- Starting Up
  If you've just started I2P, the number of Active Peers indicated under the Peers section in the side panel on the left should start to grow over the next few minutes. When your router is ready, you'll also see a Local Tunnel named Shared Clients listed there, and possibly other clients and servers. If not, see the troubleshooting section below. These Local Tunnels provide connections to the I2P network, enabling your bittorrent, email, web proxy and other services. Your Network Database indicates all known peers on the network. Additionally, you can monitor existing Peer Connections, and view existing Tunnels and their status. More information is available on the help page.
- Network Integration
  When you start I2P, it may take a few minutes to bootstrap (integrate) your router into the network and find additional peers, so please be patient. When I2P starts up, and during normal operation, I2P's tunnel build readiness indicator in the side panel may indicate that I2P is "Rejecting Tunnels"; this is normal behavior. Once green circles are indicated next to your Local Tunnels, there is a wide variety of things you can do with I2P, and below we introduce you to some of them.

### Services on I2P

- Hidden Services and Public Web Browsing
  On I2P you can access hidden service websites ("I2P sites") and other services, and you can host your own services. You can also access the normal web anonymously via I2P's built-in web proxy (outproxy). Configure your browser to use the HTTP proxy at `127.0.0.1 port 4444`, then browse to an I2P Site or website at an `http://` or `https://` address. If you wish to disable or change outproxy access to the non-anonymous internet, remove or modify the outproxy entry for `false.i2p` under the Outproxies option in the I2P HTTP Proxy Tunnel Editor. In the "Sites of Interest" section below, we list a few of the sites hosted on I2P.
  There are also a number of semi-official and unofficial efforts to build browsing tools for I2P, including a preconfigured Firefox Browser profile, an easy-to-install WebExtension, or via automatic launchers in privacy-focused Linux distributions like Whonix. While these are all interesting projects, please evaluate them to see if they fit within your personal threat model before trusting them with your well-being.
- Anonymous Email
  Postman's I2P-based mail system can be accessed either via I2P's built-in mail client or with any external mail client. Accounts can send and receive mail from the normal internet. For an account, visit hq.postman.i2p.
- Anonymous File Transfer
  I2PSnark is integrated into I2P, providing anonymous, encrypted BitTorrent transfers.
- Anonymous Chat
  Start your IRC client (e.g. HexChat) and connect to the server at `127.0.0.1 port 6668`. You do not need to configure a proxy in your IRC client; I2P provides you with a local IRC tunnel (configured in your IRC client as an IRC server or remote host). Your local I2P IRC tunnel on `localhost:6668` will direct you to one of three IRC servers hosted on I2P by Postman, echelon and zl0, but neither you nor they know where the other is, and your communcations are encrypted in transit by I2P to prevent interception. Once you're there, `#i2p-chat` and `#i2p-dev` are just a few of the available channels you may wish to join. I2P is also suitable for unmonitorable and uncensorable anonymous chat, as well as alternative IRC servers, Jabber servers, website-based chat, and more. You may run your own servers over I2P in whatever flavor you choose, or if you're a developer write your own I2P applications. Both UDP and TCP protocols are supported.
- Forums and Blogging
  All normal blogging, forum and CMS software will run over I2P, though you're advised to take extra precautions with security when setting up and to keep all associated software (e.g. Php, MySql, Python, Apache) up to date and locked-down! Also, there are quite a few community run forums on I2P in various languages; see below for some suggestions.
- Plugins for I2P
  Extend the usefulness of I2P by installing plugins: blogging, chatting, file sharing and other plugins have already been written or ported and await your installation! Browse the plugins and related info at wiki.i2p-projekt.i2p. If you're a developer, a complete framework for writing your own plugins is provided with documentation.

### Anonymous Encrypted Web Hosting on I2P

- Built-in Web-Server
  I2P comes with a built-in web server for hosting your own hidden service website ("eepsite") on the I2P network: a Jetty instance listening on http://127.0.0.1:7658/. To host your own content, simply place your files in the `eepsite/docroot/` directory (or place any standard JSP/Servlet .war files under `eepsite/webapps`, or standard CGI scripts under `eepsite/cgi-bin`) and they'll show up. You can also run any alternative web server platform over I2P and replace the built-in server, or run it on another tunnel.
- Start Your Tunnel
  After starting up, your pre-configured I2P Webserver Tunnel, your website will be visible (but not discoverable) to others. Detailed instructions for starting your website, registering an .i2p domain and promoting your site to others are accessible via your own I2P webserver on http://127.0.0.1:7658/help/.

