Support HTTP REST API

[eingenito]

Description

Related spec issue: filecoin-project/specs#400

The current HTTP RPC API from go-ipfs-cmds was never designed as a general purpose API framework and is awkward for developer-users:

• doesn’t support standard web patterns, e.g. for pagination
• doesn’t support client authentication
• not a widely-used or understood standard
• lacks rich tooling and support c.f. REST, gRPC or other common frameworks
• difficult to document as a wire format
• somewhat difficult to replicate outside of Go

A standard HTTP api could address these issues and offer the possibility of cross-implementation compatibility for tools that communicate with a node.

Scope

The goals of this effort would be:

• Design a v1 (or v0?) REST API for interacting with a filecoin node suitable for use across implementations
• Implement the API in go-filecoin
• Migrate the existing CLI commands to use the new API possibly eliminating the use of go-ipfs-cmds

Risks + pitfalls

A lot of work to replace a working but somewhat awkward existing API. Helpful for longer term adoption and support of 3rd parties building on Filecoin

Where to begin

@eingenito working on a draft of such an API for review by the team and any other interested parties.

[ridewindx]

Any progress or plan on this?

[eingenito]

Hey @ridewindx there is some progress - a WIP design document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ANnTHOU-8612ayvvS7Ru4B1L4voojLE0R0TQ8zF1x5s/edit#

[shannonwells]

Status: See filecoin-project/go-http-api -- further development is on hold for now.

[gargdeepak]

@shannonwells @anorth I can pick this up if you can share what's remaining to be done

[anorth]

The time isn't right for this yet.

…

On Wed, 15 Apr 2020 at 06:07, Deepak Garg ***@***.***> wrote: @shannonwells <https://github.com/shannonwells> @anorth <https://github.com/anorth> I can pick this up if you can share what's remaining to be done — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3098 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AADMW6X3C6DMIFHVBQUG56DRMS67TANCNFSM4IF4VR3A> .