Getting started with I2P

This search engine exists in two places: this website, and the same service for the I2P network, where the sites are called eepsites and their addresses end in .i2p. Everything on this page is free, needs no account, and applies to any eepsite, not only to ours.

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Step 1: an I2P router

I2P needs a router running on your own machine before any .i2p address can be opened. The two usual choices are the Java I2P bundle and i2pd; both are free, and the bundle is the easier start because its console shows the state of your tunnels in plain language.

  1. Open the I2P website and choose the download page.
  2. Pick the package for your system: the Java I2P bundle if you want the console and the bundled browser profile, or i2pd if you prefer a small daemon.
  3. Install it and start the router. The bundle adds a menu entry; i2pd runs as a service or from a terminal.
  4. Open the console at http://127.0.0.1:7657 and wait until a few tunnels are built. On a fresh install that takes a few minutes.
  5. Point your browser at the HTTP proxy on 127.0.0.1:4444, or use the browser profile the bundle ships, and .i2p addresses will load.

Download it from the I2P project itself and from nowhere else, the same rule as Tor Browser: a package that promises "faster I2P" is the one thing you cannot afford here. The official site, and the only place to get it, is https://i2p.net/en/

Step 2: opening an eepsite

Start the router, then open its console at http://127.0.0.1:7657 and wait until a few tunnels are built: on a fresh install that takes a few minutes. Point your browser at the HTTP proxy on 127.0.0.1:4444, or use the browser profile the bundle ships, and .i2p addresses will load. There is no registration and no plugin.

A new router is slow for the first minutes, and an eepsite can be unreachable because its owner is offline. If an address does not load, give the tunnels time and try once more, then try another eepsite before you assume your setup is wrong. We test the addresses we index, but an eepsite can disappear between two crawls.

Our own addresses

This site is reachable inside I2P and on the clearnet: the same search, the same results. The clearnet address and the second network we publish an address for are below, and the address for each network this site serves is printed in the footer of every page.

What I2P does, and what it does not do

I2P routes your traffic through other people running the same software, so the sites you visit do not see your IP address, and it is hard to block at the level of a network provider. It does not make you anonymous to a site that you log in to, where you type an email address or where you pay with a card, and it cannot protect a device that is already compromised. We do not store your searches and we do not ask who you are.

Most eepsites are run by people nobody can hold responsible, so treat one the way you would treat a stranger who wants something from you: do not install software an eepsite offers you, do not give personal details, and do not pay for anything you cannot afford to lose. If an eepsite or a search is about harming people, our moderation pages explain what we do about it and where help is.

If a search worries you or you need help, these pages say where to find it: Self-Help & Support, Help after sexual violence, Drug help & treatment.