ipfs/ipfs-desktop

Feature request: Show a warning if peer is not publicly dialable

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#1,042 opened on Aug 18, 2019

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P2effort/daysexp/intermediatehelp wantedkind/enhancementneed/analysisstatus/readytopic/design-ux

Description

I use ipfs-desktop 0.8.0.0 (and go-ipfs 0.4.21) on Windows 10.

IPFS ports are open on my Windows Firewall and my router by default. If I run IPFS normally I can connect to 250+ peers and my shared files can be accessed without too much extra delay.

I use a VPN service frequently. This service doesn't support port forwarding, so if I'm on VPN my ports appear to be closed. In this case I can connect to fewer peers (~40) and the access to my files are significantly slower.

I think it would be beneficial to have a small indication somewhere (maybe on the peers page) if the ports on the computer seem to be closed. A brief explanation of the drawbacks of this would be motivating, and we could even offer some helpful links to configure the firewall and/or the router.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javascripthtmlcssnodejs
Domain
desktopbackend
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of IPFSFamiliarity with ElectronJavaScript
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45
Research direction
The issue requests adding a warning on the peers page when the local IPFS node is not publicly dialable (ports closed). To implement, check the libp2p or IPFS API for reachability status, possibly via `/api/v0/id` or similar. The UI is in the `src` directory; look for components related to the peers view. No linked PR or maintainer comment clarifies scope. The warning could be a banner or icon with a link to firewall/router configuration guides.