Mastodon instances that grow beyond a few thousand active users often hit a bottleneck on the primary PostgreSQL database. Read-heavy operations like loading the federated timeline, searching public posts, and fetching user profiles all query the same database server. When that single server cannot keep up, page loads slow down and timeouts increase. This article … Read more
You need to stop users from posting, editing, or deleting content on your Mastodon instance while keeping the public timeline and profiles accessible. This is called read-only maintenance mode. The mode lets visitors browse existing posts but prevents any write operations such as toots, boosts, follows, or account changes. This article explains how to enable … Read more
You want to let users log in to your website or app using their Mastodon account. Mastodon supports OAuth 2.0, which allows external services to authenticate users without sharing their Mastodon password. This setup enables single sign-on SSO for your Mastodon instance, making it easier for users to access connected tools. In this article, you … Read more
Self-hosted Mastodon instance administrators often need to integrate with an existing identity provider to allow users to sign in with their corporate or organizational credentials. SAML-based single sign-on eliminates the need for separate Mastodon passwords and centralizes user management through a provider such as Azure Active Directory, Okta, or OneLogin. This article explains how to … Read more
Corporate IT administrators often need to integrate Mastodon with existing identity management systems. Without LDAP authentication, users must create and manage separate Mastodon passwords. This increases support overhead and weakens security. This article explains how to configure LDAP authentication on a Mastodon instance for corporate environments. Key Takeaways: Mastodon LDAP Authentication Setup OmniAuth LDAP gem: … Read more
When users join your Mastodon instance, they receive a default welcome email generated by the server. This generic message does not reflect your community’s identity or provide specific guidance for new members. Customizing the welcome email lets you introduce your instance’s rules, recommended hashtags, and local culture. This article explains how an instance administrator can … Read more
Mastodon instance administrators often need to screen new registrations to keep their community focused and spam-free. The default sign-up form collects only a username, email, and password, which gives you no insight into why a person wants to join. Adding a custom sign-up question lets you ask applicants for a reason, an introduction, or a … Read more
Mastodon instance administrators often need to control who can join their server. One effective method is restricting new user registrations to specific email domains. This prevents spam accounts and ensures users belong to a trusted organization or community. This article explains how to configure email domain whitelisting or blacklisting in Mastodon’s settings. Key Takeaways: Restrict … Read more
If you run a Mastodon instance, you likely use hCaptcha to prevent automated spam account registrations. However, hCaptcha has changed its pricing model and now charges per verification, which can become expensive for larger instances. This article explains how to switch your Mastodon instance from hCaptcha to an alternative captcha provider such as MastoCaptcha or … Read more
Mastodon instances store user-uploaded images on the same domain as the instance by default. This can increase server load and expose the main domain to potential security risks from malicious file uploads. Separating image hosting to a dedicated subdomain improves performance and security by isolating static content. This article explains how to configure your Mastodon … Read more