> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tape.network/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Fast object storage for your computer, your hardware, or Tapenet.

Tapedrive is fast object-storage software you can run on your computer, deploy to
hardware you control, or use through [Tapenet](https://docs.tape.network/tapenet.md), the public network of Tapedrive
nodes. If you know Git, HTTP, or S3, the interfaces are already familiar.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Tapedrive is in early access. See the
> [installation guide](https://docs.tape.network/install.md), or read the [quickstart](https://docs.tape.network/protocol/quickstart.md)
> to see how the pieces fit together.

## Why Tapedrive

> **Fast**
>
> Write a file, get an address, and share it. Large writes move straight from the
> client to storage nodes.

> **Familiar**
>
> Keep the tools and workflows you already know.

> **Yours**
>
> Run it on your computer, run it on dedicated hardware, or use Tapenet. You choose
> where the storage lives.

> **Built to last**
>
> Tapedrive uses erasure coding, verification, and bandwidth-optimal repair to keep
> data available when machines fail.

## What you can do

* Share a file and give someone its address.
* Deploy a static website from a directory or Git repository.
* Point existing S3 tools at a Tapedrive gateway.
* Store objects from an application, then serve them over plain HTTP.
* Run the storage yourself ([coming soon](https://docs.tape.network/tapenet/local.md)), or use [Tapenet](https://docs.tape.network/tapenet.md).

Tapedrive is object storage, not a database. It works best for files, websites,
artifacts, datasets, backups, and other data written as whole objects. Data on Tapenet
is public, so encrypt anything private before writing it.

## How it works

Solana keeps track of the network: which nodes are in it and which pieces of data each
one holds. Tapedrive nodes store and serve the data itself. A [private network](https://docs.tape.network/tapenet/local.md)
works the same way with tapesvm, a high-performance drop-in replacement for Solana.

The [architecture overview](https://docs.tape.network/protocol/architecture/overview.md) explains the full system.

## Where next

> **[Install Tapedrive](https://docs.tape.network/install.md)**
>
> One command installs the CLI and the rest of the toolchain.

> **[Use Tapenet](https://docs.tape.network/tapenet.md)**
>
> Use the public network, or contribute hardware by running a node.


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