# GoToSocial GoToSocial is an [ActivityPub](https://activitypub.rocks/) social network server, written in Golang. With GoToSocial, you can keep in touch with your friends, post, read, and share images and articles. All without being tracked or advertised to!
**GoToSocial is still [ALPHA SOFTWARE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Alpha)**. It is already deployable and useable, and it federates cleanly with many other Fediverse servers (not yet all). However, many things are not yet implemented, and there are plenty of bugs! We foresee entering beta around the beginning of 2024. Documentation is at [docs.gotosocial.org](https://docs.gotosocial.org). You can skip straight to the API documentation [here](https://docs.gotosocial.org/en/latest/api/swagger/). To build from source, check the [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md) file. Here's a screenshot of the instance landing page! ![Screenshot of the landing page for the GoToSocial instance goblin.technology. It shows basic information about the instance; number of users and posts etc.](./docs/assets/instancesplash.png) ## Table of Contents - [What is GoToSocial?](#what-is-gotosocial) - [Federation](#federation) - [History and Status](#history-and-status) - [Features](#features) - [Mastodon API compatibility](#mastodon-api-compatibility) - [Granular post settings](#granular-post-settings) - [Customizability for admins](#customizability-for-admins) - [Easy to run](#easy-to-run) - [Safety + security features](#safety--security-features) - [Various federation modes](#various-federation-modes) - [OIDC integration](#oidc-integration) - [Backend-first design](#backend-first-design) - [Wishlist](#wishlist) - [Getting Started](#getting-started) - [Third-Party Packaging](#third-party-packaging) - [Distribution packaging](#distribution-packaging) - [Self-hosting](#self-hosting) - [Known Issues](#known-issues) - [Client App Issues](#client-app-issues) - [Federation Issues](#federation-issues) - [Contributing](#contributing) - [Building](#building) - [Releases](#releases) - [Stable](#stable) - [Snapshots](#snapshots) - [Docker](#docker) - [Binary release .tar.gz](#binary-release-targz) - [Contact](#contact) - [Credits](#credits) - [Libraries](#libraries) - [Image Attribution and Licensing](#image-attribution-and-licensing) - [Team](#team) - [Special Thanks](#special-thanks) - [Sponsorship + Funding](#sponsorship--funding) - [Crowdfunding](#crowdfunding) - [NLnet](#nlnet) - [License](#license) ## What is GoToSocial? GoToSocial provides a lightweight, customizable, and safety-focused entryway into the [Fediverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse), and is comparable to (but distinct from) existing projects such as [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/), [Pleroma](https://pleroma.social/), [Friendica](https://friendi.ca), and [PixelFed](https://pixelfed.org/). If you've ever used something like Twitter or Tumblr (or even Myspace!) GoToSocial will probably feel familiar to you: You can follow people and have followers, you make posts which people can favourite and reply to and share, and you scroll through posts from people you follow using a timeline. You can write long posts or short posts, or just post images, it's up to you. You can also, of course, block people or otherwise limit interactions that you don't want by posting just to your friends. ![Screenshot of the web view of a profile in GoToSocial, showing header and avatar, bio, and numbers of followers/following.](./docs/assets/profile1.png) **GoToSocial does NOT use recommendation algorithms or collect data about you to suggest content or 'improve your experience'**. The timeline is chronological: whatever you see at the top of your timeline is there because it's *just been posted*, not because it's been selected as interesting (or controversial) based on your personal profile. GoToSocial is not designed for 'must-follow' influencers with tens of thousands of followers, and it's not designed to be addictive. Your timeline and your experience are shaped by who you follow and how you interact with people, not by metrics of engagement! GoToSocial doesn't claim to be *better* than any other application, but it offers something that might be better *for you* in particular. ### Federation Because GoToSocial uses [ActivityPub](https://activitypub.rocks/), you can hang out not just with people on your home server, but with people all over the [Fediverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse), seamlessly. ![the activitypub logo](docs/assets/ap_logo.svg) Federation means that your home server is part of a network of servers all over the world that all communicate using the same protocol. Your data is no longer centralized on one company's servers, but resides on your own server and is shared — as you see fit — across a resilient web of servers run by other people. This federated approach also means that you aren't beholden to arbitrary rules from some gigantic corporation potentially thousands of miles away. Your server has its own rules and culture; your fellow server residents are your neighbors; you will likely get to know your server admins and moderators, or be an admin yourself. GoToSocial advocates for many small, weird, specialist servers where people can feel at home, rather than a few big and generic ones where one person's voice can get lost in the crowd. ### History and Status This project sprang up in February/March 2021 out of a dissatisfaction with the safety + privacy features of other Federated microblogging/social media applications, and a desire to implement something a little different. It began as a solo project, and then picked up steam as more developers became interested and jumped on. For a detailed view on what's implemented and what's not, and progress made towards [beta release](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Beta), please see [the roadmap document](./ROADMAP.md). The [FAQ](docs/faq.md) contains a higher-level overview. ## Features ### Mastodon API compatibility The Mastodon API has become the de facto standard for client communication with federated servers, so GoToSocial has implemented and extended the API with custom functionality. Though most apps that implement the Mastodon API should work, GoToSocial works reliably with beautiful apps like: * [Tusky](https://tusky.app/) for Android * [Semaphore](https://semaphore.social/) in the browser * [Feditext](https://fedi.software/@Feditext) (beta) on iOS, iPadOS and macOS If you've used Mastodon with any of these apps before, you'll find using GoToSocial a breeze. ### Granular post settings It's important that when you post something, you can choose who sees it. GoToSocial offers public/unlisted/friends-only/mutuals-only/and direct posts (slide in DMs! -- with consent). It also allows you to customize how people interact with your posts: - Local-only posts. - Rebloggable/boostable toggle. - 'Likeable' toggle. - 'Replyable' toggle. ### Customizability for admins Plenty of [config options](./example/config.yaml) for admins to play around with, including: - Easily adjustable post length. - Media upload size settings. ### Easy to run No external dependencies apart from a database (or just use SQLite!). Simply download the binary + assets (or Docker container), and run. GoToSocial plays nice with lower-powered machines like Raspberry Pi, old laptops and tiny $5/month VPSes. ### Safety + security features - Built-in, automatic support for secure HTTPS with [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/). - Strict privacy enforcement for posts and strict blocking logic. - Import and export allow lists and deny lists. Subscribe to community-created block lists (think Ad blocker, but for federation!). - HTTP signature authentication: GoToSocial requires [HTTP Signatures](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-cavage-http-signatures-12) when sending and receiving messages, to ensure that your messages can't be tampered with and your identity can't be forged. ### Various federation modes GoToSocial doesn't apply a one-size-fits-all approach to federation. Who your server federates with should be up to you. - 'blocklist' mode (default): discover new servers; block servers you don't like. - 'allowlist' mode (experimental); opt-in to federation with trusted servers. - 'zero' federation mode; keep your server private (not yet implemented). [See the docs for more info](https://docs.gotosocial.org/en/latest/admin/federation_modes). ### OIDC integration GoToSocial supports [OpenID Connect (OIDC)](https://openid.net/connect/) identity providers, meaning you can integrate it with existing user management services like [Auth0](https://auth0.com/), [Gitlab](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/integration/openid_connect_provider.html), etc., or run your own and hook GtS up to that (we recommend [Dex](https://dexidp.io/)). ### Backend-first design Unlike other federated server projects, GoToSocial doesn't include an integrated client front-end (i.e., a web app). Instead, like Matrix.org's [Synapse](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse) project, it provides a relatively generic backend server implementation, some beautiful static pages for profiles and posts, and a [well-documented API](https://docs.gotosocial.org/en/latest/api/swagger/). On top of this API, web developers are encouraged to build any front-end implementation or mobile application that they wish, whether Tumblr-like, Facebook-like, Twitter-like, or something else entirely. ## Wishlist These cool things will be implemented if time allows (because we really want them): - **Groups** and group posting! - Reputation-based 'slow' federation. - Community decision-making for federation and moderation actions. - User-selectable custom templates for rendering public posts: - Twitter-style - Blogpost - Gallery - Etc. ## Getting Started All docs for installation and configuration are hosted at [docs.gotosocial.org](https://docs.gotosocial.org). ## Third-Party Packaging Thank you so much to the cool people who have put time and energy into packaging GoToSocial! ### Distribution packaging These packages are not maintained by GoToSocial, so please direct questions and issues to the repository maintainers (and donate to them!). [![Packaging status](https://repology.org/badge/vertical-allrepos/gotosocial.svg)](https://repology.org/project/gotosocial/versions) ### Self-hosting You can deploy your own instance of GoToSocial with the help of: - [YunoHost GoToSocial Packaging](https://github.com/YunoHost-Apps/gotosocial_ynh) by [OniriCorpe](https://github.com/OniriCorpe). - [Ansible Playbook (MASH)](https://github.com/mother-of-all-self-hosting/mash-playbook): The playbook supports a many services, including GoToSocial. [Documentation](https://github.com/mother-of-all-self-hosting/mash-playbook/blob/main/docs/services/gotosocial.md) - GoToSocial Helm Charts: - [GoToSocial Helm Chart](https://github.com/fSocietySocial/charts/tree/main/charts/gotosocial) by [0hlov3](https://github.com/0hlov3). ## Known Issues Since GoToSocial is still in alpha, there are plenty of bugs. We use [GitHub issues](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3Abug) to track these. The [FAQ](docs/faq.md) also describes some of the features that haven't been implemented yet. ### Client App Issues GoToSocial works great with Tusky and Semaphore, but some other client applications still need work or have issues connecting to GoToSocial. We're tracking them [right here](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/projects/5). It's our goal to make any app that's compatible with the