Mastodon is a self-hosted social networking service. It allows anyone to host their own server node in the network, and its various separately operated user bases are federated across many different servers. These nodes are referred to as “instances” by Mastodon users.
These servers are connected as a federated social network, allowing users from different servers to interact with each other seamlessly. Mastodon is a part of the wider Fediverse, allowing its users to also interact with users on different open platforms that support the same protocol, such as Pleroma, Pixelfed, PeerTube and Friendica.
Publish anything you want: links, pictures, text, video.
Mastodon is free and open source software.
Features include:
- Communicates using the ActivityPub standard. This allows a Mastodon users communicate with users on other servers that support ActivityPub.
- Federation – a form of decentralization. Instead of a single central service that all people use, there are multiple services, that any number of people can use.
- Privacy features with effective anti-abuse tools to help protect yourself.
- Aggregates messages in local and federated timelines in real-time.
- Audio player with custom thumbnails.
- Good moderation tools.
Website: joinmastodon.org
Support: Documentation, GitHub Code Repository
Developer: Eugen Rochko and others
License: GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
Mastodon is written in Ruby and JavaScript. Learn Ruby with our recommended free books and free tutorials. Learn JavaScript with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
| Popular series | |
|---|---|
 | The largest compilation of the best free and open source software in the universe. Each article is supplied with a legendary ratings chart helping you to make informed decisions. |
 | Hundreds of in-depth reviews offering our unbiased and expert opinion on software. We offer helpful and impartial information. |
 | The Big List of Active Linux Distros is a large compilation of actively developed Linux distributions. |
 | Replace proprietary software with open source alternatives: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Autodesk, Oracle, Atlassian, Corel, Cisco, Intuit, and SAS. |
 | Awesome Free Linux Games Tools showcases a series of tools that making gaming on Linux a more pleasurable experience. This is a new series. |
 | Machine Learning explores practical applications of machine learning and deep learning from a Linux perspective. We've written reviews of more than 40 self-hosted apps. All are free and open source. |
 | New to Linux? Read our Linux for Starters series. We start right at the basics and teach you everything you need to know to get started with Linux. |
 | Alternatives to popular CLI tools showcases essential tools that are modern replacements for core Linux utilities. |
 | Essential Linux system tools focuses on small, indispensable utilities, useful for system administrators as well as regular users. |
 | Linux utilities to maximise your productivity. Small, indispensable tools, useful for anyone running a Linux machine. |
 | Surveys popular streaming services from a Linux perspective: Amazon Music Unlimited, Myuzi, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal. |
 | Saving Money with Linux looks at how you can reduce your energy bills running Linux. |
 | Home computers became commonplace in the 1980s. Emulate home computers including the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, ZX81, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. |
 | Now and Then examines how promising open source software fared over the years. It can be a bumpy ride. |
 | Linux at Home looks at a range of home activities where Linux can play its part, making the most of our time at home, keeping active and engaged. |
 | Linux Candy reveals the lighter side of Linux. Have some fun and escape from the daily drudgery. |
 | Getting Started with Docker helps you master Docker, a set of platform as a service products that delivers software in packages called containers. |
 | Best Free Android Apps. We showcase free Android apps that are definitely worth downloading. There's a strict eligibility criteria for inclusion in this series. |
 | These best free books accelerate your learning of every programming language. Learn a new language today! |
 | These free tutorials offer the perfect tonic to our free programming books series. |
 | Linux Around The World showcases usergroups that are relevant to Linux enthusiasts. Great ways to meet up with fellow enthusiasts. |
 | Stars and Stripes is an occasional series looking at the impact of Linux in the USA. |