Self-host GoToSocial

updated Sep 2026deployed by usprices checked · Jul 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Sep 2026 · how we test

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A lightweight ActivityPub social network server written in Go that federates with Mastodon and the rest of the Fediverse. It has no built-in posting client beyond a basic web view; you use a Mastodon-compatible app to post.

Key facts

CategorySocial network (Fediverse)

LicenseAGPL-3.0

StackGo, SQLite, PostgreSQL

Min RAM1024 MB

Official imageyes

Measured idle RAM435 MB

Difficulty

Sourcecodeberg.org/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial

Websitegotosocial.org

What you need

Any VPS with at least 1024 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
Under an hour if you've used Docker before

Where to host itaffiliate disclosure

Hetzner Cloudrun it on

From $23.59/mo · 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB · EU + US

Get Hetzner Cloud

Kamaterafree trial

From $4/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 20 GB · US + EU + Asia

Start free on Kamatera →

DigitalOceanalso works on

From $6/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB · US + EU + Asia

Deploy on DigitalOcean →

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Install

Run these commands on your server:

# GoToSocial — the official docker-compose.yaml (single container, SQLite)
mkdir -p ~/gotosocial/data && cd ~/gotosocial
wget https://codeberg.org/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/raw/branch/main/example/docker-compose/docker-compose.yaml
# GTS_HOST is your domain and cannot change later; upstream maps 443→8080 as plain HTTP for a reverse proxy, this publishes 8080 instead
sed -i 's/GTS_HOST: example.org/GTS_HOST: social.example.com/; s/"443:8080"/"8080:8080"/' docker-compose.yaml
# the container runs as uid/gid 1000:1000, so the data dir must be owned by it or SQLite fails with "permission denied"
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 ~/gotosocial/data
docker compose up -d  #  →  http://SERVER_IP:8080
# create your account: docker exec -it gotosocial /gotosocial/gotosocial admin account create --username you --email you@example.com --password 'LongPassword1!'