Introduction

Mastodon is a decentralized social network platform that allows users to create their own communities. Installing Mastodon with Docker simplifies the deployment process, making it easier to manage and scale. In this guide, you will learn how to install Mastodon on Rocky Linux 9 using Docker, which can be effectively hosted on a Windows VPS UK.

Prerequisites

• A Rocky Linux 9 server with root access
• Docker and Docker Compose installed
• Basic knowledge of Linux commands

Step 1: Update Your System

Start by updating your package index and upgrading existing packages:

sudo dnf update -y

Step 2: Install Docker

If Docker is not installed, you can install it using the following commands:

sudo dnf install -y dnf-utils
sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo=https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
sudo dnf install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io -y
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

Step 3: Install Docker Compose

To install Docker Compose, run the following commands:

sudo dnf install -y python3-pip
sudo pip3 install docker-compose

Step 4: Clone the Mastodon Repository

Clone the Mastodon repository from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon.git

Change into the Mastodon directory:

cd mastodon

Step 5: Configure Environment Variables

Create a file named .env.production based on the example file:

cp .env.production.sample .env.production

Edit the environment variables in .env.production to suit your setup:

nano .env.production

Make sure to set the following variables:

LOCAL_DOMAIN=yourdomain.com
SECRET_KEY_BASE=your_secret_key
DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:password@db:5432/mastodon_production
REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0

Replace yourdomain.com and the database credentials with your actual values.

Step 6: Set Up Docker Containers

Run Docker Compose to set up the containers:

docker-compose build

Start the Mastodon services:

docker-compose up -d

Step 7: Database Migration

Run the following command to migrate the database:

docker-compose run --rm web rails db:migrate

Step 8: Precompile Assets

Precompile assets for production:

docker-compose run --rm web rails assets:precompile

Step 9: Access Mastodon

Open your web browser and navigate to http://yourdomain.com. You should see the Mastodon interface. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.

Step 10: Conclusion

You have successfully installed the Mastodon social network on Rocky Linux 9 using Docker. This decentralized social media solution can greatly benefit from being hosted on a Windows VPS. For additional options, explore various VPS UK Windows solutions, including Windows Virtual Private Server Hosting and Windows VPS Hosting UK for optimal performance and security.