ar.io

The Gateway Network

ar.io operates the decentralized gateway infrastructure that makes Arweave data accessible to everyone. Gateways are the bridges between the blockweave and your browser. They cache, index, and serve permanent data over standard HTTPS.

Without gateways, accessing Arweave data would require running a full node. With ar.io, anyone can access any piece of permanent data through URLs like arweave.net/[txid] or custom ArNS domains like yourapp.ar.io.

500+ Independent Operators

The ar.io network consists of over 500 independently operated gateways worldwide. Each gateway:

• Caches frequently accessed content for fast delivery
• Indexes Arweave transactions for GraphQL queries
• Serves data over HTTPS to any web browser
• Runs independently with no central coordination

This distribution means no single point of failure. If one gateway goes down, hundreds of others continue serving. If a government blocks one domain, users switch to another gateway. The network is genuinely resilient.

ArNS: Human-Readable Names

One of ar.io's key innovations is the Arweave Name System (ArNS). Instead of 43-character transaction IDs, you get memorable names:

• yourapp.ar.io resolves to your permanent application
• Names can point to any Arweave transaction
• Updates are controlled by the name owner's wallet
• Every version is preserved and nothing is deleted

ArNS names are registered through the ar.io network and work across all participating gateways. Your domain works whether someone accesses it through arweave.net, g8way.io, or any other gateway.

The IO Token

The IO token powers the ar.io network economics:

• Gateway operators stake IO to join the network
• Name registrants pay in IO for ArNS domains
• Network rewards distribute to active gateways
• Governance happens through IO token voting

This creates sustainable incentives for gateway operation without depending on any central entity.

GraphQL APIs

Every ar.io gateway provides GraphQL APIs for querying Arweave data:

query {
  transactions(
    tags: [{ name: "App-Name", values: ["MyApp"] }]
    first: 10
  ) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        owner { address }
        tags { name value }
      }
    }
  }
}

Developers can build applications that query transaction history, filter by tags, and discover content across the entire blockweave.

Getting Started

• Register a name at arns.ar.io
• Run a gateway following the ar.io documentation
• Use the network through any gateway URL

The ar.io network makes the permaweb accessible. Without it, Arweave would be a database only technical users could access. With it, anyone can browse permanent content through familiar URLs and web browsers.