What is Takahē?

Takahē is a beta-stage ActivityPub/Fediverse server designed for small to medium self-hosted installations. It allows hosting multiple domains and multiple identities per user on a single instance, with a web UI that works as a progressive web app. The server implements the Mastodon Client API so users can use popular Fediverse client apps like Tusky, Elk, and Pinafore. It supports posts with content warnings, editing, media attachments, replies, boosts, likes, following/blocking/muting, notifications, timelines, custom emoji, RSS feeds, moderation tools, server announcements, defederation, and invite-based signup with email password reset. Deployment uses Docker/OCI images with a PostgreSQL 14+ database, a reverse proxy for HTTPS, and media storage via S3, Google Cloud Storage, or a local directory. Background tasks run via a separate Stator worker container. The project is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and actively developed toward a 1.0 release.

Should you self-host Takahē?

Takahē scores 53/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #4 of 5 in Fediverse. It has 1 171 GitHub stars.

There was no stable release in the past 12 months, so check the repository's recent activity before you rely on it.

Setup is advanced: plan for several services and some ongoing maintenance. An official Docker image is available. It is BSD-3-Clause-licensed and written mostly in Python.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Misskey (74/100, 11 365 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See Takahē vs Misskey side by side.

Features

Content warnings and post visibilities
Custom Emoji
Follow, block, mute
Mastodon Client API compatibilitybeta support
Media attachments
Moderation tools
Multi-domain hosting
Multi-identity per user
Multiple timelines
Notifications
Post Editing
Progressive Web App
Replies, boosts, likes
RSS Feeds
Two-factor authenticationPlanned for 1.0 release

How to configure Takahē

GUNICORN_CMD_ARGSGunicorn worker configuration (e.g., --workers 2)
Gunicorn worker configuration (e.g., --workers 2)
values: Gunicorn arguments
TAKAHE_AUTO_ADMIN_EMAILEmail address to auto-promote to administrator on signup
Email address to auto-promote to administrator on signup
values: email address
TAKAHE_CACHES_DEFAULTCache backend URL for page caching (Redis, Memcached, filesystem, or locmem)
Cache backend URL for page caching (Redis, Memcached, filesystem, or locmem)
values: redis://..., memcached://..., file://..., locmem://...
TAKAHE_DATABASE_SERVERDatabase DSN for PostgreSQL connection
Database DSN for PostgreSQL connection
values: PostgreSQL connection string
TAKAHE_EMAIL_FROMEmail address that system emails appear to come from
Email address that system emails appear to come from
values: email address
TAKAHE_EMAIL_SERVERSMTP or SendGrid URI for sending emails
SMTP or SendGrid URI for sending emails
values: smtp://..., sendgrid://...
TAKAHE_MAIN_DOMAINDomain name without https:// for default links in emails
Domain name without https:// for default links in emails
values: domain name
TAKAHE_MEDIA_BACKENDMedia storage backend URI (local://, s3://, or gcs://)
Media storage backend URI (local://, s3://, or gcs://)
values: local://, s3://..., gcs://...
TAKAHE_MEDIA_ROOTFile path to local media directory (when using local:// backend)
File path to local media directory (when using local:// backend)
values: file path
TAKAHE_MEDIA_URLFully-qualified URL prefix serving the local media directory (must end in slash)
Fully-qualified URL prefix serving the local media directory (must end in slash)
values: URL with trailing slash
TAKAHE_NGINX_CACHE_SIZE1gSize of Nginx media cache (e.g., 10g)
Size of Nginx media cache (e.g., 10g)
values: Nginx size value
TAKAHE_REMOTE_PRUNE_HORIZON90Days of remote content history to keep before pruning (default 90)
Days of remote content history to keep before pruning (default 90)
values: integer days, 0 to disable
TAKAHE_REMOTE_TIMEOUT5Seconds to wait for remote federation requests (default 5)
Seconds to wait for remote federation requests (default 5)
values: number or tuple of four floats
TAKAHE_SECRET_KEYFixed random value for internal cryptography, must be kept secret
Fixed random value for internal cryptography, must be kept secret
values: 64+ character random string
TAKAHE_SENTRY_DSNSentry.io DSN for error tracking integration
Sentry.io DSN for error tracking integration
values: Sentry DSN string
TAKAHE_STATOR_CONCURRENCY20Max concurrent Stator tasks (default 20)
Max concurrent Stator tasks (default 20)
values: integer
TAKAHE_STATOR_CONCURRENCY_PER_MODEL4Max concurrent tasks per model in Stator (default 4)
Max concurrent tasks per model in Stator (default 4)
values: integer
TAKAHE_STATOR_TOKENRandom string to protect Stator HTTP endpoint if not running as background worker
Random string to protect Stator HTTP endpoint if not running as background worker
values: random string
TAKAHE_USE_PROXY_HEADERSSet to true when behind HTTPS proxy that passes X-Forwarded-Proto header
Set to true when behind HTTPS proxy that passes X-Forwarded-Proto header
values: true, false
TAKAHE_VAPID_PRIVATE_KEYVAPID private key for push notifications
VAPID private key for push notifications
values: VAPID private key
TAKAHE_VAPID_PUBLIC_KEYVAPID public key for push notifications
VAPID public key for push notifications
values: VAPID public key