Welcome to the second installment of our Arweave FAQs series! In Part 1, we set the foundation by addressing "What is Arweave?", unveiling its revolutionary approach to decentralized storage, emphasizing its commitment to data permanence, security, and affordability. Now, as we delve deeper, this segment will guide you through the ins and outs of engaging with the network. 

Accounts

Arweave accounts are your all-in-one gateway to the Permaweb, offering a unified digital identity across all apps. These accounts not only simplify interactions but also secure your assets. With intuitive tools, setting up and managing your accounts is a breeze, ensuring both convenience and security.

How to get and use an account on Arweave?

Tools like ArConnect and Arweave.app offer intuitive interfaces to create and manage your Arweave account seamlessly. For a visual guide, check out this short video on how to get and use an account on Arweave.

Furthermore, tools like Othent eliminate the need for traditional accounts enabling users to interact with Arweave with only their Google accounts, making Arweave even more user friendly!

Uploading and Retrieving Data

From simple uploads to advanced data management, this section delves into how you can seamlessly store and retrieve information on Arweave. Whether you're curious about privacy, costs, or indexing of information for precise retrieval, we've got you covered.

What are ways to upload data to Arweave?

For general users, platforms like ArDrive and Akord offer intuitive interfaces ideal for storing memories, documents, and more. For content creation, dedicated platforms such as Bazar (wide variety of creations), Pianity (music), and Permacast (podcasts) are available. Developers can use a one-stop tool like ArweaveKit for custom data uploading solutions in consumer-facing applications.

What is the cost of uploading data on Arweave?

At the time of writing, the cost of uploading data is $3.457 USD for 1 GB of data (a 20 min movie in HD). You can refer to this calculator to determine the current cost. The cost of storage is influenced by the amount of data being stored, prevailing market conditions, the total available storage, and the rewards for funding storage.

How do I pay for uploading data on Arweave?

AR tokens are essential for Arweave transactions. You can acquire them via various exchanges or services. For a detailed guide on obtaining AR tokens, check this blog. Alternatively, a tool like Irys allows for payments in cryptocurrencies other than AR. For those seeking to pay for storage using fiat currency, Turbo offers a seamless solution, accepting payments through credit and debit cards in local currencies.

What types of data can be uploaded to Arweave?

Arweave is versatile, allowing users to upload any type of data, including images, videos, music, text documents, 3D files, and even entire web applications.

What if I want to upload private information on Arweave?

All data on Arweave is public. However, users wishing to upload private information can encrypt it prior to uploading. Platforms like ArDrive and Akord offer built-in encryption mechanisms, while developers can also integrate encryption into custom solutions using tools like ArweaveKit.

How to retrieve data on Arweave?

When data is uploaded on Arweave, it is “indexed”, cataloging key information and tags. This allows for efficient data searches on Arweave using GraphQL, ensuring fast and accurate data retrieval tailored to specific needs. Data uploaded via user-friendly platforms like ArDrive, Akord, Bazar, Pianity, and Permacast can be easily accessed through their respective dashboards. For adept users seeking more tailored solutions, custom GraphQL backends can be set up, or out-of-the-box functions from tools like ArweaveKit can be utilized as well.

If the data was encrypted during the upload, it must be decrypted for access. However, platforms with simple UIs that offer built-in encryption, decrypt it on their ends before presenting it to users.

Is there a charge to download or retrieve data on Arweave?

No, data retrieval on Arweave is free, ensuring public access to the stored information for everyone.

Smart Contracts

Arweave's decentralized platform not only offers permanent data storage but also supports the development and execution of smart contracts. These contracts provide functionalities similar to traditional smart contracts but with unique features tailored to Arweave's infrastructure.

Can I write smart contracts on Arweave?

