> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.stargaze.zone/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.stargaze.zone/create-and-launch/what-is-arweave.md).
# What is Arweave?
Arweave is a network for **permanent file storage**. You pay once, and your files are stored forever — there's no monthly bill, no renewal, and no service that can quietly drop your data. Studio 2.0 uses Arweave to store your NFT artwork and metadata, so a collection you launch today is still fully intact years from now.
Studio 2.0 shows your permanent-storage and launch costs up front, before you upload.
## Why it matters for your NFTs
An NFT is really two parts:
1. **The token** — an entry on the blockchain that says who owns it. This lives on Stargaze forever.
2. **The artwork and metadata** — the image, animation, name, and traits. These are usually stored *off-chain*, and the token just points to them.
If that off-chain storage ever becomes unavailable, the token still exists on-chain — but the artwork it points to can't load. Permanent storage removes that risk entirely: your art is guaranteed to stay exactly where it is, for good.
{% hint style="info" %}
An NFT is only as permanent as the place its art is stored. Arweave makes that place permanent by design.
{% endhint %}
## Arweave vs. IPFS pinning
Another common way to store NFT files is **IPFS**, which keeps files available only as long as someone keeps "pinning" them. Pinning is an ongoing job — usually a paid service — so it depends on that service continuing. Studio 2.0 uses Arweave instead: you pay once, and there's nothing to keep renewing or maintaining.
| | IPFS pinning | Arweave (Studio 2.0) |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| **How long it's stored** | As long as it's actively pinned | Permanently, guaranteed at upload |
| **Ongoing cost** | Recurring pinning fees | None — pay once |
| **What you pay** | Subscription to a pinning service | A one-time fee in ATOM, shown up front |
## What an `ar://` link is
When Studio 2.0 uploads your files, each one gets a permanent address that looks like this:
```
ar://GRYCsHU7yF5jJ0P9K1e1Yb...
```
That `ar://` address is baked into your collection's on-chain records. Anyone — Stargaze, a marketplace, or a wallet — can resolve it through any Arweave gateway to load your art. Because the address is permanent and content-addressed, the file it points to can never be swapped or lost.
## How you pay for it
You don't need an Arweave account or a separate wallet. Studio 2.0 handles it for you:
1. Studio calculates the exact storage cost from your files' total size and shows it **before** you upload.
2. You pay that amount in **ATOM**, signed from your normal Stargaze wallet.
3. Studio uploads your files to Arweave and writes the permanent `ar://` addresses into your collection.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Storage is priced by size.** Arweave charges by how much data you store (a set rate per gigabyte), so a small, well-optimized collection is inexpensive while a large one with heavy media costs more. Run your files through the built-in [Resizer](/create-and-launch/creator-tools.md) first to bring the size — and the cost — down.
{% endhint %}
## How pricing works: AR, credits, and ATOM
Arweave's native token is **AR**, and storage is priced in AR — a one-time fee that keeps your data stored permanently. Because AR trades on the open market, the real cost of an upload tracks the **AR price**: as the market moves, the amount of AR needed to store the same data moves with it.
You don't have to deal with any of that. Studio 2.0 **abstracts the AR side away**:
* You're quoted and pay in **ATOM** — the token you already hold.
* On the backend, your ATOM is converted into Arweave upload **credits**, which settle the AR cost with the network on your behalf.
* The ATOM amount you see already reflects the current AR price and conversion, so you never need AR, an Arweave wallet, or to watch the market.
The result: permanent Arweave storage, paid for with Cosmos-native ATOM, in a single step.
## Arweave has no testnet
Arweave storage is always permanent — there's no throwaway "test" version. So the art you upload while rehearsing your collection on the Cosmos Hub testnet is the **same** art your mainnet collection uses. You pay to store it once, and when you promote from testnet to mainnet, Studio reuses those exact uploads with no second storage charge.
Next: [Creating a Collection](/create-and-launch/creating-a-collection.md) →
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