Mastodon (stack)

Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub where users can follow friends and discover new ones..

Configuration

Type

Compose

Platform

linux

Image

lscr.io/linuxserver/mastodon:latest

Ports

80:80443:443

Volumes

/config : /portainer/Files/AppData/Config/mastodon

Env vars

PUID=1000PGID=1000TZ=Europe/AthensLOCAL_DOMAIN=example.comREDIS_HOST=redisREDIS_PORT=6379DB_HOST=dbDB_USER=mastodonDB_NAME=mastodonDB_PASS=mastodonDB_PORT=5432ES_ENABLED=falseSECRET_KEY_BASE=OTP_SECRET=VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY=VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY=SMTP_SERVER=mail.example.comSMTP_PORT=25SMTP_LOGIN=SMTP_PASSWORD=[email protected]S3_ENABLED=falseWEB_DOMAIN=mastodon.example.comES_HOST=esES_PORT=9200ES_USER=elasticES_PASS=elasticS3_BUCKET=AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=S3_ALIAS_HOST=SIDEKIQ_ONLY=falseSIDEKIQ_QUEUE=SIDEKIQ_DEFAULT=falseSIDEKIQ_THREADS=5DB_POOL=5

Restart

unless-stopped

Source

Repo

Template by xneo1·Source

Installation

Ensure both Docker and Portainer are installed, and up-to-date
Log into your Portainer web UI
Under Settings → App Templates, paste the below URL
Head to Home → App Templates, and the list of apps will show up
Select the app you wish to deploy, fill in any config options, and hit Deploy

Template Import URL

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lissy93/portainer-templates/main/templates.json

Show Me

docker run -d --name mastodon \
  -p 80:80 \
  -p 443:443 \
  -e 'PUID=1000' \
  -e 'PGID=1000' \
  -e 'TZ=Europe/Athens' \
  -e 'LOCAL_DOMAIN=example.com' \
  -e 'REDIS_HOST=redis' \
  -e 'REDIS_PORT=6379' \
  -e 'DB_HOST=db' \
  -e 'DB_USER=mastodon' \
  -e 'DB_NAME=mastodon' \
  -e 'DB_PASS=mastodon' \
  -e 'DB_PORT=5432' \
  -e 'ES_ENABLED=false' \
  -e 'SECRET_KEY_BASE=' \
  -e 'OTP_SECRET=' \
  -e 'VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY=' \
  -e 'VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY=' \
  -e 'SMTP_SERVER=mail.example.com' \
  -e 'SMTP_PORT=25' \
  -e 'SMTP_LOGIN=' \
  -e 'SMTP_PASSWORD=' \
  -e '[email protected]' \
  -e 'S3_ENABLED=false' \
  -e 'WEB_DOMAIN=mastodon.example.com' \
  -e 'ES_HOST=es' \
  -e 'ES_PORT=9200' \
  -e 'ES_USER=elastic' \
  -e 'ES_PASS=elastic' \
  -e 'S3_BUCKET=' \
  -e 'AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=' \
  -e 'AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=' \
  -e 'S3_ALIAS_HOST=' \
  -e 'SIDEKIQ_ONLY=false' \
  -e 'SIDEKIQ_QUEUE=' \
  -e 'SIDEKIQ_DEFAULT=false' \
  -e 'SIDEKIQ_THREADS=5' \
  -e 'DB_POOL=5' \
  -v /portainer/Files/AppData/Config/mastodon:/config \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  lscr.io/linuxserver/mastodon:latest

If the stack expects env vars, set them or add them to a .env file first.

services:
  mastodon:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/mastodon:latest
    container_name: mastodon
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Europe/Athens
      - LOCAL_DOMAIN=example.com
      - REDIS_HOST=redis
      - REDIS_PORT=6379
      - DB_HOST=db
      - DB_USER=mastodon
      - DB_NAME=mastodon
      - DB_PASS=mastodon
      - DB_PORT=5432
      - ES_ENABLED=false
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=
      - OTP_SECRET=
      - VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY=
      - VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY=
      - SMTP_SERVER=mail.example.com
      - SMTP_PORT=25
      - SMTP_LOGIN=
      - SMTP_PASSWORD=
      - [email protected]
      - S3_ENABLED=false
      - WEB_DOMAIN=mastodon.example.com #optional
      - ES_HOST=es #optional
      - ES_PORT=9200 #optional
      - ES_USER=elastic #optional
      - ES_PASS=elastic #optional
      - S3_BUCKET= #optional
      - AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID= #optional
      - AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY= #optional
      - S3_ALIAS_HOST= #optional
      - SIDEKIQ_ONLY=false #optional
      - SIDEKIQ_QUEUE= #optional
      - SIDEKIQ_DEFAULT=false #optional
      - SIDEKIQ_THREADS=5 #optional
      - DB_POOL=5 #optional
    volumes:
      - /portainer/Files/AppData/Config/mastodon:/config
    ports:
      - 80:80
      - 443:443
    restart: unless-stopped

