In this tutorial, we will be going through the steps to install Mastodon on FreeBSD Latest using the official Mastodon website's https://joinmastodon.org/ installation guide.
Before we dive into installing Mastodon, make sure your FreeBSD system is up-to-date by running the following command:
sudo pkg update && sudo pkg upgrade
To get Mastodon up and running on your FreeBSD system, you will need to install the following dependencies:
We will install them one-by-one.
To get started, install Git by running the following command:
sudo pkg install git
Install the required version of Ruby by running the following command:
sudo pkg install ruby27
Next, install Node.js and npm by running the following commands:
sudo pkg install node npm
Install PostgreSQL by running the following command:
sudo pkg install postgresql13-server postgresql13-contrib
After installation is complete, initialize the database with the following command:
sudo service postgresql initdb
Install Yarn by running the following command:
sudo pkg install yarn
Finally, install Redis by running the following command:
sudo pkg install redis
Next, start the Redis server by running the following command:
sudo service redis start
Now that all prerequisites are installed, let's download Mastodon and configure it. Run the following commands:
git clone https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon.git
cd mastodon
Next, copy the sample environment configuration file and set the environment variables required for Mastodon to work:
cp .env.production.sample .env.production
Edit the .env.production file and make sure to edit the following settings:
LOCAL_DOMAINSMTP_SERVERSMTP_LOGINSMTP_PASSWORDAfter editing the .env.production file, install Mastodon's dependencies by running the following command:
RAILS_ENV=production bundle install
Next, build the Mastodon assets by running the following command:
RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
Next, we need to create a PostgreSQL user and database for Mastodon. Follow these steps:
Log in as the postgres user:
sudo su - postgres
Create a new PostgreSQL user:
createuser -P mastodon
Create a new PostgreSQL database:
createdb -O mastodon mastodon_production
Exit the postgres user shell:
exit
Now that all prerequisites are installed and we have created a PostgreSQL user and database for Mastodon, we can run the Mastodon installation.
Run the following commands:
RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:seed
The first command migrates the database schema and the second command seeds the database with initial data.
Finally, start the Mastodon web and streaming servers by running the following commands:
RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails server
RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails streaming
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Mastodon on your FreeBSD system. You can now access Mastodon by opening your web browser and entering the URL:
http://<your-mastodon-domain>
Note: Replace <your-mastodon-domain> with the actual domain name you have set in the .env.production file.
In this tutorial, we have walked through the steps to install Mastodon on FreeBSD Latest. Mastodon is an open-source federated social network platform that enables users to communicate with a wide audience. We hope you find this tutorial useful for your Mastodon installation.
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