**Pinata** is a hosted IPFS pinning service. Instead of keeping your own IPFS node online all the time, Pinata stores (“pins”) your content on its servers so that the files stay available on the IPFS network.
# What “pinning” means In IPFS, files stay available only while at least one node is storing them. To make a file reliably available, you **pin** it — meaning a node promises not to garbage‑collect it. Pinata runs always‑on IPFS nodes and pins your content for you.
# Why people use Pinata - ✔ Keeps files online even when your own computer is off - ✔ Global, reliable IPFS gateway access - ✔ Web dashboard + API for uploads and management - ✔ Good for websites, media hosting, NFTs, archives You can still run your **own node** — Pinata simply acts as an extra, dependable copy.
# Basic workflow 1. Create a Pinata account 2. Upload a file or folder via: - Web dashboard, or - API / CLI / SDK 3. Pinata gives you a **CID** 4. Anyone can fetch the content via: - IPFS client (by CID), or - Gateway URL (e.g., `https://gateway.pinata.cloud/ipfs/<CID>`)
# Pricing & limits
# Free Account STORAGE: 1GB FILES: 500 files BANDWIDTH: 10GB REQUESTS: 10K # $20 Month STORAGE: 1TB FILES: 10 Million BANDWIDTH: 500GB REQUESTS: 1M # $100 Month STORAGE: 5TB FILES: 10 Million BANDWIDTH: 2.5TB REQUESTS: 5M
# Privacy & security notes - Content pinned on Pinata is stored on third‑party servers - IPFS content is generally **publicly retrievable by CID** - Encrypt sensitive files **before** uploading if confidentiality is required
# When Pinata is a good fit - You want reliable availability without running hardware - You publish public media, websites, or datasets on IPFS - You combine it with your own node for redundancy
# Alternatives / complements - Run your own IPFS node and pin locally - Use multiple pinning services for resilience - Private swarms or encrypted content for restricted sharing
# Summary Pinata is a **managed IPFS pinning platform** that keeps your content online, provides an easy upload and management interface, and removes the need to maintain your own always‑on IPFS infrastructure.