### I2P-Hidden Services of Interest

- Invisible Internet Project (I2P) Official Website
  i2p-projekt.i2p: Secure and anonymous connections to geti2p.net. If you want to know more about how I2P works or how you can participate, this is the first place to visit!
- I2P Community Forums
  zzz's developer forums hosts discussion related to I2P development. i2pforum.i2p: A forum where problems and ideas relating to I2P and associated topics are discussed.
- I2P Planet
  planet.i2p: An RSS aggregator site that takes news and events from around I2P and publishes them all in one place. A good site to visit to see the community at work!
- I2P Network Health
  stats.i2p: Check out various aspects of network performance with this I2P network monitoring site run by zzz.
- I2P Bug Tracker - GitLab
  git.idk.i2p: I2P's issue reporting and bug-tracking system. Please visit if you have an issue to report, also available at https://i2pgit.org/
- Discover I2P
  There are many more hidden services - just follow the links from the ones you see, bookmark your favourites, and visit them often!

## Troubleshooting and Further Assistance

- Be Patient!
  I2P may be slow to integrate into network the first time you run it as it bootstraps into the network and finds peers. The longer your I2P router is running, the better it will perform, so try and keep your router on as long as you can, 24/7 if possible! If, after 30 minutes, your Active: [connected/recent] count still has less than 10 peers, or your total number of Integrated peers is less than 5, there are several things you can do to check for problems:
- Check Your Configuration and Bandwidth Allocation
  I2P functions best when you can accurately reflect the speed of your network connection in the bandwidth configuration section. By default I2P is configured with some fairly conservative values that will not suit many use cases, so please take time to review these settings and correct where necessary. The more bandwidth you allocate, specifically upstream bandwidth, the more you will benefit from the network.
- Firewalls, Modems and Routers
  Where possible, please ensure I2P/Java is allowed un-firewalled access from the internet by configuring your modem/router/pc firewall accordingly. If you're behind a prohibitive firewall but have unrestricted outbound access, I2P can still function; you can turn off inbound access and rely on SSU IP Address Detection (firewall hole punching) to connect you to the network, and your network status in the side panel will indicate "Network: Firewalled". For optimal performance, please ensure I2P's external port is visible from the internet. See below for more information.
- Check Your Proxy Settings
  If you cannot see any websites at all (not even i2p-projekt.i2p), make sure your browser's proxy is set to access http traffic (not https, not socks) via `127.0.0.1 port 4444`. If you need some help, there's a guide to configuring your browser for I2P use.
- Check Your Logs
  Logs may be helpful to resolve a problem. You may wish to paste excerpts in our forum for help, or perhaps paste it instead and reference the link on IRC for help.
- Verify Java is Up to Date
  Ensure your Java is up to date. Check your Java version at the top of the logs page.
- Problems running on Legacy Hardware
  [Linux/BSD] If you can't start the router with `i2p/i2prouter start` try the `runplain.sh` script in the same directory. Root privileges are never required to run I2P.
- Enable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)
  Your modem or router probably supports UPnP for automatic port forwarding. Ensure UPnP support is enabled on your modem or router. Now try restarting the I2P router. If successful, I2P should report "Network: OK" in the side panel once the I2P router completes initial connectivity tests.
- Port Forwarding
  Open I2P's port on your modem, router and/or firewall(s) for better connectivity (ideally both UDP and TCP). More information on how to go about port forwarding can be easily found through a web search. Should you have any difficulties, you may request assistance in our forums and IRC channels listed below. Note that I2P does not support connecting to the internet via an http or socks proxy [patches welcome!], though you can connect to proxies via I2P itself once connected to the network.
- Getting Support Online
  You may also want to review the information on the I2P website, post messages to the I2P discussion forum or swing by #i2p or #i2p-chat on I2P's internal IRC network - Irc2P. These channels are also available outside of I2P's encrypted, anonymous network via Freenode IRC.
- Reporting Bugs
  To report a bug, please file a ticket on git.idk.i2p or, over clearnet, https://i2pgit.org/. For developer-related discussions, please visit zzz's developer forums or come and visit the developer channel on I2P's IRC network. Developers can browse source at git.idk.i2p.
- Get Involved!
  I2P is developed and maintained mostly through unfunded, voluntary participation by community members. We're happy to accept donations, which go into essential hosting and administrative costs. We have cash bounties for aspects of I2P for developers looking for incentives to participate, and we're always looking for more Java coders, translators, promoters and users to help I2P grow. The bigger the I2P network, the more everyone benefits, so simply telling all your friends about I2P (and lending a hand with the installation and setup where needed) is helpful. For further info on how you can participate, visit the volunteers page on the website.

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