Self-Hosted / Projects / Mastodon
Mastodon
StableSpecs verified October 2, 2026
Overview
Self-hosted federated social network for independent communities.
Mastodon is a self-hosted, federated social network for communities that want to run their own server while still communicating with users on other ActivityPub-compatible servers.
Why people choose Mastodon
The search task is broader than the product name: people are looking for an open, self-hosted alternative to centralized social networks. Mastodon gives an administrator control over server rules, moderation, domain identity, local data, and community governance without isolating the server from the wider fediverse.
What is included
Official pages cover chronological timelines, accounts and profiles, posts with media and content warnings, polls, custom emojis, moderation tools, notifications, full-text search behavior, and federation through ActivityPub. A server can be operated as a public community, a private organization space, or a small personal instance.
What to know before deployment
Mastodon is a real community service, not a lightweight single-user dashboard. The official source installation requires a domain, SMTP, PostgreSQL, Redis, web and streaming services, background processing, media storage, and ongoing moderation and upgrade work. Federation also means administrators must understand moderation, abuse reports, remote servers, and delivery behavior.
Best fit
Choose Mastodon when you want an independent community with a distinct domain and moderation policy. A hosted account is easier for a small personal presence, while a simpler private chat or forum is a better fit when federation and public timelines are unnecessary.
Interface previews
Screenshots of the Mastodon interface.
Feature support
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| ActivityPub federationMastodon interoperates with other servers using ActivityPub and related fediverse protocols. | Supported |
| Chronological home and local timelinesOfficial product material emphasizes user-controlled chronological feeds rather than an advertising algorithm. | Supported |
| Media posts, polls, and content warningsOfficial pages list audio, video, images, accessibility descriptions, polls, and content warnings. | Supported |
| Server-level moderationEach server sets and enforces its own rules, with moderation controls for local communities and federation. | Supported |
| Full-text searchSearch behavior and availability depend on account settings, server configuration, and the current Mastodon release. | Partial support |
| Docker deploymentThe project maintains container-oriented deployment material, while the official source guide documents a more involved native installation path. | Supported |
| Private or single-user operationA private instance is possible, but the operational footprint remains that of a federated Rails service with background jobs and media handling. | Partial support |
| Centralized platform-wide moderationModeration is decentralized; each server is responsible for its own rules, reports, and federation decisions. | Not supported |
Community signals
- Stars
- 50.4k
- Forks
- 7.5k
- Open issues
- 4.6k
- Last commit
- 11h ago
- Latest release
- v4.7.3
- Repo created
- Feb 2016
Includes open pull requests
3w ago
Refreshed nightly from the GitHub API.
Questions
What is Mastodon used for?
Mastodon is used to run an independent social-network server where people publish posts, follow accounts, moderate a community, and communicate with users on other federated servers.
Is Mastodon a self-hosted Twitter or X alternative?
It is a self-hosted and federated microblogging alternative, but it is not one centralized network. Server administrators control their own community while users can still interact across the fediverse.
Does Mastodon need a domain and email service?
Yes for a normal public deployment. The official installation guide lists a domain name and an email delivery service or SMTP server as prerequisites.
What database does Mastodon use?
The official source installation uses PostgreSQL and also requires Redis for the application stack.
Can Mastodon run in Docker?
Yes. Mastodon publishes container-oriented deployment options, although administrators still need to manage storage, secrets, upgrades, networking, and federation.
Is Mastodon free and open source?
Yes. Mastodon is free and open-source software under AGPL-3.0, while individual servers may have their own hosting costs and rules.
What is the main tradeoff with self-hosting Mastodon?
You gain control over identity, moderation, and community data, but you take on a multi-service deployment, email and media delivery, abuse handling, upgrades, and federation operations.
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