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Learn How to Install and Run Mastodon Server on AlmaLinux VPS! This article provides a guide demonstrating how to install and run Mastodon server on AlmaLinux VPS. What is Mastodon? Mastodon is a social networking platform similar to X/Twitter, but with one major difference: no single company controls the entire network. Instead, Mastodon is made up of independently operated servers called instances. Each instance can have its own rules, moderators, and community focus, while users on different instances can generally follow and interact with one another. A few key ideas: Decentralized: There isn't one central Mastodon website controlling everyone. You choose a server when creating an account. Federated: Those independent servers communicate using the ActivityPub protocol. Together they form part of the broader Fediverse. Twitter-like experience: You can post short messages, images, videos, polls, follow people, reply, favorite, and boost other people's posts. Usernames include the server: An account might look like @radwebhosting@mastodon.social, somewhat like an email address. Different moderation policies: Each server operator decides what is permitted on their server and which other servers it will communicate with. Open source: Mastodon's server software is open source, so organizations and individuals can operate their own Mastodon servers. One useful way to picture it is email combined with Twitter. Gmail and Outlook are separate services, but a Gmail user can email an Outlook user. Similarly, someone on one Mastodon server can usually follow someone on another Mastodon server. This is also why Mastodon can be interesting for a company: you can run something like social.example.com, control your own community and moderation policies, and still participate in the larger Mastodon/Fediverse network. This guide installs Mastodon directly from source on an AlmaLinux VPS, using PostgreSQL, Redis, Nginx, systemd, and Let's Encrypt SSL. It is written for Mastodon 4.6.x. As of August 2026, the latest stable release is Mastodon 4.6.4. Mastodon 4.6 requires Ruby 3.3+, PostgreSQL 14+, Redis 7+, Node.js 22+, libvips 8.13+, and FFmpeg 5.1+. Mastodon's official source-installation documentation currently targets Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 13, so the operating-system commands below have been adapted for AlmaLinux while preserving Mastodon's standard deployment layout. Recommended VPS specifications For a small personal or community Mastodon instance, start with approximately: CPU: 2-4 vCPU RAM: 4 GB minimum; 8 GB recommended Storage: 40-80 GB SSD/NVMe minimum OS: AlmaLinux 9 x86_64 IPv4: Public static IPv4 recommended Domain: social.example.com Storage consumption can grow rapidly because Mastodon caches media from remote instances. For a public instance, object storage such as S3-compatible storage is eventually preferable to keeping all media on the VPS. You will also need an SMTP provider. Mastodon uses email for account confirmation, password resets, notifications, and administrative messages. The official installation prerequisites explicitly include an SMTP/email-delivery service. SEE ALSO: Configure Postfix MTA for Use with Mastodon Throughout this guide, replace social.example.com with your actual Mastodon hostname. Before proceeding, create an A DNS record such as: social.example.com -> YOUR_VPS_IPV4 Verify it: dig +short social.example.com How to Install and Run Mastodon Server on AlmaLinux VPS To install and run Mastodon server on AlmaLinux VPS, follow the steps provided below: Connect to the VPS and Update AlmaLinux SSH into the server: ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP Update all installed packages: dnf update -y Reboot if a new kernel was installed: reboot Reconnect afterward. Check the operating system: cat /etc/almalinux-release Enable EPEL and CRB A number of Mastodon dependencies are supplied through EPEL and CRB. Install EPEL: dnf install -y epel-release Enable CRB: dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb AlmaLinux documentation recommends EPEL and CRB for software and development dependencies outside the base repositories. Refresh the metadata: dnf makecache Install development packages Install basic build tools: dnf groupinstall -y "Development Tools" Install the libraries Mastodon and Ruby commonly require: dnf install -y \ git \ curl \ nano \ wget \ tar \ file \ gcc \ gcc-c++ \ make \ autoconf \ bison \ pkgconf-pkg-config \ openssl-devel \ libyaml-devel \ readline-devel \ zlib-devel \ libffi-devel \ gdbm-devel \ libicu-devel \ libidn2-devel \ libxslt-devel \ jemalloc \ jemalloc-devel \ protobuf-compiler \ nginx \ certbot \ firewalld \ libidn \ libidn-devel \ python3-certbot-nginx \ policycoreutils-python-utils Install libvips Mastodon 4.6 uses libvips for image processing; ImageMagick is no longer supported as the Mastodon 4.6 image-processing backend. Install it: dnf install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm dnf install -y http://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-9.rpm dnf --enablereporemi install -y vips vips-devel vips-tools Verify: vips --version You need at least libvips 8.13 for Mastodon 4.6. Install FFmpeg Mastodon needs FFmpeg for video and audio processing. If ffmpeg is already available from your enabled repositories: dnf install -y ffmpeg Verify: ffmpeg -version Mastodon 4.6 requires FFmpeg 5.1 or newer. Also keep FFmpeg fully patched: Mastodon specifically advised non-Docker installations to use a fixed FFmpeg release after a critical 2026 FFmpeg vulnerability. If AlmaLinux cannot find ffmpeg, enable RPM Fusion Free and then install it: dnf install -y https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %rhel).noarch.rpm dnf update --refresh dnf install -y ffmpeg Install Node.js 22 AlmaLinux 9's current AppStream includes Node.js 22 packages, which satisfies Mastodon 4.6's Node 22+ requirement. Check available streams/packages first: dnf module list nodejs If Node.js 22 appears as a module: dnf module reset nodejs -y dnf module enable nodejs:22 -y dnf install -y nodejs npm Otherwise, on newer AlmaLinux 9 releases where it is available directly: dnf install -y nodejs npm Verify: node --version npm install -g corepack You should see Node 22 or newer: v22.x.x Enable Corepack, which Mastodon uses to select the appropriate Yarn release: corepack enable Mastodon's official installation process likewise uses Corepack for Yarn. Check: yarn --version Install PostgreSQL 16 Mastodon 4.6 requires PostgreSQL 14 or newer. PostgreSQL 16 is a good choice for a new installation. Current RHEL-family documentation lists PostgreSQL 16 as available for AlmaLinux 9. Check available PostgreSQL modules: dnf module list postgresql Reset any previously selected stream: dnf module reset postgresql -y Enable PostgreSQL 16: dnf module enable postgresql:16 -y Install it: dnf install -y \ postgresql \ postgresql-server \ postgresql-contrib \ postgresql-devel Initialize the database: postgresql-setup --initdb Enable and start PostgreSQL: systemctl enable --now postgresql Check: systemctl status postgresql And: psql --version Create the Mastodon PostgreSQL user The simplest local setup uses PostgreSQL peer authentication, where the Linux mastodon account corresponds to a PostgreSQL role named mastodon. This is also the approach recommended in Mastodon's standard source-install documentation. Open PostgreSQL: sudo -u postgres psql Create the role: CREATE USER mastodon CREATEDB; Exit: \q You do not need to create the Mastodon database manually because the Mastodon setup task can do that. Install Redis 7+ Redis stores caches and queues used by Sidekiq and other Mastodon components. Mastodon 4.6 requires Redis 7.0 or newer. Redis publishes an RPM repository specifically compatible with AlmaLinux 9. Create: sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/redis.repo << 'EOF' nameRedis baseurlhttp://packages.redis.io/rpm/rockylinux9 enabled1 gpgcheck1 EOF with the Redis repository configuration documented for AlmaLinux 9, import its official signing key, and then install: dnf install -y redis Enable Redis: systemctl enable --now redis Check: redis-server --version and: redis-cli ping Expected result: PONG Do not expose Redis port 6379 publicly. Mastodon only needs to connect to it locally. Create the Mastodon system user Create an unprivileged account: useradd -m -s /bin/bash mastodon Check it: id mastodon You should now have: /home/mastodon Mastodon itself should never run as root. Download Mastodon Switch users: su - mastodon Clone Mastodon: git clone https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon.git live && cd live The official installation procedure selects the newest stable version tag rather than running directly from the development branch. Select the newest stable tag: git checkout "$(git tag -l | grep '^v*$' | sort -V | tail -n 1)" Check the version: git describe --tags At the time this guide was written, the latest stable release is v4.6.4 released July 27, 2026. Install Ruby with rbenv Do this while logged in as mastodon. Mastodon's official installation procedure recommends rbenv, because the repository specifies its required Ruby version and rbenv simplifies future upgrades. Install rbenv: git clone https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv.git ~/.rbenv Add it to the shell: echo 'export PATH"$HOME/.rbenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc echo 'eval "$(rbenv init - bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc source ~/.bashrc Install ruby-build: git clone https://github.com/rbenv/ruby-build.git ~/.rbenv/plugins/ruby-build Return to Mastodon: cd ~/live The repository contains a .ruby-version file, so rbenv can install the exact required Ruby release automatically. Install it with jemalloc support: RUBY_CONFIGURE_OPTS--with-jemalloc rbenv install Set the repository's Ruby version: rbenv local "$(cat .ruby-version)" Verify: ruby --version Mastodon 4.6 requires Ruby 3.3 or newer. Install Ruby and JavaScript dependencies Install Bundler if required: gem install bundler --no-document rbenv rehash Configure Bundler for production: bundle config set deployment true bundle config set without development test Install Ruby dependencies: bundle install Enable Corepack for this account as well if necessary: corepack enable Install JavaScript packages: yarn install --immutable If the installed Mastodon version does not accept --immutable, use the exact Yarn command indicated by that release's documentation or lockfile. Current 4.6 update instructions use immutable Yarn installs. Run the Mastodon setup wizard Remain logged in as mastodon: cd ~/live RAILS_ENVproduction bin/rails mastodon:setup This is Mastodon's official interactive installer. It creates .env.production, initializes the database schema, and builds the application assets. The exact questions can change slightly between Mastodon versions. A typical configuration looks like: Domain name: social.example.com Do you want to enable single user mode? No Are you using Docker to run Mastodon? No PostgreSQL host: /var/run/postgresql PostgreSQL port: 5432 PostgreSQL database: mastodon_production PostgreSQL user: mastodon PostgreSQL password: Redis host: localhost Redis port: 6379 Redis password: The wizard will also generate application secrets. SMTP configuration Enter your SMTP provider information. For example: SMTP server: smtp.example.net SMTP port: 587 SMTP username: YOUR_SMTP_USERNAME SMTP password: YOUR_SMTP_PASSWORD SMTP authentication: plain SMTP OpenSSL verify mode: peer E-mail address to send e-mails "from": Mastodon Use the exact host, port, authentication method, TLS settings, username, and password supplied by your mail provider. When prompted, allow the installer to: prepare the database compile assets You can also let the wizard create your initial administrator account. The resulting configuration is stored at: /home/mastodon/live/.env.production Protect it: chmod 600 ~/.env.production Exit back to root: exit Review the Mastodon configuration As root: sudo -u mastodon nano /home/mastodon/live/.env.production Important settings will resemble: LOCAL_DOMAINsocial.example.com DB_HOST/var/run/postgresql DB_USERmastodon DB_NAMEmastodon_production REDIS_HOSTlocalhost REDIS_PORT6379 SMTP_SERVERsmtp.example.net SMTP_PORT587 SMTP_LOGINYOUR_SMTP_USERNAME SMTP_PASSWORDYOUR_SMTP_PASSWORD SMTP_FROM_ADDRESSnotifications@example.com Never publish this file. It contains secrets that can compromise your Mastodon installation. Configure Nginx Mastodon includes an Nginx configuration template. The official installation documentation recommends copying this template and modifying it for your hostname. On AlmaLinux, use /etc/nginx/conf.d instead of Debian's sites-available layout: cp /home/mastodon/live/dist/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/conf.d/mastodon.conf Edit it: nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/mastodon.conf Replace every occurrence of: example.com with: social.example.com Confirm that the document root is: root /home/mastodon/live/public; Temporarily leave the SSL certificate directives disabled until Certbot has obtained the certificate. Test Nginx: nginx -t If successful: syntax is ok test is successful Enable Nginx: systemctl enable --now nginx Configure SELinux Do not disable SELinux simply to make Mastodon work. First allow Nginx to traverse the Mastodon home directory: chmod o+x /home/mastodon Give the Mastodon public directory the appropriate web-server SELinux context: semanage fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_content_t "/home/mastodon/live/public(/.