IPFS maintainer Shipyard to shut down operations after funding loss

Shipyard stops IPFS work as Protocol Labs cuts funding

Shipyard, a team that maintains key software for the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), will shut down its operations on September 30. The closure follows Protocol Labs’ decision to end its funding for Shipyard.

IPFS is an open-source system that lets users store and share data across a decentralized network, meaning files are not controlled by a single company or server. Protocol Labs, the organization behind IPFS and the Filecoin blockchain, created Shipyard in 2024 to handle engineering and maintenance for IPFS tools.

Which IPFS projects will be affected

• Kubo, Helia, Boxo, Rainbow, IPFS Desktop, and IPFS Companion will lose their dedicated maintainers.
• Public services like ipfs.io, dweb.link, delegated-ipfs.dev, and IPFS bootstrap nodes will stop operating.
• Protocol Labs owns the domains and infrastructure for these services and will decide their future.

What Protocol Labs says about the change

Molly Mackinlay, an engineering and research lead at Protocol Labs, stated in an online forum that IPFS will move to a “lighter-weight stewardship” model. This means the IPFS Foundation will provide grants to individual maintainers instead of funding a full team like Shipyard. She confirmed that development will continue on decentralized public infrastructure.

What is confirmed

• Shipyard will stop all engineering, maintenance, and infrastructure work on September 30, 2026.
• Protocol Labs ended funding for Shipyard and will manage the future of IPFS public services.
• IPFS itself is not shutting down, but many of its popular tools and services will lose dedicated support unless new maintainers step in.

What is still unclear

• Whether new teams or individuals will take over maintenance of the affected IPFS projects.
• What will happen to the public services like ipfs.io after Shipyard shuts down.

Why this matters for decentralized storage

IPFS is widely used for decentralized storage, which means files are spread across many computers instead of relying on a single server. Without Shipyard’s team, some IPFS tools and services may become harder to use or maintain unless other developers step in. This change could affect projects that depend on IPFS for storing data without a central authority.

Sources

• Cointelegraph
• Shipyard Blog Post