monero-site/knowledge-base/moneropedia/address-book.md

layout	entry	tags	terms	summary
moneropedia	Address Book	kovri	Address-Book	Allows you to visit I2P websites/services that have the .i2p domain

The Basics

In order to browse @I2P sites or services with @Kovri, you'll need an address book. An address book will allow you to translate @I2P websites/services that use the .i2p top-level domain into an address that @I2P network will understand.

Without an address book, you would be stuck using a @base32-address every time you visit an @I2P website/service - and that's not fun!

In-depth information

Since DNS does not exist on the @I2P network, @Kovri also does not use DNS or any sort of @canonically-unique-host resolution. Instead, Kovri pairs a @locally-unique-host to a @base64-address @destination in a @subscription. Once your address book is filled with a @subscription, you can resolve your favorite .i2p domain site into a usable @I2P destination.

Creating an Address Book

By default, your installation will come with a default public @subscription called hosts.txt in your @data-directory. When @Kovri starts, it loads this subscription and fetches any other subscriptions you've specified. Once loaded, your address book will be appropriately filled. For details on how to manage subscriptions, see @subscription.

Updating the Address Book

Currently, there are several ways to update your address book:

1. Use a @jump-service to insert I2P addresses into your address book
2. Use a @jump-service to copy/paste an address into your private @subscription
3. Manually add or subtract from a private @subscription

Note: Kovri is in heavy development. In the future there will be easier ways to update the address book

Address Book / Naming specification

For specification details and more, visit the Address Book and Naming Specification