/

1 Like
5

@nerdest FYI: the unofficial package I made to deploy Kubo as is

I will be glad to see the feedback!

6

I very much expect, some day, to see IPFS be one of the built-in linux distro packages, but I think the project has just been in a far too active development stage for that to be practical. At the same time, too niche for distros to keep up with that, (like they do for web browsers.)