Absolutely! Arweave supports the creation of smart contracts using a unique standard known as SmartWeave. Each SmartWeave contract maintains its individual on-chain state, ensuring that every contract can operate independently. Arweave distinguishes itself by supporting a diverse range of languages for SmartWeave contracts, including JavaScript, WebAssembly (Rust, AssemblyScript, etc.), and EVM bytecode (Solidity, Yul, etc.), further setting it apart from many other networks. These contracts are designed to work seamlessly with applications, providing both state and logic that are stored on-chain and can be evaluated by users in a trustless and verifiable manner, ensuring the integrity of the application's operations. An example of this is a decentralized marketplace like Bazar.

Moreover, tools like Warp have fostered an ecosystem for a smooth experience around SmartWeave, offering SDKs for easy contract deployment and interaction, as well as block explorers to visualize results. The versatility of SmartWeave contracts has also led to the development of unique assets on Arweave, such as Atomic Tokens which we'll delve deeper into in subsequent sections.

How are smart contracts evaluated on Arweave?

Smart contracts employ a "lazy evaluation" mechanism where contracts are assessed only as required, such as during a user interaction or a data read request, shifting the evaluation responsibility from nodes to users. This approach allows the network to focus on passive data storage instead of actively evaluating smart contracts. Users must evaluate the contract’s current state using its source code, initial state, and list of interactions, after which they can append their interaction. Tools such as Warp assist in verifiably evaluating contract states and caching them for faster information retrieval. Additionally, With nodes relieved from evaluation tasks, any and all contract interactions are free of cost.

What are oracles and why do we need them on Arweave?

Oracles like Redstone bridge the on-chain and off-chain worlds by verifiably fetching real-world data for the blockchain. This data can validate conditions or trigger actions in smart contracts, broadening Arweave's decentralized application potential. For instance, an oracle might pull weather data to allocate energy distribution across grids or fetch the latest sports scores to determine the winner of a fantasy sports league.

Given that oracle storage can be expensive on other networks, Arweave emerges as an optimal choice for cost-effective permanent storage of this data.

Some additional concepts on Arweave

Diving deeper into Arweave's ecosystem reveals a plethora of innovative concepts that set it apart from other blockchains. These advanced features not only enhance the user experience but also provide unique functionalities that redefine the boundaries of decentralized technology. In this section, we'll unpack some of these cutting-edge concepts, shedding light on what makes Arweave truly groundbreaking.

What is Arweave’s Permaweb?

The Permaweb is a permanent and decentralized web built on top of Arweave. Unlike the traditional web, where information and applications can be altered, censored or even removed, Permaweb ensures resilience. Furthermore, the Permaweb works well with the traditional web we use daily. It has special gateways that help connect the two, allowing access to data and apps on the Permaweb just like any other website. This makes it easy for anyone to use, even if they're not tech-savvy, blending the new with the familiar.

For more information on the Permaweb, checkout this wiki.

What are Atomic Assets on Arweave?

Atomic Assets or Tokens are a unique data type on Arweave, linking data, metadata, and a smart contract under one identifier (common transaction id). They allow for the modification of ownership and metadata with the help of the linked smart contract. Notably, they support fractional ownership, enabling multiple creators to share ownership of a single asset. This makes them ideal for digital collectibles such as art and music where multiple individuals often co-create collectibles.

For a deeper dive into Atomic Assets and other distinctive Arweave concepts, explore the Permaweb Cookbook, a community-curated guide on Arweave.

What is on-chain licensing on Arweave?

Arweave's Universal Data License (UDL) offers a streamlined approach to on-chain content licensing. Creators can set usage rules by adding tags to content before uploading, detailing terms like commercial use or payment conditions. This system assists developers in implementing creators’ usage rights within applications. Explore the specifics of UDL in this article.

Conclusion

In this installment of our Arweave FAQs series, we've journeyed through the versatile world of Arweave, from the simplicity of account creation to the intricacies of data management, smart contracts, and groundbreaking concepts like the Permaweb and Atomic Assets. Arweave aims at making decentralized storage more accessible, seamlessly merging the best of traditional and decentralized web paradigms. 

Stay connected via X for our upcoming segments where we'll continue to unravel this vast ecosystem. And if you're keen on diving further or have an idea you’d like to work on, we encourage you to be a part of the Community Labs Discord community!