Pixelfed

Description

Pixelfed is a decentralized image-sharing platform that champions creativity and privacy. It offers a secure, community-driven alternative to centralized social networks by enabling federated communication and seamless content sharing through a modern web interface.

Overview

This Docker Compose deployment automates the installation and operation of a Pixelfed instance.

Cosmos

The diagram places Pixelfed in the Infinito.Nexus cosmos: the components it deploys (capabilities), the central services it consumes (dependencies), and its outward reach (federation and bridged external networks).

flowchart LR
    subgraph deps [Dependencies]
        dep_svc_bkp_volume_2_local["svc-bkp-volume-2-local 💻"]
        dep_svc_db_mariadb["svc-db-mariadb 🐳🐝"]
        dep_svc_db_redis["svc-db-redis 🐳🐝"]
        dep_svc_net_tor["svc-net-tor 🐳🐝"]
        dep_web_app_dashboard["web-app-dashboard 🐳🐝"]
        dep_web_app_keycloak["web-app-keycloak 🐳🐝"]
        dep_web_app_matomo["web-app-matomo 🐳🐝"]
        dep_web_app_prometheus["web-app-prometheus 🐳🐝"]
        dep_web_app_seaweedfs["web-app-seaweedfs 🐳🐝"]
        dep_web_app_stalwart["web-app-stalwart 🐳🐝"]
        dep_web_svc_css["web-svc-css 💻"]
        dep_web_svc_logout["web-svc-logout 🐳🐝"]
    end
    subgraph role [web-app-pixelfed 🐳🐝]
        svc_sso["sso"]
        svc_logout["logout"]
        svc_dashboard["dashboard"]
        svc_matomo["matomo"]
        svc_email["email"]
        svc_redis["redis"]
        svc_mariadb["mariadb"]
        svc_pixelfed["pixelfed"]
        svc_worker["worker"]
        svc_minio["minio ❌"]
        svc_seaweedfs["seaweedfs"]
        svc_css["css"]
        svc_prometheus["prometheus"]
        svc_tor["tor"]
        svc_container_backup["container_backup"]
    end
    dep_svc_bkp_volume_2_local -. "0..1" .-> svc_container_backup
    dep_svc_db_mariadb -. "0..1" .-> svc_mariadb
    dep_svc_db_redis -. "0..1" .-> svc_redis
    dep_svc_net_tor -. "0..1" .-> svc_tor
    dep_web_app_dashboard -. "0..1" .-> svc_dashboard
    dep_web_app_keycloak -. "0..1" .-> svc_sso
    dep_web_app_matomo -. "0..1" .-> svc_matomo
    dep_web_app_prometheus -. "0..1" .-> svc_prometheus
    dep_web_app_seaweedfs -. "0..1" .-> svc_seaweedfs
    dep_web_app_stalwart -. "0..1" .-> svc_email
    dep_web_svc_css -. "0..1" .-> svc_css
    dep_web_svc_logout -. "0..1" .-> svc_logout

Solid 1:1 edges are fixed relationships; dashed 0..1 edges are conditional (enabled only in matching deployments); red 0..0 edges are turned off in this role. Node markers show the role's deploy modes (💻 host, 🐳 compose, 🐝 swarm); ❌ marks a service that is explicitly turned off, and ⚙️ an Ansible role dependency declared in meta/main.yml.

Features

Decentralized Content Sharing: Empower users to share photos and visual content across an interoperable, federated network with enhanced privacy controls.
Modern, Responsive Web Interface: Access an intuitive and adaptive UI for effortless browsing, administration, and content management.
Robust Scalability & Performance: Leverage integrated Redis caching and a reliable database (MariaDB or PostgreSQL) for smooth scaling and high performance.
Flexible Configuration: Customize cache sizes, domain settings, and authentication options via environment variables and templated configuration files.
Maintenance & Administration Tools: Built-in CLI and web-app-based tools to clear caches, manage the database, and monitor application health.
Single Sign-On (SSO) / OpenID Connect (OIDC): Seamless integration with external identity providers for centralized authentication.

Quick Setup

Development

Clone, set up the workstation, and deploy Pixelfed onto the local stack:

git clone https://github.com/infinito-nexus/core.git
cd core
make onboard
make compose-deploy mode=reinstall apps=web-app-pixelfed full_cycle=false

Production

Run the published image to provision the inventory and deploy Pixelfed to a managed server (the mounted volume persists the inventory):

APP=web-app-pixelfed
HOST=<your-server>
DOMAIN=<your-domain>
TLS_MODE=self_signed
SSH_PUBLIC_KEY="<your-ssh-public-key>"

docker run --rm -it \
  -v "$PWD/inventories:/etc/infinito.nexus/inventories" \
  -e APP="$APP" -e HOST="$HOST" -e DOMAIN="$DOMAIN" -e TLS_MODE="$TLS_MODE" -e SSH_PUBLIC_KEY="$SSH_PUBLIC_KEY" \
  ghcr.io/infinito-nexus/core/debian bash -c '
    INVENTORY=/etc/infinito.nexus/inventories/production
    infinito administration inventory provision "$INVENTORY" \
      --inventory-file "$INVENTORY/devices.yml" \
      --host "$HOST" \
      --include "$APP" \
      --vars "{\"TLS_MODE\": \"$TLS_MODE\", \"DOMAIN_PRIMARY\": \"$DOMAIN\", \"users\": {\"administrator\": {\"authorized_keys\": [\"$SSH_PUBLIC_KEY\"]}}}" &&
    infinito administration deploy dedicated "$INVENTORY/devices.yml" \
      --password-file "$INVENTORY/.password" \
      --diff -vv'

Other Resources

Persona contract opt-outs

The shared biber and administrator persona helpers are declared blocked in templates/playwright.env.j2. Pixelfed's login id is the account e-mail rather than the Keycloak username, and the artisan-bootstrapped administrator name is reserved, so pixelfed's first-time OIDC registration cannot mint it either. biber additionally needs his Keycloak e-mail rewritten to a resolvable domain through the Keycloak admin API before the first OIDC login, because pixelfed's dns,spoof validator rejects .example addresses. Both setups live in files/playwright/_shared.js and drive the dedicated login specs in files/playwright.

Credits

Implemented by Kevin Veen-Birkenbach. Part of the Infinito.Nexus Project and maintained by Kevin Veen-Birkenbach. Licensed under the Infinito.Nexus Community License (Non-Commercial).