Setting up your new instance
Things to do after installing Mastodon
Creating an admin account
Registrations are disabled by default in the browser, so you will need to use the command line to create an account with admin privileges. Assuming your username is alice:
RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl accounts create \
alice \
--email alice@example.com \
--confirmed \
--role Owner
A randomly generated password will be shown in the terminal.
You will need to approve your new admin account:
RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl accounts modify alice --approve
Prior to Mastodon 4.0, roles were hardcoded to be one of
user, moderator, or admin. Since Mastodon 4.0, there is a customizable role system, with default roles created for Moderator, Admin, and Owner. Names of custom roles are case-sensitive.Filling in server information
After logging in, navigate to the Site settings page (under Preferences -> Administration). While there are no technical requirements for filling in this information, it is considered crucial for operating a server for humans.
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Contact username | Your username so people know who owns the server |
| Business email | An email address so people locked out of their accounts, or people without accounts, can contact you |
| Instance description | Why did you start this server? Who is it for? What makes it different? |
| Custom extended information | You can put all sorts of information in here but a code of conduct is recommended |
After you fill these in, click “Save changes”.
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