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diff --git a/welcome.md b/welcome.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..656e83c --- /dev/null +++ b/welcome.md @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +# Dat 1.0 docs + +Documentation resources for [dat](https://github.com/maxogden/dat) 1.0 release candidate 1 and the surrounding ecosystem. + +## Installation + +``` +npm install -g dat +``` + +## Sharing data + +Dat is a peer to peer file sharing tool. To share data, first `cd` into a directory you want to share, and type: + +``` +$ dat link +``` + +This will create a link, that looks like `dat://...`. This is a unique hash, generated by the contents of the files (including those in subdirectories) inside the current directory. Dat ignores hidden files. + +Your output might look something like this: + +``` +$ dat link +Scanning folder, found 98 files in 5 directories. 47.12 MB total. +dat://a9933c3d00e1134e5814a0fe2b0f1166885f523dfe0d135a39a2ca4b43840d83 +Serving data (1 connection(s)) +``` + +On another computer, I can type: + +``` +dat dat://a9933c3d00e1134e5814a0fe2b0f1166885f523dfe0d135a39a2ca4b43840d83 +``` + +And the files will be downloaded inside of the current directory. The process will stay open, re-hosting the data to ensure redundancy of the data. + +## Versioning + +If you change any file inside the directory, you will get a different link. Each link is unique to the file list and data contents inside each file. + +Everything about the filesystem is replicated between two dat hosts, including directory structure, file modes, among other filesystem metadata. For example, changing the file mode of a single file will create an entirely different link. + +## Peer Discovery + +Dat uses a variety of different methods to discover peers that have the data it's looking for, including DNS, Multicast DNS, UDP, and TCP. See [discovery-swarm](https://github.com/mafintosh/discovery-swarm) for more information. + +## Local storage + +Dat stores its data in a hidden folder that is stored by default in the user's home directory. + +``` +~/.dat +``` +The global `.dat` folder has the following contents: + +``` +$ ls ~/.dat +db +config.json +``` |