Functioning similarly to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, the ENS Wayback Machine equips users to access historical iterations of IPFS content linked with ENS domains. This feature can be useful to researchers, historians, and those intrigued by the nuances of ENS, exploring the progression of Web3, or in efforts to retrieve former content.

By harnessing the unique feature of blockchain where IPFS links remain immutable, our service offers a window to past editions of ENS domains connected to IPFS content.

To illustrate, if one wishes to track the transformation of Ethereum founder, Vitalik Buterin's personal webpage, it's as simple as accessing vitalik.eth on our dApp. Utilize the header to toggle between different site versions, allowing a chronological visualization of its evolution.

What's New?

Thanks to the ENS Small Grant we received in the last round, we're excited to share that we've launched our very own IPFS node, a major upgrade for the ENS Wayback Machine. This addition improves how our service works, making it faster and more reliable, and enhancing the overall experience for our users.

You can access our IPFS node through the ens.site domain. This IPFS gateway follows a modern specification designed to work seamlessly with the security models of web browsers. It supports features like relative URL pathing and defined permissions for Web APIs. What this means is you can easily access IPFS data by simply adding the IPFS hash right before the domain name, like so: https://ba...ky .ipfs.ens.site.

Additionally, we've created software to resolve ENS content hashes in a way similar to eth.limo. You can see this in action at:

• https://vitalik.ens.site
• https://wayback-machine.ens.site
• https://<your-ens-name>.ens.site

However, for daily use, we still suggest using eth.limo as it's more optimized. Use ens.site mainly for accessing older IPFS content or if eth.limo is unavailable.

What's Next?

We're currently fine-tuning our new IPFS node. Our goal is to align with the DNSLink specification and the Web _redirects file specification. This will make it simpler for dApps served through ens.site to implement features like redirects, custom 404 pages, and Single Page Application (SPA) support, as outlined in the IPFS documentation.

Additionally, as part of our commitment to a collaborative preservation strategy, we are developing a leaderboard for ENS tokenholders. This feature will allow them to identify and prioritize websites they believe are crucial for archival. In response to their collective input, we plan to pin the top 100 websites. However, this will be subject to practical considerations, such as the size of the websites and the appropriateness of their content, to ensure a balanced and responsible archival process.

As the ENS Wayback Machine continues to evolve, we cherish and rely on community insights and collaborations. We invite all to contribute to our GitHub repository and join hands in our mission. Together, we can meticulously craft and safeguard the rich tapestry of the decentralized web realm.