The Joys of Self-Hosting - Revision history

Miki: updated instructions for 4.3.1

2024-11-29T12:47:09Z

updated instructions for 4.3.1

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:47, 29 November 2024
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	=== The setup ===		=== The setup ===

	At the moment of installation the server was running [https://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 20.04 and [https://httpd.apache.org Apache 2]. I have to say that the [https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/install official setup guide] was of great help and it was pretty straightforward to follow it. Most of the steps worked, with some notable exceptions.		At the moment of installation the server was running [https://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 24.04 and [https://httpd.apache.org Apache 2]. I have to say that the [https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/install official setup guide] was of great help and it was pretty straightforward to follow it. Most of the steps worked, with some notable exceptions.

			=== Mastodon ===

			I used the latest version of Mastodon available at the time, so 4.3.1. System user has its home directory not in <code>/home/mastodon</code>, but elsewhere. The home directory is readable by various user groups, most notably <code>www-data</code>.

	=== Ruby 3 ===		=== Ruby 3 ===

	Sadly, there is no default package for the latest version of Ruby on Ubuntu ~~(it ships with 2.7)~~, so some magic with <code>rbenv</code> was needed. Remember to update <code>$PATH</code> to include the <code>.rbenv</code> version first, otherwise all gems install nicely, but out of a sudden there is an error of a non-existing class, pointing still to version 2.7.		Sadly, there is no default package for the latest version of Ruby on Ubuntu, so some magic with <code>rbenv</code> was needed. Remember to update <code>$PATH</code> to include the <code>.rbenv</code> version first, otherwise all gems install nicely, but out of a sudden there is an error of a non-existing class, pointing still to version 2.7.

	=== Node 18 ===		=== Node 18 ===

	I decided to use a newer version of [https://www.nodejs.org Node] - 18 instead of the ~~required~~ 16. ~~This~~ broke <code>yarn</code>, as it uses <code>openssl</code> 3 instead of 2. To allow it to work an extra parameter must be provided when running the setup: <code>RAILS_ENV=production NODE_OPTIONS=--openssl-legacy-provider bundle exec rake mastodon:setup</code> (only if precompiling assets is needed).		I decided to use a newer version of [https://www.nodejs.org Node] - 23.2 instead of the suggested LTS 18. That failed spectacularly - while I was able to get everything up, Mastodon just ended up showing an empty main page, with files failing to load. To my surprise, some pages were showing (like account settings), but the web app was unusable.

			So I had to install the recommended Node 18 instead of the newest version, and it '''just worked'''.

			My previous installation used also Node 18, but for an older version of Mastodon (4.0.2, which recommended Node 16). That broke <code>yarn</code>, as it uses <code>openssl</code> 3 instead of 2. To allow it to work an extra parameter must be provided when running the setup: <code>RAILS_ENV=production NODE_OPTIONS=--openssl-legacy-provider bundle exec rake mastodon:setup</code> (only if precompiling assets is needed).

	=== Postgres ===		=== Postgres ===
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	=== Paths ===		=== Paths ===

	~~First of all~~, ~~Mastodon 4.0.2 does not use~~ <code>~~live~~</code> ~~directory - or at least my setup does not~~. This means that all the paths in <code>systemd</code> configuration were incorrect and required adjusting~~. Since I installed it to a different place than the default (<code>/home/mastodon</code>), I needed to check the paths anyway~~.		As I mentioned before, my instance is installed in a directory different from <code>/home/mastodon</code>. This means that all the paths in <code>systemd</code> configuration were incorrect and required adjusting.

	=== Apache 2 configuration ===		=== Apache 2 configuration ===

Miki: formatted and added more technical details

2022-11-15T19:10:43Z

formatted and added more technical details

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 To the surprise of probably nobody, I am not a huge fan of corporations, especially when it comes to the internet. For decades I have been self-hosting - first on my own dsl line, then by renting one in a small server farm. This allowed me to own my email, webpages, network file storage and many other things.
-I am also not a huge fan of social networks, with twitter being probably the only one I really *use* (as in: I am there from time to time). Recent advancements on the matter (i.e. the acquisition of the platform by a certain billionaire) made me look for an alternative - and that is how I rediscovered Mastodon. To little surprise, the technology has matured in the past years, so I decided to host my own instance of it and become part of the *fediverse*.
+== Mastodon ==
-I used Ubuntu 20.04 and followed the online documentation, with small tweaks here and there:
+I am also not a huge fan of social networks, with twitter being probably the only one I really *use* (as in: I am there from time to time). Recent advancements on the matter (i.e. the acquisition of the platform by a certain billionaire) made me look for an alternative - and that is how I rediscovered Mastodon. To a little surprise, the technology has matured in the past years, so I decided to host my own instance of it and become part of the *fediverse*. And no, I do not really care if anyone follows me or reads my content. I write things mostly for myself to remember them when needed ;)
-* sadly Ruby 3.1 did not work, so I had to install recommended 3.0 locally with `rbenv`
-* Mastodon 4.0.2 ditches `live` directory, so paths in the startup scripts needed to be changed
+=== The setup ===
-* I installed it outside of `/home`, so paths in default startup scripts were incorrect
-* because of node 18 and its issues with old versions of open ssl, an extra parameter must be provided: `RAILS_ENV=production NODE_OPTIONS=--openssl-legacy-provider bundle exec rake mastodon:setup`
+At the moment of installation the server was running [https://www.ubuntu.com Ubuntu] 20.04 and [https://httpd.apache.org Apache 2]. I have to say that the [https://docs.joinmastodon.org/admin/install official setup guide] was of great help and it was pretty straightforward to follow it. Most of the steps worked, with some notable exceptions.
-* I use Apache, so the default `ngix` setup was useless - setting up proxy to puma worked
-* all hosts are blocked by default in Rails, hence I needed to add `config.hosts << "localhost"`
+=== Ruby 3 ===
-* static files are served by Rails, but the config says otherwise, so I needed to set `config.public_file_server.enabled = true`
 [[Category:In English]]
 [[Category:Computers]]

Miki: rough outline of Mastodon setup

2022-11-15T15:48:18Z

rough outline of Mastodon setup

New page

To the surprise of probably nobody, I am not a huge fan of corporations, especially when it comes to the internet. For decades I have been self-hosting - first on my own dsl line, then by renting one in a small server farm. This allowed me to own my email, webpages, network file storage and many other things.

I am also not a huge fan of social networks, with twitter being probably the only one I really *use* (as in: I am there from time to time). Recent advancements on the matter (i.e. the acquisition of the platform by a certain billionaire) made me look for an alternative - and that is how I rediscovered Mastodon. To little surprise, the technology has matured in the past years, so I decided to host my own instance of it and become part of the *fediverse*.

I used Ubuntu 20.04 and followed the online documentation, with small tweaks here and there:
* sadly Ruby 3.1 did not work, so I had to install recommended 3.0 locally with `rbenv`
* Mastodon 4.0.2 ditches `live` directory, so paths in the startup scripts needed to be changed
* I installed it outside of `/home`, so paths in default startup scripts were incorrect
* because of node 18 and its issues with old versions of open ssl, an extra parameter must be provided: `RAILS_ENV=production NODE_OPTIONS=--openssl-legacy-provider bundle exec rake mastodon:setup`
* I use Apache, so the default `ngix` setup was useless - setting up proxy to puma worked
* all hosts are blocked by default in Rails, hence I needed to add `config.hosts << "localhost"`
* static files are served by Rails, but the config says otherwise, so I needed to set `config.public_file_server.enabled = true`

[[Category:In English]]
[[Category:Computers]]