I2P Eepsite Hosting

I2P uses a different architectural model than Tor. Tor is a centralized (directory-based) overlay network: Tor directory authorities publish the list of relays, and clients fetch relay descriptors from these authorities. I2P is a fully distributed network using a DHT (Distributed Hash Table) called the Network Database (NetDB). There are no central directory servers in I2P. Tor is primarily designed for anonymous browsing of the clearnet (exit nodes connect to clearnet), with .onion hidden services as a secondary feature. I2P is designed as a fully internal network (garlic routing for internal services) with clearnet access (outproxies) as a secondary feature. The result: I2P has a stronger ecosystem for internal network services (eepsites, I2P mail, I2P BitTorrent) but weaker clearnet access. Tor has better clearnet anonymous browsing and more widely available .onion services. I2P's garlic routing bundles multiple messages into 'garlic cloves' for transport, potentially providing better throughput than Tor's circuit-based model. However, the I2P network is smaller than Tor, with fewer nodes and lower total capacity.

I2P is available as a Java application (requiring JRE 11+) or as a native I2P client (I2Pd, written in C++, lower resource usage). Install I2Pd on Debian/Ubuntu: add the I2Pd repository and install the i2pd package. Configure /etc/i2pd/i2pd.conf with basic settings: ipv4=true, ipv6=false (or true if your server has IPv6), bandwidth=1024 (throttle bandwidth if needed), and notransit=false (participate in the I2P network as a transit node, improving anonymity and network health). I2Pd starts a web console on localhost:7070 for monitoring. After starting I2Pd, the node needs time to integrate into the I2P network (15-60 minutes for initial integration). The console shows the number of known nodes and tunnels. For eepsite configuration: create a tunnel configuration file in /etc/i2pd/tunnels.d/ defining a server tunnel that maps your eepsite's local port to an I2P address.

An I2P eepsite requires a server tunnel definition. Create /etc/i2pd/tunnels.d/mysite.conf with: [mysite] type = http host = 127.0.0.1 port = 8080 keys = mysite.dat. The 'keys' file stores the eepsite's private key (analogous to Tor's hidden service private key). After restarting I2Pd, the eepsite's .b32.i2p address (the base32 representation of the eepsite's public key) appears in the I2Pd web console under tunnels. The eepsite is accessible within the I2P network via this .b32.i2p address. For a human-readable address: register a .i2p hostname via the I2P jump service (stats.i2p or similar), which maps a name like mysite.i2p to the .b32.i2p address. This registration is done within the I2P network by publishing the name-to-address mapping to the I2P naming service. Run any web server (nginx, Apache) on localhost:8080, and I2Pd forwards I2P connections to it. The web server configuration is the same as for a Tor hidden service - bind only to localhost.

Choose Tor .onion service when: (1) Maximum reach - Tor has significantly more users than I2P. Your .onion service is accessible to all Tor Browser users. I2P eepsites are accessible only to I2P network participants, a smaller community. (2) Clearnet audience - Tor's larger user base includes many people using Tor for clearnet privacy, who may discover your .onion service via search engines like Ahmia. (3) Search engine indexing - Ahmia indexes .onion services, providing discovery. No comparable public search engine exists for I2P eepsites. Choose I2P eepsite when: (1) I2P-native applications - I2P has robust BitTorrent (I2PSnark), email (I2P-Bote), and messaging (I2PMessenger) ecosystems. Services integrating with these are natural I2P choices. (2) Bandwidth and throughput - I2P's garlic routing may provide better throughput than Tor for large transfers. (3) Complementary to Tor - running both a .onion service and a .i2p eepsite reaches different audiences. (4) Decentralized network preference - I2P has no central directory authorities (a concern for Tor's trust model).

I2Pd is actively developed with regular security and performance updates. Keep it updated via the package manager: apt update && apt upgrade i2pd. Monitor the I2Pd changelog for breaking changes in configuration format between versions. I2Pd resource usage: at idle with moderate routing activity, I2Pd uses 100-300 MB RAM and 1-10% CPU. On a VPS with other services, this is significant. Tune bandwidth limits (bandwidth = setting in i2pd.conf) if I2Pd is consuming too much network capacity. The I2Pd web console provides real-time metrics on tunnel count, transit traffic, and connection statistics. For eepsite backup: back up the .dat keys file (in /var/lib/i2pd/ by default). This file contains the eepsite's private key - if lost, the .b32.i2p address is permanently lost and a new address must be generated (similar to losing a Tor hidden service private key).