Or, use the original compose file, straight from the template repo. Deploy with:

git clone https://github.com/xneo1/portainer_templates
cd portainer_templates
docker compose -f Template/Stack/mastodon.yml up -d

Save this file as mastodon-stack-stack.yml, then from a manager node, run docker stack deploy -c mastodon-stack-stack.yml mastodon-stack

version: '3.8'
services:
  mastodon-stack:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/mastodon:latest
    ports:
      - '80:80'
      - '443:443'
    volumes:
      - /portainer/Files/AppData/Config/mastodon:/config
    environment:
      PUID: '1000'
      PGID: '1000'
      TZ: Europe/Athens
      LOCAL_DOMAIN: example.com
      REDIS_HOST: redis
      REDIS_PORT: '6379'
      DB_HOST: db
      DB_USER: mastodon
      DB_NAME: mastodon
      DB_PASS: mastodon
      DB_PORT: '5432'
      ES_ENABLED: 'false'
      SECRET_KEY_BASE: ''
      OTP_SECRET: ''
      VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY: ''
      VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY: ''
      SMTP_SERVER: mail.example.com
      SMTP_PORT: '25'
      SMTP_LOGIN: ''
      SMTP_PASSWORD: ''
      SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS: [email protected]
      S3_ENABLED: 'false'
      WEB_DOMAIN: mastodon.example.com
      ES_HOST: es
      ES_PORT: '9200'
      ES_USER: elastic
      ES_PASS: elastic
      S3_BUCKET: ''
      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ''
      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ''
      S3_ALIAS_HOST: ''
      SIDEKIQ_ONLY: 'false'
      SIDEKIQ_QUEUE: ''
      SIDEKIQ_DEFAULT: 'false'
      SIDEKIQ_THREADS: '5'
      DB_POOL: '5'
    deploy:
      restart_policy:
        condition: any

Save each file below into a folder, then run kubectl apply -f .
Written for k3s, but works on any cluster: bind mounts use hostPath, named volumes get a persistent volume claim, and ports are exposed via a LoadBalancer service.

`mastodon-stack-deployment.yaml`

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: mastodon-stack
  labels:
    app: mastodon-stack
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: mastodon-stack
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: mastodon-stack
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: mastodon-stack
          image: lscr.io/linuxserver/mastodon:latest
          env:
            - name: PUID
              value: '1000'
            - name: PGID
              value: '1000'
            - name: TZ
              value: Europe/Athens
            - name: LOCAL_DOMAIN
              value: example.com
            - name: REDIS_HOST
              value: redis
            - name: REDIS_PORT
              value: '6379'
            - name: DB_HOST
              value: db
            - name: DB_USER
              value: mastodon
            - name: DB_NAME
              value: mastodon
            - name: DB_PASS
              value: mastodon
            - name: DB_PORT
              value: '5432'
            - name: ES_ENABLED
              value: 'false'
            - name: SECRET_KEY_BASE
              value: ''
            - name: OTP_SECRET
              value: ''
            - name: VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY
              value: ''
            - name: VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY
              value: ''
            - name: SMTP_SERVER
              value: mail.example.com
            - name: SMTP_PORT
              value: '25'
            - name: SMTP_LOGIN
              value: ''
            - name: SMTP_PASSWORD
              value: ''
            - name: SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS
              value: [email protected]
            - name: S3_ENABLED
              value: 'false'
            - name: WEB_DOMAIN
              value: mastodon.example.com
            - name: ES_HOST
              value: es
            - name: ES_PORT
              value: '9200'
            - name: ES_USER
              value: elastic
            - name: ES_PASS
              value: elastic
            - name: S3_BUCKET
              value: ''
            - name: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
              value: ''
            - name: AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
              value: ''
            - name: S3_ALIAS_HOST
              value: ''
            - name: SIDEKIQ_ONLY
              value: 'false'
            - name: SIDEKIQ_QUEUE
              value: ''
            - name: SIDEKIQ_DEFAULT
              value: 'false'
            - name: SIDEKIQ_THREADS
              value: '5'
            - name: DB_POOL
              value: '5'
          ports:
            - containerPort: 80
              protocol: TCP
            - containerPort: 443
              protocol: TCP
          volumeMounts:
            - name: mastodon-stack-data-0
              mountPath: /config
      volumes:
        - name: mastodon-stack-data-0
          hostPath:
            path: /portainer/Files/AppData/Config/mastodon

