Learn about Sia

The Sia Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to advancing and enhancing the Sia decentralized storage network. Our vision revolves around a future where individuals entirely own their data. This future is devoid of walled gardens, vendor lock-in, or the risk of a single provider accessing your information or holding your files hostage. Sia paves the way for this future by establishing a trustless marketplace where peers can buy and sell cloud storage directly.

Sia is a decentralized cloud storage platform secured by blockchain technology. The Sia storage network leverages underutilized hard drive capacity worldwide to create a data storage marketplace that is more reliable and cheaper than traditional cloud storage providers. Sia has its blockchain and a utility token that powers it – the Siacoin (SC).

Privacy, high performance, and robust engineering principles are at the heart of Sia's philosophy. Our primary objective is to bring the power of decentralization to data storage. We aim to empower you with complete, exclusive control over your data, ensuring it remains safeguarded against theft, censorship, and unwarranted access. With Sia, your data truly belongs to you, and our documentation is here to guide you in harnessing the capabilities of our software suite.

Genesis of Sia

Sia was conceived at HackMIT in 2013 by David Vorick and Luke Champine. The founders formed Nebulous Labs and later Skynet Labs to develop Sia. The Sia Foundation was created as a non-profit dedicated to leading core development into the future of decentralized storage.

ELI5: Understanding how Sia works

When a file is uploaded to Sia, it undergoes a process of fragmentation, encryption, and global distribution. Renters are responsible for uploading files, while hosts store these files, and the entire operation is automated. After uploading your files, the network guarantees continuous accessibility by creating multiple copies. Furthermore, hosts are never granted access to these files as they only receive encrypted fragments of the complete files.

Your data remains genuinely private and is distributed across the globe, eliminating any single point of failure and guaranteeing the utmost uptime reliability. As you hold the encryption keys, you retain full ownership of your data. No external entity can access or exert control over your files.

Data cannot be subject to de-platforming, and your files are impervious to hacking attempts.

Renting on Sia

Uploading files to Sia automatically designates you as a renter within the network. As a renter, you can upload your files to hosts—other users who have allocated their storage capacity.

The term 'renter' is employed because Sia initiates contracts with these hosts. These contracts specify the quantity of data to be stored, the duration of storage, and the associated cost.

Hosting on Sia

Hosting on Sia signifies your commitment to providing surplus storage capacity to the network. By doing so, you actively contribute to the core principle of safeguarding data in the hands of its rightful owners—the renters.

In return for your hosting services, you earn Siacoin, the cryptocurrency fueling the Sia network. Siacoin can be utilized to acquire your own storage space or exchange for other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies on various crypto exchanges.

Hosts play a pivotal role within the ecosystem, serving as indispensable contributors to the decentralized network that forms the heart of Sia.

Core software

The Sia Foundation has developed a scalable, high-performing, easy-to-integrate software suite.

renterd

renterd aims to serve the needs of everyday users -- who want a simple interface for storing and retrieving their data -- and developers -- who want a powerful, flexible, and reliable API for building apps on Sia.

hostd

hostd is designed to enhance the experience for storage providers within the Sia network. Tailored for individual and large-scale storage providers, hostd boasts a user-friendly interface and a robust API, empowering providers to manage their storage resources and revenue efficiently.

hostd incorporates an embedded web UI, simplifying deployment and enabling remote management capabilities, ensuring a smooth user experience across various devices.

walletd

walletd serves as a watch-only wallet server within the Sia ecosystem. It operates without access to private keys, solely managing addresses derived from those keys. Its primary function is to monitor the blockchain for events about specific addresses.

The server maintains knowledge of spendable outputs within the wallet, enabling it to aid in creating and broadcasting transactions that utilize these outputs. However, it is crucial to note that the exclusive task of signing transactions remains the client's responsibility.

We're here for good!

Not only is your data secure when using Sia, but you can also rest assured that Sia is here to stay. Sia has been operating since 2015, with its software downloaded over a million times. Moreover, thousands of terabytes of data have been uploaded to the network since its inception. Even if the Sia development team were to step away tomorrow, the network can continue to function indefinitely.

Sia has a thriving community of renters, hosts, miners, and data storage enthusiasts and an ecosystem of open-source software and commercial data storage platforms. Discover the community ecosystem on our official website.