Feature: Diagnostics view

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. Creating a diagnostic view in the webui and desktop app

Describe the solution you’d like Additional metrics desired can be found in https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs-webui/issues/1220, but this issue covers the diagnostics view we wish to have in the webui and ipfs-desktop.

This view would not be focused on metrics, instead, view #1220 for that. This view would be focused on process/tooling on top of those metrics and/or other data.

Describe alternatives you’ve considered

• https://pl-diagnose.on.fleek.co/
• https://ipfs-check.on.fleek.co/

Additional context

Ideas for supported functionality:

• network connection view to support users determining why or whether they’re experiencing network connectivity issues.
  • see https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs-desktop/search?q=context+deadline+exceeded&type=issues
• We could use IPFS Desktop to get some diagnostic data about the gateways with user’s permission. That would allow us to get some info on why are is the gateway so slow at some times and really fast on others. (https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs-desktop/issues/1140)
• command line interface to ipfs inside ipfs-desktop - ipfs/ipfs-webui#1931
• Health Check - See https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs-desktop/issues/2181
  • check if there are public providers for a CID
  • Are those providers dialable from my node
  • Trace route for DHT

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Looking for community and IPFS Implementers’ feedback on this issue.

Here are some questions to help get the ideas flowing.

What kind of diagnostics should we focus on

• How do you currently diagnose issues with your IPFS node/CID/etc?
  • Could this process be improved with a targeted solution in IPFS desktop and the webui?
  • What is the most difficult part of this process?
  • What problems have you run into that you have been unable to solve yourself, and how could a diagnostics view help to prevent a similar situation in the future?

What/Why/How

• Do we need a separate diagnostics & metrics view? Would a single diagnostics view that allows us to view the metrics we need be sufficient?
• What problems do you currently have that a specific diagnostics view in the webui and IPFS desktop could help you solve?
• Do you agree/disagree with the Ideas for supported functionality list above?
• Would you use the diagnostics view instead of your current tool of choice if the metrics were available in the IPFS desktop and webui?

[juliaxbow]

re: user research around webui/desktop diagnostics view

I’m still hoping to get more survey responses as well as source additional participants for addt’l user testing but will deliver some research findings next week, fyi

[SgtPooki]

FYI to all following this thread that this “diagnostics view” may well turn more into an effort of building some consolidated diagnostics tooling rather than a specific “diagnostics view” within webui. I feel like both efforts have merit, but from discussions during roadmap planning that seems like where we’re going

p.s. discovered a tool that I hadn’t seen before, https://dag.ipfs.tech/, which has source at https://github.com/ipfs-shipyard/ipfs-dag-builder-vis, that would make sense in either effort