Using Akord for NFT projects

The ever-evolving world of Web3 has been growing exponentially. With this growth comes a heightened need for more efficient and secure ways to manage and store data relating to assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

Akord is a platform dedicated to making it effortless to access the benefits of Arweave and the Permaweb, and our web app and CLI provide the tools for seamlessly publishing the metadata (images, videos, etc) from your NFT projects permanently on-chain.

Why use Akord to publish NFT assets?

Akord is a user-friendly, cost-effective, and permanent storage solution for NFT assets. With the ability to store metadata and use manifests for organizing assets, Akord offers a comprehensive solution for managing NFT collections. 

Reasons why you might want to use Akord for storing NFT assets:

1. Permanent Storage: Akord is built on the Arweave network, which provides a permanent, tamper-proof, and decentralized method of storing data. This means that once you upload your NFT assets to Akord, they will be stored permanently and can be accessed at any time in the future.
2. Cost-Effective: Akord offers competitive pricing for storage on the Arweave network. With 100 MB of free storage and top-ups available for purchase with a credit card, you can store your NFT assets without breaking the bank.
3. User-Friendly: Akord offers a user-friendly interface for uploading and managing NFT assets. With features like the ability to create and use manifests, you can easily organize and manage your NFT collection.
4. Accessible: Because Akord is built on the Arweave network, your NFT assets can be accessed from anywhere in the world with an internet connection without link rot.

In addition to these reasons, Akord also offers the ability to store associated metadata with your NFT assets, such as information about the artist or the history of the asset. This can add value to your NFT collection and provide a richer experience for those who view or collect your assets.

Overall, using Akord for storing NFT assets offers a reliable, cost-effective, user-friendly, and accessible solution for storing and managing your digital assets.

Generating Manifests for your Akord Vault

Manifests allow you to map user-friendly names to files and contents within your vaults, accessible by the Arweave Gateway network.

This section will delve into the specific function of manifests in the Akord platform, discuss the use of JSON files, and provide an instructional guide on how to create and use a manifest with Akord.

What are manifests?

An Arweave manifest is a JSON file used to map user-friendly names to files and contents within your Arweave vault. It serves as a means to facilitate easy identification, management and organization of stored data, rather than using a long hash to refer to a file.

How are manifests useful for NFT projects?

With Akord you can easily upload the images or other associated metadata with your NFT collection on Akord. You get free storage to signup and topups for more storage can be made with your credit card. 

Once all your images are uploaded to Akord and they have been successfully confirmed on the Arweave blockchain, you need a way to get all the Permaweb links, those URLs that will point to exactly where those assets live on Arweave. 

This is where manifests come in – the links contained here are what you need for your NFT contracts.

Arweave manifests are useful for NFT projects, as they allow for easy retrieval of permaweb links - URLs that point to exactly where those assets live on the Arweave network. By using manifests, you can store associated metadata with your NFT assets and provide a richer experience for those who view or collect them. 

Additionally, the use of manifests ensures the long-term preservation and accessibility of the mapping information stored in the vault, even if the original platform or marketplace becomes unavailable.

Why do you need a JSON file for manifests?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight, human-readable, and easily exchangeable format for representing data structures. It is often used for transmitting data between a server and a web application as an alternative to XML.

In the context of Arweave manifests, JSON files are used to store the mapping information that links friendly names to their corresponding files and contents within the vault. 

JSON is ideal for this purpose because it can represent simple data structures like key-value pairs, which are commonly used to map friendly names to file paths. 

JSON files are also easily exchangeable, meaning they can be shared and parsed by different applications regardless of programming language or platform. This makes it a flexible and reliable choice for use in Arweave manifests.rm. This makes it a flexible and reliable choice for use in Arweave manifests.

How to create and use a manifest with Akord

First create an Akord wallet. 

Go to v2.akord.com and follow the prompts to create your account. Once your account is created, you can use your wallet to interact with the Akord platform.

Note: From the web app it is possible to create the manifest and add it to your vault by selecting "Add Manifest" from the vault menu. This feature makes the process of creating and using manifests even more user-friendly and efficient.

Prerequisites

Before using the Akord CLI, you need to install Node.js 16.x, which is a prerequisite for using Akord. Visit the Node.js website and download the appropriate version for your operating system.Next, you need to install the akord-cli. Open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

Login to your Akord Wallet

Once you have the CLI installed, log in using your Akord wallet by following the prompts to authenticate with your Akord wallet username and password.

You'll need your vault ID to generate the manifest. To list your vaults:

Generate the Manifest

Now that you are logged in, you can generate the manifest for your files and contents using the Akord CLI. To do this, run akord manifest:generate in the terminal and follow the prompts to enter the friendly names and their corresponding file paths.

After generating the manifest, a file named manifest.json will appear in your vault. Once it's confirmed on the Arweave blockchain and propagated by the gateways, your public vault will be available on the permaweb.

Access your files on the Permaweb

To access your vault's root folder, you'll need the File TX ID from your vault's manifest.json file. It is available in the app by clicking into the vault and selecting the file. On the right there's a context menu giving you a link to the file info.Visit the permaweb URL in your web browser by replacing <manifest-id> with your unique File TX ID.

https://arweave.net/<manifest-id>

The URLs provided by the Arweave gateways (arweave.net) can be considered stable and permanent. The content cannot be changed, providing lasting access.

Conclusion

Understanding and using manifests for data management and organization is essential for proper storage and retrieval of files and contents, especially in the context of decentralized storage solutions. 

Akord's web app provides an efficient and secure way to create and store manifests using JSON files and decentralized digital vaults. By following the instructional guide above, you can successfully create and use a manifest with Akord to simplify the process of accessing your stored data.