*)?" restorecon -Rv /home/mastodon/live/public Mastodon's Nginx frontend also needs permission to connect to the Mastodon application processes on localhost: setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1 Confirm SELinux remains enforcing: getenforce Expected: Enforcing Configure firewalld Check whether firewalld is running: systemctl status firewalld If you use it, allow HTTP and HTTPS: firewall-cmd --permanent --add-servicehttp firewall-cmd --permanent --add-servicehttps firewall-cmd --reload Verify: firewall-cmd --list-services You should see at least: http https ssh Do not open PostgreSQL 5432, Redis 6379, Mastodon Puma 3000, or streaming 4000 to the Internet for this single-server configuration. Obtain a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate Make sure: social.example.com already resolves publicly to the VPS. Then obtain the certificate: certbot certonly --nginx -d social.example.com Mastodon's official setup also uses Certbot/Let's Encrypt before enabling the final HTTPS configuration. Your certificate should be stored under: /etc/letsencrypt/live/social.example.com/ Edit: nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/mastodon.conf Enable or set: ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/social.example.com/fullchain.pem; ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/social.example.com/privkey.pem; Test: nginx -t Restart: systemctl restart nginx Test certificate renewal: certbot renew --dry-run Install the Mastodon systemd services Mastodon provides service definitions for its three principal application components: mastodon-web mastodon-sidekiq mastodon-streaming Copy them: cp /home/mastodon/live/dist/mastodon-*.service /etc/systemd/system/ This is also Mastodon's official deployment method. Inspect them: grep -E 'User|WorkingDirectory|ExecStart' /etc/systemd/system/mastodon-*.service Make sure they reference: Usermastodon /home/mastodon/live Reload systemd: systemctl daemon-reload Enable and start all Mastodon processes: systemctl enable --now \ mastodon-web \ mastodon-sidekiq \ mastodon-streaming The official Mastodon installation instructions use the same three units. Verify all Mastodon services Check: systemctl status mastodon-web systemctl status mastodon-sidekiq systemctl status mastodon-streaming All three should report: active (running) Check the backend ports: ss -lntp | grep -E '3000|4000' Typically: 127.0.0.1:3000 127.0.0.1:4000 The services should remain bound locally and be accessed externally only through Nginx. Check the website Open: https://social.example.com You should see the Mastodon interface. You can also test locally: curl -I https://social.example.com A normal response should include an HTTP success or redirect status rather than a 502 Bad Gateway. Create or promote the administrator account If you did not create an administrator during mastodon:setup, create one from the command line: su - mastodon cd ~/live RAILS_ENVproduction bin/tootctl accounts create admin \ --email admin@example.com \ --confirmed \ --role Owner Mastodon will output a generated password. Sign in immediately and change it to a strong password. If the user already exists, assign the appropriate administrative role using the tootctl accounts commands supported by your installed Mastodon release. Exit: exit Verify email delivery Email is one of the most common sources of problems on a new Mastodon server. Watch Sidekiq: journalctl -u mastodon-sidekiq -f Then generate an email from Mastodon—for example, a password reset or account confirmation. If messages fail, verify: SMTP hostname SMTP port SMTP username SMTP password TLS mode sender/domain verification SPF DKIM DMARC For production use, an external transactional email provider is generally more reliable than trying to deliver mail directly from the VPS. Useful log commands Follow Mastodon's web-service logs: journalctl -u mastodon-web -f Sidekiq: journalctl -u mastodon-sidekiq -f Streaming: journalctl -u mastodon-streaming -f Nginx: tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log PostgreSQL: journalctl -u postgresql -f Redis: journalctl -u redis -f View recent errors from all Mastodon units: journalctl \ -u mastodon-web \ -u mastodon-sidekiq \ -u mastodon-streaming \ --since "30 minutes ago" Common 502 Bad Gateway troubleshooting First check the Mastodon web process: systemctl status mastodon-web Then: journalctl -u mastodon-web -n 100 --no-pager Check whether port 3000 is listening: ss -lntp | grep 3000 Test the application directly: curl -I http://127.0.0.1:3000 If that works but Nginx returns 502, check: nginx -t tail -100 /var/log/nginx/error.log On AlmaLinux, an SELinux denial is also a common cause. Check: ausearch -m AVC -ts recent Make sure: setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1 has been applied. Test PostgreSQL and Redis As the mastodon Linux user: sudo -u mastodon psql mastodon_production If PostgreSQL peer authentication is configured correctly, this should connect without requesting a password. Exit: \q Redis: