Introduction
Project Name: sia-fuse - Native FUSE Filesystem Driver for Sia Network
Name of the organization or individual submitting the proposal: Gmin2 & Team
Describe your project:
sia-fuse-rs is a native, high-performance FUSE (Filesystem in Userspace) driver written in Rust that mounts the Sia network as a local drive on Linux and macOS. It allows users to interact with decentralized storage using standard OS tools (cp, ls, vim, file managers) without learning complex APIs or running heavy gateway services.
Currently, accessing Sia storage requires running a full renterd node (500MB+ RAM) and often an S3 gateway for filesystem access, creating significant friction. sia-fuse solves this by implementing a lightweight Rust driver that communicates directly with the Sia network via the modern sia-sdk-rs/indexd SDK, eliminating the double-translation overhead (FUSE → S3 → Sia).
Core Features:
- Native Mounting: Mount
/mnt/sialike a USB drive or Dropbox folder - Zero-Gateway Architecture: Direct Sia protocol communication, no S3 layer
- Smart Multi-Tier Caching: SQLite metadata cache + LRU data cache + prefetch engine for smooth video streaming
- Range Request Support: Efficient partial reads leveraging Sia’s 4MB sector architecture
- Path-to-Hash Mapping: Virtual directory hierarchy over Sia’s content-addressed storage
Technical Architecture:
Data Flow - Upload & Erasure Coding:
Who benefits from your project?
- Non-Technical Users: Drag-and-drop Sia storage in native file explorers without touching CLI
- Developers: Build apps treating Sia as standard POSIX filesystem (rsync, vim, IDEs work transparently)
- Media Consumers: Stream video/audio directly from Sia via VLC/mpv with smart prefetching
- Sia Ecosystem: Dramatically lower barrier to entry, increasing user adoption and showcasing v2 lightweight client architecture
How does the project serve the Foundation’s mission of user-owned data?
User-owned data is only valuable if accessible. Currently, Sia’s technical complexity locks self-custodied data behind high-friction tooling. sia-fuse makes user-owned decentralized storage indistinguishable from local storage with a simple “mount” command, drastically increasing utility and adoption potential. By building on the modern indexd architecture, this aligns perfectly with the Foundation’s v2 strategy of lightweight, browser-capable clients that don’t require full blockchain sync.
FATF/OFAC Compliance:
- Are you a resident of any sanctioned jurisdiction? No
- Will your payment bank account be in any sanctioned jurisdiction? No
Grant Specifics
Amount of money requested: $32,000 USD
Duration: 4 months
Monthly Disbursement: $8,000 USD/month
Payment Method: ACH or wire transfer to US bank account
Budget Breakdown
| Role | People | Rate | Hours/Month | Monthly Cost | Total (4 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rust/FUSE Developer | 2 | $35/hr | 57 each (114 total) | $7,980 | $31,920 |
| Infrastructure & CI/CD | — | — | — | $0 | $0 (absorbed) |
| TOTAL | 2 | $35/hr | 228/month | $7,980 | $31,920 |
Budget Justification:
This project requires two specialized developers working collaboratively to deliver production-grade filesystem software within 4 months:
- Why Two Developers:
- Parallel Development: One developer focuses on FUSE layer + caching, the other on Sia integration + cryptography
- Code Review: Filesystem bugs can cause data corruption—peer review is critical for safety
- Risk Mitigation: Concurrent deadlock testing and performance benchmarking require multiple perspectives
- Faster Delivery: 4-month timeline is aggressive; 2 developers ensure milestones are met
Timeline with Measurable Milestones
| Month | Phase | Deliverables | Measurable Success Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Core FUSE Infrastructure | Rust scaffolding, FUSE mount/unmount, in-memory file storage, read/write/readdir operations | Mounts successfully; touch, echo, cat commands work; cargo test passes; 80%+ test coverage |
| 2 | Sia Network Integration | indexd SDK integration, upload pipeline (encrypt→Reed-Solomon→upload 30 shards), download pipeline (parallel fetch 10 shards→decrypt), range request support |
cp file.txt ~/sia/ uploads to Sia; cat ~/sia/file.txt downloads correctly; sha256sum matches original; rm deletes from Sia |
| 3 | Performance Optimization | SQLite path manager, LRU data cache (1GB default), prefetch engine for sequential reads, background sync worker | ls 1000 files <100ms; mv instant (<50ms); vlc ~/sia/movie.mp4 (1080p) streams smoothly; Cache hit rate >80% |
| 4 | Production Release | CLI (sia-fuse init/mount/status), Linux + macOS binaries, error recovery (reconnect, auth renewal), comprehensive docs, v1.0.0 release |
Fresh install works end-to-end; 100+ tests pass; Zero clippy warnings; README/INSTALL/USAGE docs complete |
Potential Risks:
- FUSE Deadlocks: Mitigation: Rust prevents data races; use battle-tested
fusercrate; extensive concurrent testing - indexd API Stability: Mitigation: Close Foundation communication; fallback to renterd APIs if needed; 20% time buffer included
- Performance Expectations: Mitigation: Aggressive caching ensures hot data at RAM speed; transparent benchmarks; target use cases (backup/archival/streaming, not low-latency DBs)
Development Information
Will all of your project’s code be open-source?
Yes. Entire codebase under MIT License, matching Sia’s core projects. No closed-source components.
Code Repository: https://github.com/Gmin2/sia-fuse (we are still working on prototyping)
Monthly Progress Reports:
Yes, I agree to submit monthly reports to Sia Forum within 5 business days of month-end, including:
- Milestone status vs. planned deliverables
- Demo videos/screenshots
- GitHub commits and release tags
- Performance benchmarks
- Challenges encountered and resolutions
- Budget status (hours spent, funds utilized)
Team Capabilities
Team Members:
- Gmin2 - Lead Developer & FUSE Specialist
- ItsMoh - Sia Integration & Cryptography Specialist
Relevant Expertise:
- Gmin2 have experience with FFI and have a rust crate that deal with all the FFI bindings of Cups-rs (linux official printing system) and the rust crates that deal with the printing system.
- We have previously completed the InkBench project which was funded by the polkadot ecosystem which was purely written in rust which is a in built benchmarking tool for the ink! smart contract language.
- We have also worked on developing an interactive ctf game where we teach common smart contract attacks and exploits
- I have the privileged of working with the official cargo team in implementing the autocompletion of the cargo command line tool
See all my works in (Gmin2 (Mintu Gogoi) · GitHub)
Ecosystem & Prior Art Analysis
Current Ecosystem Limitations:
- renterd + S3 Gateway + rclone: Triple translation layer (FUSE→S3→Sia) causes high latency and overhead
- renterd HTTP API: Requires custom integration per app, no compatibility with standard tools
How sia-fuse Improves:
- Direct Protocol: FUSE→sia-fuse→indexd→Sia (no S3 layer)
- Lightweight: No renterd required; indexd handles blockchain indexing
- Sia-Aware Optimization: Custom caching for 4MB sectors, parallel shard downloads
- Universal Compatibility: Works with any POSIX app instantly
Prior Art:
- Generic S3 Tools (s3fs, goofys): Not Sia-aware, can’t optimize for erasure coding or sector boundaries.
- Our Improvement: Native Sia protocol, 4MB sector-aligned caching, stronger POSIX consistency
Contact Information
Email: [[email protected]]
Discord: [gmintu]
GitHub: Gmin2 (Mintu Gogoi) · GitHub
Timezone: [IST]
Preferred Contact: Discord for quick questions, email for formal communications