p2pdrive

Disclaimer: p2pdrive is a working PoC and partially “vibe‑coded” (most of webDAV, console logs and this readme). Code is reviewed and tested (Mac).

Decentralized (p2p) drives to share files.

The owner of a drive can add, remove, edit files.

Peers may read/download. If you just want to download and support sharing, follow the Peers instructions below.

Provides a simple CLI that shares a Hyperdrive key over the Hyperswarm DHT and bridges it to a local WebDAV endpoint so you can browse it in Finder (macOS), Windows Explorer, or any WebDAV client.

• No daemon; single command per role.
• Owner (writer) and peers (read-only) both use the same CLI: serve does replication + WebDAV.
• Minimal built-in WebDAV handler (no external WebDAV server dependency).

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Install

# Clone the repo
git clone [email protected]:Trac-Systems/p2pdrive.git
cd p2pdrive

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Link the CLI globally (so you can run `p2pdrive` from anywhere)
npm link

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Quickstart

Make sure curl is available. Windows users download curl from here: https://curl.se/windows/

Owner (has writer key)

# 1) Create drive (writes secrets into ./store/drive-local/)
# reveals/generates the (public) key to be used for serve below
p2pdrive init -s ./store

# 2) Share + WebDAV on port 4918 (this both "seeds" and "serves")
# use the key from init above and replace it with <keyHex>
p2pdrive serve <keyHex> -s ./store --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4918
# expected banner should imply: (writable: true)

Mounting see below (Mounting WebDAV).

Add file in mounted "dav" folder or upload a test file (owner side):

# Using the CLI (does not require the WebDAV server to be running)
p2pdrive put <keyHex> ./hello.txt /hello.txt -s ./store

Peer (read-only replica + local WebDAV)

# Different storage dir than the owner to avoid Corestore lock
# use the key from init above and replace it with <keyHex>
p2pdrive serve <keyHex> -s ./mirror --host 127.0.0.1 --port 4919 --read-only

Mounting see below (Mounting WebDAV).

Tip: add --verbose for request logs and swarm details.

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CLI

p2pdrive init [-s DIR]
p2pdrive seed [-s DIR] [--verbose]
p2pdrive serve <keyHex> [-s DIR] [-H HOST] [-p PORT] [--read-only] [--verbose]
p2pdrive put <keyHex> <src> <dst> [-s DIR]
p2pdrive get <keyHex> <src> <dst> [-s DIR]
p2pdrive ls  <keyHex> [dir]       [-s DIR]

• All commands use the same subfolder: DIR/drive-local.
• Single process per store: Don’t run seed and serve at the same time against the same -s DIR (Corestore lock).
• serve already joins the DHT (so you generally don’t need to run seed).

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Mounting WebDAV

Ports may vary by your choice or setup as of above. E.g. 4918 or 4919.

macOS (Finder)

1. Open Finder → Go → Connect to Server
2. Enter: http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/
3. Authenticate if prompted (this POC usually accepts anonymous)
4. Your drive appears as a network folder.

Windows

Option 1: Explorer (built-in)

1. Open File Explorer
2. Right-click This PC → Map Network Drive…
3. Choose a drive letter
4. In folder, enter: http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/
5. If asked for credentials, leave blank or use anything (POC doesn’t check)

⚠️ Windows native client can be unreliable. If it fails, use Cyberduck or RaiDrive.

Option 2: Cyberduck

• Download Cyberduck, choose Open Connection → WebDAV (HTTP)
• Enter: http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/

Option 3: RaiDrive

• Download RaiDrive, Add → WebDAV
• Enter http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/ and assign a drive letter.

Linux

Nautilus (GNOME)

1. Open Files app
2. Press Ctrl+L, type:

   dav://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/
   

3. Press Enter

Dolphin (KDE)

1. Open Dolphin
2. In location bar, type:

   webdav://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/
   

3. Press Enter

CLI (davfs2)

sudo apt install davfs2
sudo mkdir /mnt/p2pdrive
sudo mount -t davfs http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/ /mnt/p2pdrive

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Debugging with curl

Talk directly to the WebDAV endpoint (owner: 4918, peer: 4919). Make sure you include /dav/ in the path.

• List root folder:

  curl -v -X PROPFIND http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/ -H "Depth: 1"

• Download a file:

  curl -O http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/hello.txt

• Upload a file (owner only, writable):

  curl -H 'Expect:' -T ./hello.txt http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/hello.txt

• Delete a file (owner only, writable):

  curl -X DELETE http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/hello.txt

• Rename/move a file:

  curl -X MOVE http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/hello.txt -H "Destination: http://127.0.0.1:4918/dav/hello-renamed.txt"

If you see 403 Forbidden, you’re using a read-only drive.
If you see 404 Not Found, verify the path and that you’re hitting /dav/.

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Notes on writability & roles

• Owner: created the drive with init. Has writer key → can PUT/DELETE/MOVE.
• Peer: joined via public key only. Read-only, cannot modify.

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Troubleshooting

• ELOCKED: Two processes opened the same store dir. Stop one, or use different -s dirs. If a process crashed, remove lock after ensuring nothing runs:

  rm -f ./store/drive-local/primary-key.lock

• Finder “problem connecting”: Ensure the URL ends with /dav/. Try --verbose to confirm requests.

• curl -T hangs: Add -H 'Expect:' to disable 100-continue wait.

• Can’t upload from peer: Only owner (writer) can upload.

• Nothing shows up on peer: Ensure both serve processes use the same key and owner is running.

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License

Apache-2.0 — see LICENSE for details.