redis-cli ping Expected: PONG Check Mastodon from Rails Run: su - mastodon cd ~/live RAILS_ENVproduction bin/rails runner 'puts Mastodon::Version.to_s' This should print your installed Mastodon version. Exit: exit Back up Mastodon At minimum, back up three things: PostgreSQL database .env.production uploaded/local media For PostgreSQL: sudo -u postgres pg_dump -Fc mastodon_production > /root/mastodon-$(date +%F).dump Back up configuration: cp /home/mastodon/live/.env.production \ /root/mastodon-env-$(date +%F) If using local file storage, back up: /home/mastodon/live/public/system A proper production deployment should copy backups to a different server or object-storage provider rather than leaving them on the Mastodon VPS. Updating Mastodon Always read the release notes for every version you are crossing before upgrading. Mastodon frequently includes release-specific database migrations or asset-build instructions. The project explicitly warns administrators to read skipped-release upgrade notes. First back up the database. Then: su - mastodon cd ~/live Fetch releases: git fetch --tags Determine the stable release you want to install and check it out, for example: git checkout v4.6.4 Update Ruby if .ruby-version changed: RUBY_CONFIGURE_OPTS--with-jemalloc rbenv install Install updated Ruby dependencies: bundle install Install frontend dependencies: yarn install --immutable Run database migrations: RAILS_ENVproduction bundle exec rails db:migrate Precompile assets when required: RAILS_ENVproduction bundle exec rails assets:precompile Exit: exit Restart Mastodon: systemctl restart \ mastodon-web \ mastodon-sidekiq \ mastodon-streaming Current Mastodon 4.6 non-Docker upgrade notes explicitly call for dependency installation, asset compilation when required, and restarting Mastodon processes. Basic production security checklist Keep AlmaLinux updated: dnf update -y Keep SELinux enabled: getenforce Keep PostgreSQL and Redis restricted to localhost. Only expose externally: 22/tcp SSH 80/tcp HTTP 443/tcp HTTPS For SSH, consider: SSH keys instead of passwords PermitRootLogin prohibit-password Fail2ban or equivalent protection a non-default administrative account Also make sure you have: automated off-server database backups media backups/object storage working SSL renewal working SMTP delivery SPF DKIM DMARC filesystem monitoring adequate disk-space alerts Optional: use object storage For anything beyond a tiny instance, moving Mastodon media to S3-compatible object storage is worth considering. It prevents cached federated media from consuming your VPS system disk and makes future server migrations easier. Typical .env.production options include settings for: S3_ENABLED S3_BUCKET S3_REGION S3_HOSTNAME AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY Consult the Mastodon configuration documentation for the exact variables appropriate to your object-storage provider and Mastodon release. Restart the Mastodon services after changing .env.production. Optional: full-text search Mastodon can operate without Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, but installing a compatible search backend provides substantially better full-text search capabilities. Mastodon 4.6 lists Elasticsearch 7.x as recommended, with OpenSearch also supported. For a small VPS, consider leaving search disabled initially because Elasticsearch/OpenSearch can consume significant additional RAM. Final service check Run: systemctl is-active nginx systemctl is-active postgresql systemctl is-active redis systemctl is-active mastodon-web systemctl is-active mastodon-sidekiq systemctl is-active mastodon-streaming Each should return: active Check certificates: certbot certificates Check disk space: df -h Check memory: free -h Check Mastodon: curl -I https://social.example.com At this point your AlmaLinux VPS should be running a production-style Mastodon stack: Internet | v Nginx :443 | +----> Mastodon Web / Puma :3000 | +----> Mastodon Streaming :4000 Mastodon | +----> PostgreSQL | +----> Redis | +----> Sidekiq | +----> SMTP provider Nginx handles the public HTTP/HTTPS connections, Mastodon's Rails/Puma process serves the application, the streaming service handles real-time connections, Sidekiq processes background jobs, PostgreSQL stores persistent application data, and Redis handles queues and transient/cache data. This follows Mastodon's standard three-service systemd architecture while adapting the package management, Nginx layout, firewall, PostgreSQL initialization, and SELinux configuration for AlmaLinux. Conclusion You now know how to install and run Mastodon server on AlmaLinux VPS.

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