`mastodon-stack-service.yaml`

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: mastodon-stack
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  selector:
    app: mastodon-stack
  ports:
    - name: 80-tcp
      port: 80
      targetPort: 80
      protocol: TCP
    - name: 443-tcp
      port: 443
      targetPort: 443
      protocol: TCP

Save this file as ~/.config/containers/systemd/mastodon-stack.container

[Unit]
Description=Mastodon (stack)

[Container]
Image=lscr.io/linuxserver/mastodon:latest
ContainerName=mastodon-stack
PublishPort=80:80
PublishPort=443:443
Environment=PUID=1000
Environment=PGID=1000
Environment=TZ=Europe/Athens
Environment=LOCAL_DOMAIN=example.com
Environment=REDIS_HOST=redis
Environment=REDIS_PORT=6379
Environment=DB_HOST=db
Environment=DB_USER=mastodon
Environment=DB_NAME=mastodon
Environment=DB_PASS=mastodon
Environment=DB_PORT=5432
Environment=ES_ENABLED=false
Environment=SECRET_KEY_BASE=
Environment=OTP_SECRET=
Environment=VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY=
Environment=VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY=
Environment=SMTP_SERVER=mail.example.com
Environment=SMTP_PORT=25
Environment=SMTP_LOGIN=
Environment=SMTP_PASSWORD=
Environment[email protected]
Environment=S3_ENABLED=false
Environment=WEB_DOMAIN=mastodon.example.com
Environment=ES_HOST=es
Environment=ES_PORT=9200
Environment=ES_USER=elastic
Environment=ES_PASS=elastic
Environment=S3_BUCKET=
Environment=AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=
Environment=AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=
Environment=S3_ALIAS_HOST=
Environment=SIDEKIQ_ONLY=false
Environment=SIDEKIQ_QUEUE=
Environment=SIDEKIQ_DEFAULT=false
Environment=SIDEKIQ_THREADS=5
Environment=DB_POOL=5
Volume=/portainer/Files/AppData/Config/mastodon:/config

[Service]
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Then reload systemd and start the service:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user start mastodon-stack

For a system-wide service, use /etc/containers/systemd/ and drop --user.

For more installation options, see the Documentation in our GitHub repo

Serve Mastodon (stack) on your own domain behind Caddy, Nginx or Traefik. Fill in your domain and copy the result. It's a starting point, some apps need their own base URL or extra headers set too.

Proxy Domain App port Upstream

Proxying mastodon-stack.example.com to http://mastodon:80

Add this to your Caddyfile

mastodon-stack.example.com {
	reverse_proxy http://mastodon:80
}

Check the logs first

Nine times out of ten the logs tell you exactly what went wrong.

In Portainer, go to Containers, click the container, then Logs. Or run docker logs <container>
Exit codes help too: 137 means killed, usually out of memory. 126 or 127 means the command inside the image is broken.

Port already in use

If deployment fails with "Bind for 0.0.0.0:80 failed: port is already allocated", something else on your server is using that port.

Find what's using it: sudo ss -tlnp | grep :80
Stop the other service, or pick a different host port. In 80:80 only the left number is yours to change, the right one belongs to the app.

Running but the page won't load

The container is up but nothing appears in your browser.

Use your server's real IP: http://your-server-ip:80. The 0.0.0.0 link Portainer shows isn't a real address.
Give it a minute after first deploy, mastodon can take a while to initialise.
Make sure your firewall allows the port, e.g. sudo ufw allow 80

Permission denied on volumes

If the logs show "permission denied", the app can't write to its data folder on the host.

Fix the ownership: sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /portainer/Files/AppData/Config/mastodon
Or set the PUID and PGID variables (defaults 1000:1000) to match your own user, found with id $USER

Image won't pull

Test the pull directly on the host: docker pull lscr.io/linuxserver/mastodon:latest

"manifest unknown" means the tag no longer exists. This template uses latest, so try pinning a specific version instead.
"toomanyrequests" is the Docker Hub rate limit. Log in with docker login to raise it.
"no space left on device" means a full disk. Reclaim space with docker system prune

"exec format error"

This means the image was built for a different CPU architecture than your server.

Check yours with uname -m: x86_64 is amd64, aarch64 is arm64. Raspberry Pi and other ARM boards are the usual culprits.

Container keeps restarting

The unless-stopped restart policy relaunches the app after every crash, so the real error can scroll past.

Check the logs right after a restart, the last few lines before it died are the useful ones.
Get the exit code with docker inspect <container> --format '{{.State.ExitCode}}'
Still stuck? Redeploy once with the restart policy set to no so the failure stays visible.

Required settings are blank

SECRET_KEY_BASE, OTP_SECRET, VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY, VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY, SMTP_LOGIN, SMTP_PASSWORD, S3_BUCKET, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, S3_ALIAS_HOST, SIDEKIQ_QUEUE have no default value, and mastodon may crash or misbehave if left empty.