Fedi Instance Admins: S3 buckets and CDNs. Public buckets with a CDN are simple enough.
Private buckets with signed urls...I understand how they work. Call the S3 API to grab a signed URL for a specific private asset, the URL lives short term. Anyone with that signed url can access it (?).
But doesn't it negate the function of a CDN? Seems like using signed URLs would be much more costly since you can't cache them for very long.
We just released Mastodon 4.3.9 and 4.2.22. They contain a number of important bug fixes, and one security-adjacent fix.
If you are running nightly versions, an updated container image is available under the `nightly.2025-07-02` tag
Full release notes and update instructions are available on our GitHub release page:
There is a new major mastodon release (v4.4.0). As usual we will wait some time for bugs to settle and for us to check everything. Please be patient until then. #mastoadmin
Currently we observe errors on one of our media servers. #mastoadmin
We just released Mastodon 4.3.7 and 4.2.20 and 4.1.25. They contain a few minor bug fixes.
Note that this will most likely be the last Mastodon 4.1 release, and 4.1 will be unsupported in 6 days, so we highly advise you to update if you run it.
Full release notes and update instructions are available on our GitHub release page: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/
I just mailed out a short stack of envelopes containing new Masto.NYC donors' sticker packs (https://masto.nyc/stickers).
I’m very aware that one has to be very choosy about one's charitable giving these days. A donation to your Mastodon server not only helps pay its bills—it sends such a strong statement about how much this service means to you.
It's an incredible and humbling morale boost during strange times. Thank you. #MastoNYC #MastoAdmin
https://masto.nyc/@jmac/114258806648262313
Because of AI/LLM signups at our instance, I've decided to disable requests via Mastodon to sign up. If you want an account, please send a mail to info [at] collectifission [dot] nl so we can have a talk before I'm sure you're not a bot.
Sorry, this is the world we live in now.
We just released Mastodon 4.4.3, 4.3.11, and 4.2.24.
These versions contain bugfixes, a fix for a moderate severity rate limit issue, and security issue if you use SAML. In 4.4.3 there are also changes to how quote posts are handled, as we continue to work towards full support for quote posts in the next main release.
Full release notes and update instructions are available on the GitHub releases page. #mastoadmin
We will start the update to mastodon v4.4.1 in a few minutes. Please expect some downtime. #mastoadmin
#Fediblock recommendation, there's a rogue server cloning real accounts so it can impersonate them. There is no legitimate reason for such behaviour, admins should suspend it ASAP:
mastodon.arell.ai
Admins might want to suspend the main domain:
arell.ai
This would be good in case the owner tries the same stunt on a different subdomain. Blocking the main domain also blocks all of its subdomains.
(via @thomas)
Mastodon Bird UI support for Mastodon v4.6.0 with CSS properties is coming soon. The theme will also be modularized using SCSS partials to match Mastodon's new style infrastructure.
The build process will include npm scripts and Parcel, making the theme ultra-portable for any Mastodon instance, whether added through the Custom CSS textarea or directly by a Mastodon admin.
I'll also create a simple bash script for Mastodon admins to enable the theme as a selectable option more easily than the current fork-and-cut method.
This is no easy feat, but definitely worth it.
GitHub: https://github.com/ronilaukkarinen/mastodon-bird-ui
Progress in the nightly branch.
#MastodonBirdUI #CSS #OpenSource #MastoAdmin #Theming #BirdUI #Mastodon #BuildInPublic
We just released Mastodon 4.5.3, 4.4.10 and 4.3.16 and 4.2.28.
These versions contain various bug fixes, including a fix for a minor security issue.
Full release notes and update instructions are available on the GitHub releases page.
🚨 Alert 🚨
There is a new scam wave spreading across Mastodon.
If you see a post like the one below, do not interact with it. SImply report to your server admin.
Server admins, if you are able, now may be the time to temporarily turn off open sign ups.
As moderators, we will do our best to respond to these reports swiftly. We will also add malicious links to our Newsmast Foundation filters list, meaning the posts should not show on our services.
The November "Trunk & Tidbits" is out! Read about our new organisational announcements and events; the start of development for our Collections feature; CSS theme tokens and Helm chart; and, the latest stable releases.
https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/12/trunk-tidbits-november-2025/
@andypiper (or anybody else ...)
