Introduction

Ethereum Name Service Domains (opens in a new tab) provide a decentralized alternative to DNS domains. These are Ethereum based names followed by the .eth TLD. One of its great features is its capability to map multiple records with multiple purposes.

For example, an IPFS content hash or IPNS record from a site you uploaded with Fleek, to have that name.eth resolve to that content (much like any DNS domain maps to an html file!). For example, https://ens.eth.limo/ (opens in a new tab).

ENS Name Resolving

Given ENS names and their resolving live on Ethereum, for a user to resolve/visit an ENS domain they will need to have a compatible provider/browser installed that is able to resolve them. Using the MetaMask browser extension is one option, as it resolves .eth domains. An alternative is using a public gateway such as ETH Limo!

Which by appending .limo at the end of your ENS simply resolves it via HTTPS.

Linking an ENS Name

To start, you will need a site on IPFS! Visit the Sites section (opens in a new tab) to learn how to deploy a site with Fleek onto IPFS! You will get as a result an IPFS hash like:

QmQ88SAK9shZ7NUFTPJDcS9zuMmU7tDPbC9e9j5264Yfj4

Map your Site's IPFS Hash to an IPNS

While you can use that IPFS hash right away, it's better to use IPNS. IPNS provides a static address linked to a dynamic IPFS hash that can be updated easily, avoiding the need to update ENS records each time your site updates and thus the IPFS hash changes, and incurring ETH gas cost each time.

Learn how to set up IPNS in the CLI here in our documentation (opens in a new tab). It is similar in format to an IPFS hash:

k51qzi5uqu5dj4m3cwuo6mezt5j3zdx6euck56nab99rt1onxo9y0nwbmcgoAA

Acquire an ENS Domain

To begin, you will need to acquire an ENS (opens in a new tab) domain of your liking, an Ethereum wallet (such as Metamask), and a enough ETH for a couple transactions.

Open Your ENS Domain's Records

With your wallet that owns the ENS name connected to the ENS app, search for your name in https://app.ens.domains/ (opens in a new tab)

Edit the ENS Content Record

With the edit and management view enabled, you will be able to scroll down to the records section and click ADD/EDIT RECORD. Scroll down to the CONTENT field and enter:

For an IPNS name:

ipns://yourhash

For example

ipns://k51qzi5uqu5dj4m3cwuo6mezt5j3zdx6euck56nab99rt1onxo9y0nwbmcgoAA

Once set, scroll down to confirm and validate the Ethereum transaction with your wallet. When the transaction is validated, your site will be set and ready on your ENS domain!

To confirm, use the .limo gateway to access it as explained above.