<p>Mastodon is free and open-source software that provides instant global communication. Each Mastodon server is a completely independent entity, able to interoperate with others to form one global social network. Built on open web protocols, Mastodon can speak with any other platform that implements ActivityPub. With one account you get access to a whole universe of social apps — the fediverse.</p>
<h1 id="before-you-deploy-your-first-mastodon-droplet">Before you deploy your first Mastodon Droplet</h1>
<h4 id="get-a-domain-name">Get a Domain name</h4>
<p>Use this <a href="https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/networking/dns/quickstart/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">DNS quickstart</a> guide to get your DNS setup on DigitalOcean. You’ll first need to purchase and register your domain through a third party, such as Name.com, GoDaddy, etc…</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Why do you need a domain name?</strong><br/></p>
<p>This is how others will access your server and how you and your users will be identified on the network.</p></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="set-up-smtp">Set up SMTP</h4>
<p>You’ll need to get SMTP credentials for sending emails. This can be from an email delivery service like SparkPost, <a href="https://marketplace.digitalocean.com/apps/sendgrid" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sendgrid</a>, Mailgun, etc.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Why do you need SMTP?</strong><br/></p>
<p>Mastodon uses SMTP to send verification emails to users signing up on your server. Without enabling an SMTP provider, your users won’t be able to sign up on your server. SMTP is also used for password resets, email verifications and security events.</p></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="optional-deploy-and-connect-to-object-storage-digitalocean-spaces-wasabi-minio-or-aws-s3">Optional: Deploy and Connect to Object Storage (DigitalOcean Spaces, Wasabi, Minio or AWS S3)</h4>
<p>You’ll need access credentials for your preferred storage system. This guide will walk through setting up and connecting <a href="https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/spaces/how-to/create/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">DigitalOcean Spaces</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Why do I need object storage?</strong> <br/></p>
<p>These buckets are used to store images, video and audio or whatever users will want to upload. Without Object storage, you will need to use your local database, which can be slow and overloaded quickly.</p></li>
</ul>

Mastodon

Nginx

Postgres

Certbot

Redis

A decentralized social network -- follow your friends and discover new ones!