AetherLink Protocol - Universal Decentralized Content Access

Quick Links

• 🌐 Website: https://autonomys.site
• 🔌 MetaMask Snap: ANS-Snap

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Overview

The AetherLink Protocol (based on the ai3:// protocol) is a decentralized content access standard designed to enable seamless content discovery and retrieval from decentralized networks. Initially, it focuses on integrating with the Autonomys network, leveraging a unified URL format that binds user identities to content identifiers (CIDs) through smart contracts. While the protocol currently prioritizes Autonomys compatibility, it is architected for future expansion to support multiple decentralized storage networks, positioning itself as a universal access standard.

The ai3-gateway acts as a temporary compatibility layer that converts ai3://<name>/<path> URLs into network-specific links. For example, a URL like ai3://alice.research/file1 would be converted to http://alice.research.gateway.com/file1, ensuring compatibility with existing browser ecosystems. As the protocol matures, native parsers will gradually replace the gateway, enabling direct support for ai3:// URLs in browsers.

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Problems Solved

The AetherLink Protocol addresses several critical challenges in decentralized content access:

• Technical Complexity: Eliminates the need for blockchain tool expertise by providing an intuitive URL-based access model.
• Network-Specific Silos: Initially focuses on resolving Autonomys content discoverability, while laying the foundation for seamless multi-network interoperability.
• Identity-Content Gap: Resolves the challenge of mapping cryptographic blockchain addresses to human-readable names, facilitating user-friendly content navigation and file hierarchies.

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Evolution Roadmap

• Phase 1 - Autonomys Foundation

  • Exclusive support for Autonomys network storage
  • Basic name/CID binding contracts
  • Gateway-based HTTPS conversion for browser compatibility

• Phase 2 - Multi-Network Expansion

  • Modular adapters to support IPFS, Arweave, Filecoin
  • Cross-network redundancy system for enhanced reliability
  • Storage-agnostic CID resolution

• Phase 3 - Protocol Standardization

  • Native browser integration for ai3:// URLs
  • Decentralized gateway network for better protocol distribution
  • ENS-like advanced contract system for more flexible asset management

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Core Features

Current Implementation

• Autonomys-First Storage
  • Dedicated integration with Autonomys network infrastructure for content storage and retrieval
• Identity Anchoring
  • Bind human-readable names (e.g., alice.research) to CIDs on Autonomys, improving usability
• Name-to-Addr Resolution
  • Maps human-readable names to their corresponding Addr , allowing for convenient identity-based interactions. (A MetaMask Snap submitting, soon you'll be able to send transactions or messages by name directly from MetaMask, check out ANS-Snap for more details.)
• Gateway Transition
  • Temporary HTTPS conversion layer ensures compatibility with existing browsers while the protocol is evolving

Future Vision

• Universal Storage Abstraction
  • A unified interface for accessing content across networks such as Autonomys, IPFS, Arweave, and Storj
• Cross-Network Resolution
  • A single URL format resolving content from multiple decentralized storage backends
• Content Portability
  • Seamless migration of content between supported storage networks

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Go version > 1.22
• Git

Installation

1. Clone the repository and navigate to the project directory:

git clone https://github.com/AetherLinkLabs/aetherlink.git && cd aetherlink

2. Compile the project:

make storage

3. Set up environment variables:

cp .env.sample .env

Replace the placeholders in the .env file with your actual keys:

TAURUS_API_TOKEN=<YOUR_TAURUS_API_TOKEN>
TAURUS_PRIVATE_KEY=<YOUR_TAURUS_PRIVATE_KEY>

Usage

Register a Name

Bind a name with the user address:

./dist/storage contract register --name xuanwu

Upload a File

Upload a file to the decentralized storage:

./dist/storage upload --path ./resources/hello.html --filename hello.html

You will receive a CID, for example, baxxxxx.

Bind File Name and CID

Bind the file name with the received CID:

./dist/storage contract bind --cid baxxxxx --name hello.html