FAQ - PurpleI2P/i2pd GitHub Wiki

What is I2P?

How exactly I2P works? Is I2P better than Tor?

Learn more at https://geti2p.net

How i2pd differs from original I2P implementation?

See the other page: https://github.com/PurpleI2P/i2pd/wiki/Differences-between-i2pd-and-Java-I2P-router

What can I use i2pd for?

Why is network so slow and unstable sometimes?

What is good tunnel creation success rate value?

Average values are 15% - 40%. Larger is better.

Can use i2pd as a proxy for regular Internet?

Not out of the box. You better use Tor for that.

Another option is to use i2p outproxies, configured via the httpproxy.outproxy option in the config. There are multiple public outproxies available as of now (2024).

It is not recommended to use outproxies for everything. They are (like everything in the world) limited in capacity, and it would be better for everyone if you only use them sparingly.

Are there any alive I2P websites?

Yes!

There are plenty of sites inside I2P that track other sites' uptime. Here are some of them (inside i2p):

• http://identiguy.i2p/ - simple site that only lists last reachable time
• http://notbob.i2p/ - more detailed site: provides site categories, week and year uptime graphs. The owner also has a blog which contains explorations of various i2p sites
• http://isitup.i2p/ - allows to check a specified site for reachability

How can I better integrate my router to the network?

Edit your settings: set correct bandwidth and share rate.

Run i2pd for a long time, download and seed some popular torrents.

What browser should I use to browse I2P websites?

Use any opensource browser - for example, Firefox or Chromium based. Create separate profile for I2P (firefox instructions), try not to mix clearnet browsing with I2P. Learn how to configure your browser for better privacy and security.

Good idea is to configure privoxy for I2P/onion/clearnet browsing at the same time.

i2pd socks proxy has an option to pass all non-i2p traffic to Tor socks proxy. Make sure you know what are you doing!

What is floodfill mode?

Floodfills are a special kind of routers that store leasesets of various destinations. In simpler terms, they store reachability information (gateways of inbound tunnels) for i2p sites and other services (including all peers in peer-to-peer services). They play an important role in the network.

In order to become floodfill, you need to enable the mode. The consequence is that i2pd will use more network and cpu time.

It is not recommended to turn on floodfill if your router is not directly reachable (aka external IP address). Also, floodfill routers should have a good uptime. So, it is better to enable it on servers.