lotus/documentation/en/storing-data.md

Storing Data

There are recent bug reports with these instructions. If you happen to encounter any problems, please create a GitHub issue and a maintainer will address the problem as soon as they can.

Here are instructions for how to store data on the Lotus Testnet.

Adding a file locally

Adding a file locally allows you to make miner deals on the Lotus Testnet.

lotus client import ./your-example-file.txt

Upon success, this command will return a Data CID.

List your local files

The command to see a list of files by CID, name, size in bytes, and status:

lotus client local

An example of the output:

bafkreierupr5ioxn4obwly4i2a5cd2rwxqi6kwmcyyylifxjsmos7hrgpe Development/sample-1.txt 2332 ok
bafkreieuk7h4zs5alzpdyhlph4lxkefowvwdho3a3pml6j7dam5mipzaii Development/sample-2.txt 30618 ok

Make a Miner Deal on Lotus Testnet

Get a list of all miners that can store data:

lotus state list-miners

Get the requirements of a miner you wish to store data with:

lotus client query-ask <miner>

Store a Data CID with a miner:

lotus client deal <Data CID> <miner> <price> <duration>

• Price is in attoFIL.
• The duration, which represents how long the miner will keep your file hosted, is represented in blocks. Each block represents 45 seconds.

Upon success, this command will return a Deal CID.

The storage miner will need to seal the file before it can be retrieved. If the Lotus Storage Miner is not running on a machine designed for sealing, the process will take a very long time.