Understanding Metadata

Overview

Once your Digital Asset is made and you're ready to give it a new home you must first write it's Metadata! Digital Asset metadata refers to the additional information that is stored alongside the Digital Asset itself, such as its name, description, image, and other attributes. This metadata is often stored as a JSON file on IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) and is referenced in the Digital Asset's smart contract. You can use pin managers such as Piñata.cloud or Digital Asset.storage's file manager to safely host your metadata and even Digital Assets to the IPFS network. If this is what you're looking for a quick Piñata guild please visit this page.

IPFS

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a decentralized, peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing files. It uses a content-addressed system, which means that files are identified by their content, rather than by their location on a specific server. This makes it a powerful tool for creating and managing Digital Assets on a blockchain. IPFS is often used to store the metadata associated with Digital Assets. This metadata includes information such as the Digital Asset's name, description, image, and other attributes. By storing the metadata on IPFS, it is accessible to anyone on the network and is not dependent on a single server or organization. Digital Assets can also be stored on IPFS, which helps ensure their immutability and authenticity. When an Digital Asset is created, a reference to its location on IPFS is included in the Digital Asset's smart contract. This means that anyone can verify that the Digital Asset is authentic by checking its metadata on IPFS.

Your Metadata

Once stored on the IPFS, your metadata can be pulled by dApps and marketplaces to display your Non Fungible Token or Digital Asset! If you're ready to write up your JSONs you can use the examples shown here for a brief run down on how to get started.

Template Below

{
  "name": "Digital Asset Name Here",
  "description": "Hi Frens! Description here",
  "image": "ipfs://"CID"/filename.png",
  "attributes": [
    {
      "trait_type": "Traits of your choice",
      "value": "value of your choice"
      "trait_type": "Traits of your choice",
      "value": "value of your choice"
      "trait_type": "Traits of your choice",
      "value": "value of your choice"
    }
  ]
}

Example Below

{
  "name": "tSphere 01",
  "description": "Coolest Digital Asset in the World, Unless you're square.",
  "image": "ipfs://QmXH4GsGYhYHwnMf3AfX8NRF2CGbTJ5RYDApUj5x29hYsc/tsphere1.png",
  "attributes": [
    {
      "trait_type": "Rarity",
      "value": "Hella Rare"
    }
  ]
}

If you'd like some more in depth information about Metadata please do use the Metadata Standards