NFT metadata storage

NFT metadata storage determines where information associated with a token, such as its name, image and attributes, is kept. It can reside in a contract or outside the network through a URI. Availability, integrity and mutability depend on architecture and permissions.

Written by Pablo Gómez

Founder & CEO at Metlabs · Reviewed on October 11, 2026

In an on-chain model, a contract stores or generates metadata. It can return a data URI without an external server. On-chain content is not necessarily immutable: the contract may allow upgrades or parameter changes.

In an off-chain model, tokenURI points to an external resource. HTTP depends on server availability. IPFS identifies content through a CID and requires nodes to keep storing it; content addressing does not guarantee availability.

A name, attributes and image may have different locations. Assessing an NFT requires checking issuer change permissions, file preservation and integrity verification. Storage choice does not establish legal rights in the content.