Somebody working with a non-profit that is considering starting up a Mastodon instance to use as part of an activism campaign asked me for a rough estimate of how time consuming it is to administer a mastodon instance. Good question! Is there a good wrteeup of this I can point them to?
Tech Note Of The Day (TNOTD):
If you're now on an instance that's been upgraded to the v4.4.* Mastodon distro series, you may want to set your Quote Posts visibility
NOTE: no one can *create* Quote Posts now, this is just in preparation for the v4.5.* distro upgrade
So, at
Preferences (now down at the bottom of the right column) --> Other
find "Who can quote" and set to your preference
I've set mine to "Only your (my) followers"
Note: "This setting will only take effect for posts created with the next Mastodon version, but you can select your preference in preparation."
BE SURE TO SAVE CHANGES
Carry on as you were
Fediway brings algorithmic feeds to Mastodon.
https://github.com/fediway/fediway
(Found it on Reddit. Haven't tried it yet.)
Ω🪬Ω
#FediAlgo v1.1.19 is deployed. Minor bugfixes and improvements to the customizable timeline algorithm / filtering system for your Mastodon feed.
* Link: https://michelcrypt4d4mus.github.io/fedialgo_demo_app_foryoufeed/
* Code: https://github.com/michelcrypt4d4mus/fedialgo_demo_app_foryoufeed
* Video of FediAlgo in action (slightly out of date): https://universeodon.com/@cryptadamist/114395249311910522
#activitypub #algorithm #algorithmicFeed #algorithmicTimeline #Fedi #FediTips #FediTools #Fediverse #Feed #FOSS #GoToSocial #hashtag #hashtags #MastoAdmin #Mastodon #MastodonApi #mastohelp #mastojs #nodejs #nod #opensource #socialmedia #SocialWeb #timeline #TL #typescript #webdev
We just released Mastodon 4.4.4, 4.3.12, and 4.2.25.
These versions contain a few bugfixes, notably related to quote posts display in 4.4.
Full release notes and update instructions are available on the GitHub releases page.
We just released Mastodon 4.4.5, 4.3.13, and 4.2.26.
These versions contain a few bugfixes, notably related to quote posts display in 4.4.
Full release notes and update instructions are available on the GitHub releases page.
Ω🪬Ω
#FediAlgo (the customizable timeline algorithm / filtering system for your Mastodon feed) v1.2.2 is deployed now. Has a switch that makes sure any #hashtags / users / etc. that you follow are displayed as filter options even if they don't meet the minimum number of recent toots threshold.
Also a bunch of bug fixes and small improvements.
* Try it here: https://michelcrypt4d4mus.github.io/fedialgo_demo_app_foryoufeed/
* Code: https://github.com/michelcrypt4d4mus/fedialgo_demo_app_foryoufeed
* Video of FediAlgo in action (slightly outdated): https://universeodon.com/@cryptadamist/114395249311910522
#activitypub #algorithm #algorithmicFeed #algorithmicTimeline #Fedi #FediTips #FediTools #Fediverse #Feed #FOSS #GoToSocial #hashtag #hashtags #javascript #MastoAdmin #Mastodon #MastodonApi #mastohelp #mastojs #node #nodejs #opensource #socialmedia #SocialWeb #timeline #TL #typescript #webdev
- Are you the admin on a public Fediverse server which has sign-ups open?
- Would you like your server listed on https://fedi.garden ?
- Is your server compatible with all seven points at https://fedi.garden/about-this-site ?
If so, please message me 🙂
(NOTE: It can be Mastodon or it can be other types of Fediverse server such as PeerTube, GoToSocial, Pixelfed etc.)
Okay, I think #Universeodon should now be up, running and stable. There were a couple of bits I missed when I had deployed everything ready for the DB migration so we ran into some issues where we just got crushed with load and the server couldn't handle it properly.
It has flagged some other issues that I wasn't expecting when it comes to capacity and load but those are things I should be able to solve in due course and as part of moving MastodonAppUK over.
Mastodon's moderation could be greatly improved by a system to automatically flag posts containing certain words, phrases or links.
It would allow admins to instantly see problematic content (abuse, spam, etc) without having to wait for reports from users. It doesn't have to automatically take action, just flag it.
There's an existing issue in Mastodon's Github. If you are comfortable using Github, give it a thumbs up if you want this feature: https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/21306