Mastodon API work seamlessly with GoToSocial. ### Federation Issues Since every ActivityPub server implementation has a slightly different interpretation of the protocol, some servers don't quite federate properly with GoToSocial yet. We're tracking these issues [in this project](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/projects/4). Eventually, we want to make sure that any implementation that can federate nicely with Mastodon should also be able to federate with GoToSocial. ## Contributing You would like to contribute to GtS? Great! ❤️❤️❤️ Check out the issues page to see if there's anything you intend to jump in on, and read the [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md) file for guidelines and setting up your dev environment. ## Building Instructions for building GoToSocial from source are in the [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md) file. ## Releases ### Stable We package our stable releases for both binary builds and Docker containers, so that you don't have to build from source yourself. Check our [releases page](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/releases) and our [getting started](https://docs.gotosocial.org/en/latest/getting_started/) documentation. The Docker image `superseriousbusiness/gotosocial:latest` will always correspond to the latest stable release. Since this tag is overwritten frequently, you may want to use Docker CLI flag `--pull always` to ensure that you always have the most up-to-date image every time you run using this tag. Alternatively, run `docker pull superseriousbusiness/gotosocial:latest` manually just before use. ### Snapshots We also make snapshot builds every time something is merged into the main branch, so you can run from whatever code is on main if you wish. Please be warned that you do so at your own risk! We try to keep main working properly, but we make absolutely no guarantees. Take a stable release instead if you're unsure. #### Docker To run from main using Docker, use the `snapshot` Docker tag. The Docker image `superseriousbusiness/gotosocial:snapshot` will always correspond to the latest commit on main. Since this tag is overwritten frequently, you may want to use Docker CLI flag `--pull always` to ensure that you always have the most up-to-date image every time you run using this tag. Alternatively, run `docker pull superseriousbusiness/gotosocial:snapshot` manually just before use. #### Binary release .tar.gz To run from main using a binary release, download the appropriate .tar.gz file for your architecture from our [self-hosted Minio S3 repository](https://minio.s3.superseriousbusiness.org/browser/gotosocial-snapshots). Snapshot binary releases in the S3 bucket are keyed by Github commit hash. To get the latest one, sort by Last Modified, or check out the list of commits [here](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/commits/main), copy the SHA of the latest one, and paste it in the Minio console filter. Snapshot binary releases are expired after 28 days, to keep our hosting costs down. ## Contact For questions and comments, you can [join our Matrix space](https://matrix.to/#/#gotosocial-space:superseriousbusiness.org) at `#gotosocial-space:superseriousbusiness.org`. This is the quickest way to reach the devs. You can also mail [admin@gotosocial.org](mailto:admin@gotosocial.org). For bugs and feature requests, please check to see if there's [already an issue](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/issues), and if not, open one or use one of the above channels to make a request (if you don't have a Github account). ## Credits ### Libraries The following open source libraries, frameworks, and tools are used by GoToSocial, with gratitude 💕 - [abema/go-mp4](https://github.com/abema/go-mp4); mp4 parsing. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [buckket/go-blurhash](https://github.com/buckket/go-blurhash); used for generating image blurhashes. [GPL-3.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0-only.html). - [coreos/go-oidc](https://github.com/coreos/go-oidc); OIDC client library. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - [disintegration/imaging](https://github.com/disintegration/imaging); image resizing. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [DmitriyVTitov/size](https://github.com/DmitriyVTitov/size); runtime model memory size calculations. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - Gin: - [gin-contrib/cors](https://github.com/gin-contrib/cors); Gin CORS middleware. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gin-contrib/gzip](https://github.com/gin-contrib/gzip); Gin gzip middleware. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gin-contrib/sessions](https://github.com/gin-contrib/sessions); Gin sessions middleware. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gin-gonic/gin](https://github.com/gin-gonic/gin); speedy router engine. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [go-fed/httpsig](https://github.com/go-fed/httpsig); secure HTTP signature library. [BSD-3-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause.html). - [google/uuid](https://github.com/google/uuid); UUID generation. [BSD-3-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause.html). - [google/wuffs](https://github.com/google/wuffs); png-stripping code. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - Go-Playground: - [go-playground/form](https://github.com/go-playground/form); funky form mapping support. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [go-playground/validator](https://github.com/go-playground/validator); struct validation. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - Gorilla: - [gorilla/feeds](https://github.com/gorilla/feeds); RSS + Atom feed generation. [BSD-2-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause.html). - [gorilla/websocket](https://github.com/gorilla/websocket); Websocket connectivity. [BSD-2-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause.html). - [go-swagger/go-swagger](https://github.com/go-swagger/go-swagger); Swagger OpenAPI spec generation. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - gruf: - [gruf/go-bytesize](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-bytesize); byte size parsing / formatting. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-cache](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-cache); object & result caching. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-debug](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-debug); debug build tag. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-errors](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-errors); performant multi-error checking [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-fastcopy](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-fastcopy); performant pooled I/O copying [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-kv](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-kv); log field formatting. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-mutexes](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-mutexes); safemutex & mutex map. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-runners](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-runners); workerpools and synchronization. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-sched](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-sched); task scheduler. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [gruf/go-store](https://codeberg.org/gruf/go-store); file storage backend (local & s3). [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [h2non/filetype](https://github.com/h2non/filetype); filetype checking. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - jackc: - [jackc/pgx](https://github.com/jackc/pgconn); Postgres driver. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [jackc/pgx](https://github.com/jackc/pgx); Postgres driver and toolkit. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [KimMachineGun/automemlimit](https://github.com/KimMachineGun/automemlimit); cgroups memory limit checking. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [mcuadros/go-syslog](https://github.com/mcuadros/go-syslog); Syslog server library. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [microcosm-cc/bluemonday](https://github.com/microcosm-cc/bluemonday); HTML user-input sanitization. [BSD-3-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause.html). - [miekg/dns](https://github.com/miekg/dns); DNS utilities. [Go License](https://go.dev/LICENSE). - [minio/minio-go](https://github.com/minio/minio-go); S3 client SDK. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - [mitchellh/mapstructure](https://github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure); Go interface => struct parsing. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [modernc.org/sqlite](https://gitlab.com/cznic/sqlite); cgo-free port of SQLite. [Other License](https://gitlab.com/cznic/sqlite/-/blob/master/LICENSE). - [mvdan.cc/xurls](https://github.com/mvdan/xurls); URL parsing regular expressions. [BSD-3-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause.html). - [oklog/ulid](https://github.com/oklog/ulid); sequential, database-friendly ID generation. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - [open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go); OpenTelemetry API + SDK. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - spf13: - [spf13/cobra](https://github.com/spf13/cobra); command-line tooling. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - [spf13/viper](https://github.com/spf13/viper); configuration management. [Apache-2.0 License](https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html). - [stretchr/testify](https://github.com/stretchr/testify); test framework. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - superseriousbusiness: - [superseriousbusiness/activity](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/activity) forked from [go-fed/activity](https://github.com/go-fed/activity); Golang ActivityPub/ActivityStreams library. [BSD-3-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause.html). - [superseriousbusiness/exif-terminator](https://codeberg.org/superseriousbusiness/exif-terminator); EXIF data removal. [GNU AGPL v3 LICENSE](https://spdx.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0-or-later.html). - [superseriousbusiness/oauth2](https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/oauth2) forked from [go-oauth2/oauth2](https://github.com/go-oauth2/oauth2); OAuth server framework and token handling. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [tdewolff/minify](https://github.com/tdewolff/minify); HTML minification for Markdown-submitted posts. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [uber-go/automaxprocs](https://github.com/uber-go/automaxprocs); GOMAXPROCS automation. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [ulule/limiter](https://github.com/ulule/limiter); http rate limit middleware. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [uptrace/bun](https://github.com/uptrace/bun); database ORM. [BSD-2-Clause License](https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause.html). - [wagslane/go-password-validator](https://github.com/wagslane/go-password-validator); password strength validation. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). - [yuin/goldmark](https://github.com/yuin/goldmark); markdown parser. [MIT License](https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html). ### Image Attribution and Licensing Sloth logo by [Anna Abramek](https://abramek.art/).