This is about brave ipfs web3 unstoppable .brave

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Issue Summary

In Brave Nightly version 1.81.x, .brave domains (powered by Unstoppable Domains) resolve correctly in the browser — however, they are redirected to https://ipfs.io/ipfs/... instead of resolving content through a local IPFS daemon or Brave’s built-in node.

This breaks the fully decentralized experience users expect from Web3-native domains.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Visit a live .brave domain (e.g., ronmcbride.brave) in Brave Nightly 1.81
  2. The browser redirects to https://ipfs.io/ipfs/...
  3. Expected behavior: it should resolve via local IPFS daemon or native Brave node

Expected Behavior

Brave should:

  • Prefer loading IPFS content via the user’s local daemon (if available)
  • Or use Brave’s own internal IPFS node
  • Only fall back to a public gateway like ipfs.io as a last resort

Why This Matters

Public gateways:

  • Are centralized points of failure
  • Can be censored, rate-limited, or go offline
  • Break the decentralized, censorship-resistant promise of IPFS

Comparison with Opera Browser

Opera handles IPFS content in a more decentralized-native way:

  • Users can enter a CID directly like ipfs://[CID], and Opera resolves it without redirection to a public gateway
  • Even domain-mapped names like ronmcbride.nft resolve cleanly as ipfs://ronmcbride.nft, preserving the Web3-native structure

This results in:

  • A cleaner, human-readable experience
  • No reliance on third-party gateways
  • Greater consistency between domain and content addressing

Brave should aim for parity or leadership in this regard.

Suggested Fixes

  • Prioritize resolution via:
    1. User’s local IPFS daemon
    2. Brave’s internal IPFS node
    3. (Fallback) public gateway
  • Add a user setting in brave://settings/ipfs to control this behavior
  • Provide a browser flag or URL bar indicator when content is being resolved via gateway vs local

Environment

  • Brave Nightly 1.81.x
  • OS: [Your OS — e.g., Linux Mint 21.2]
  • Test domain: ronmcbride.brave
  • IPFS CID: bafybeicrjqptktefwgm24k3mexspxggopssafhlv5t263bcgefv6w5gtp4

Thank you for your hard work on Brave and for pushing the Web3 ecosystem forward. This small refinement could have a big impact on user trust, performance, and decentralization.