Deploy Mastodon on Your Own Server

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What is Mastodon?

Your self-hosted, globally interconnected microblogging community

Self-Host Mastodon

Follow these steps to deploy on your own server.

Install Docker

Skip this step if Docker is already installed on your server.

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Configure

Customize the settings below. Defaults work for most cases.

Service Name*

Domain*

General

Secret Key Base*

One-time password secret*

Postgres Password*

Redis Password*

SMTP hostname*

SMTP username*

SMTP from*

SMTP password*

SMTP port*

SMTP TLS*

Deploy

Copy the configuration and run it on your server.

services:
  mastodon:
    environment:
      ALTERNATE_DOMAINS: ""
      DB_HOST: mastodon-postgres
      DB_NAME: mastodon_production
      DB_PASS: 1659fdf5f4fb
      DB_PORT: "5432"
      DB_USER: mastodon
      ES_ENABLED: "false"
      LOCAL_DOMAIN: mastodon.your-domain.com
      OTP_SECRET: 7b301a66ac32fea01b6ba08d02ed8237bbc24ced9f6d4e3aacbe46870f041728
      RAILS_ENV: production
      REDIS_HOST: mastodon-redis
      REDIS_PASSWORD: e4e078d1d576
      REDIS_PORT: "6379"
      S3_ENABLED: "false"
      SECRET_KEY_BASE: d77e4449ac57f54f4cef2a196b363a3b631809b759cb858114de32254f33b7f7
      SINGLE_USER_MODE: "false"
      SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS: ""
      SMTP_LOGIN: ""
      SMTP_PASSWORD: ""
      SMTP_PORT: ""
      SMTP_SERVER: ""
      SMTP_TLS: ""
      VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY: 3bb15abf9d1ad99c
      VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY: 36982b5b89f6df85
    volumes:
      - mastodon-system:/mastodon/public/system
  mastodon-postgres:
    image: postgres:14-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: mastodon_production
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: 1659fdf5f4fb
      POSTGRES_USER: mastodon
    volumes:
      - mastodon-postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  mastodon-redis:
    environment:
      REDIS_PASSWORD: e4e078d1d576
    volumes:
      - mastodon-redis-data:/data
  mastodon-sidekiq:
    environment:
      ALTERNATE_DOMAINS: ""
      DB_HOST: mastodon-postgres
      DB_NAME: mastodon_production
      DB_PASS: 1659fdf5f4fb
      DB_PORT: "5432"
      DB_USER: mastodon
      ES_ENABLED: "false"
      LOCAL_DOMAIN: mastodon.your-domain.com
      OTP_SECRET: 7b301a66ac32fea01b6ba08d02ed8237bbc24ced9f6d4e3aacbe46870f041728
      RAILS_ENV: production
      REDIS_HOST: mastodon-redis
      REDIS_PASSWORD: e4e078d1d576
      REDIS_PORT: "6379"
      S3_ENABLED: "false"
      SECRET_KEY_BASE: d77e4449ac57f54f4cef2a196b363a3b631809b759cb858114de32254f33b7f7
      SINGLE_USER_MODE: "false"
      SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS: ""
      SMTP_LOGIN: ""
      SMTP_PASSWORD: ""
      SMTP_PORT: ""
      SMTP_SERVER: ""
      SMTP_TLS: ""
      VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY: 47b3939f93faee8e
      VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY: 45706ba53cb97d9e
    volumes:
      - mastodon-system:/mastodon/public/system
  mastodon-streaming:
    environment:
      ALTERNATE_DOMAINS: ""
      DB_HOST: mastodon-postgres
      DB_NAME: mastodon_production
      DB_PASS: 1659fdf5f4fb
      DB_PORT: "5432"
      DB_USER: mastodon
      ES_ENABLED: "false"
      LOCAL_DOMAIN: mastodon.your-domain.com
      OTP_SECRET: 7b301a66ac32fea01b6ba08d02ed8237bbc24ced9f6d4e3aacbe46870f041728
      RAILS_ENV: production
      REDIS_HOST: mastodon-redis
      REDIS_PASSWORD: e4e078d1d576
      REDIS_PORT: "6379"
      S3_ENABLED: "false"
      SECRET_KEY_BASE: d77e4449ac57f54f4cef2a196b363a3b631809b759cb858114de32254f33b7f7
      SINGLE_USER_MODE: "false"
      SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS: ""
      SMTP_LOGIN: ""
      SMTP_PASSWORD: ""
      SMTP_PORT: ""
      SMTP_SERVER: ""
      SMTP_TLS: ""
      VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY: bced78bdf50dae7d
      VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY: 1c064cb7664ab2c8
    volumes:
      - mastodon-system:/mastodon/public/system
volumes:
  mastodon-system: {}
  mastodon-postgres-data: {}
  mastodon-redis-data: {}

Then run:

docker compose up -d

Access

Once started, access your app at http://localhost:3000

Why Self-Host Mastodon?

Full Data Ownership

Your data stays on your servers. No third-party access.

No Monthly Fees

Pay only for your server. No per-seat or usage charges.

Complete Control

Customize, backup, and scale on your own terms.

Privacy & Compliance

Meet GDPR, HIPAA, or internal security requirements.

Technical Details

Want to go faster?

Try Senate! Senate handles Docker, HTTPS, updates, and monitoring for you. Deploy any of our 300+ apps with a single command.

Install on any Linux server:

sh -c "$(curl -sSL https://get.senate.sh)"

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