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Installing on Linux using OTP releases

Packaged (OTP) installation vs Manual (from-source) installations

There is multiple ways to install Pleroma.

Distro-provided packages
This is the recommended method, where you can get the strongest compatibility guarantees and the best dependency-management
Pleroma-provided OTP binaries
Intended as fallback for Alpine/Debian-compatible systems lacking a proper Pleroma package, they are heavier than proper distro packages as they also contain Erlang/Elixir and can break after system updates
Manual from-source installation
Needs build-dependencies to be installed and manual updates+rebuilds. Allows for easier source-customisations.

This guide covers a installation using OTP releases as built by the Pleroma project, it is meant as a fallback to distribution packages/recipes which are the preferred installation method.
To install Pleroma from source, please check out the corresponding guide for your distro.

Pre-requisites

  • A machine you have root access to running Debian GNU/Linux or compatible (eg. Ubuntu), or Alpine on x86_64, aarch64 or armv7l CPU. If you are not sure what you are running see Detecting flavour section below
  • A (sub)domain pointed to the machine

You will be running commands as root. If you aren't root already, please elevate your privileges by executing sudo -i/su.

Similarly to other binaries, OTP releases tend to be only compatible with the distro they are built on, as such this guide focuses only on Debian/Ubuntu and Alpine.

Note

If you get GLIBC_... not found errors on Debian/Ubuntu, you can run the OTP release from /opt/pleroma inside a newer distro container without upgrading the host. See release_to_docker_en.md.

Detecting flavour

Paste the following into the shell: 

arch="$(uname -m)";if [ "$arch" = "x86_64" ];then arch="amd64";elif [ "$arch" = "armv7l" ];then arch="arm";elif [ "$arch" = "aarch64" ];then arch="arm64";else echo "Unsupported arch: $arch">&2;fi;if getconf GNU_LIBC_VERSION>/dev/null;then libc_postfix="";elif [ "$(ldd 2>&1|head -c 9)" = "musl libc" ];then libc_postfix="-musl";elif [ "$(find /lib/libc.musl*|wc -l)" ];then libc_postfix="-musl";else echo "Unsupported libc">&2;fi;echo "$arch$libc_postfix"

This should give your flavour string. If not this just means that we don't build releases for your platform, you can still try installing from source.

Installing the required packages

Other than things bundled in the OTP release Pleroma depends on:

  • curl (to download the release build)
  • unzip (needed to unpack release builds)
  • ncurses (ERTS won't run without it)
  • libvips (for image processing)
  • PostgreSQL (also utilizes extensions in postgresql-contrib)
  • nginx (could be swapped with another reverse proxy but this guide covers only it)
  • certbot (for Let's Encrypt certificates, could be swapped with another ACME client, but this guide covers only it)
  • libmagic/file
awk 'NR==2' /etc/apk/repositories | sed 's/main/community/' | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories
apk update
apk add curl unzip ncurses postgresql postgresql-contrib nginx certbot file-dev

apt install curl unzip libncurses6 libvips42t64 postgresql postgresql-contrib nginx certbot libmagic-dev

On Debian 12 and Ubuntu 22.04, replace libvips42t64 with libvips42:

apt install curl unzip libncurses6 libvips42 postgresql postgresql-contrib nginx certbot libmagic-dev

Installing optional packages

Per docs/installation/optional/media_graphics_packages.md: * ImageMagick * ffmpeg * exiftool

apk update
apk add imagemagick ffmpeg exiftool

apt install imagemagick ffmpeg libimage-exiftool-perl

Setup

Configuring PostgreSQL

(Optional) Installing RUM indexes

Warning

It is recommended to use PostgreSQL v11 or newer. We have seen some minor issues with lower PostgreSQL versions.

RUM indexes are an alternative indexing scheme that is not included in PostgreSQL by default. You can read more about them on the Configuration page. They are completely optional and most of the time are not worth it, especially if you are running a single user instance (unless you absolutely need ordered search results).

apk add git build-base postgresql-dev
git clone https://github.com/postgrespro/rum /tmp/rum
cd /tmp/rum
make USE_PGXS=1
make USE_PGXS=1 install
cd
rm -r /tmp/rum

Install the package matching your distribution's PostgreSQL version:

# Debian 13
apt install postgresql-17-rum

# Debian 12
apt install postgresql-15-rum

# Ubuntu 26.04
apt install postgresql-18-rum

# Ubuntu 24.04
apt install postgresql-16-rum

# Ubuntu 22.04
apt install postgresql-14-rum

(Optional) Performance configuration

It is encouraged to check Optimizing your PostgreSQL performance document, for tips on PostgreSQL tuning.

Restart PostgreSQL to apply configuration changes:

rc-service postgresql restart

systemctl restart postgresql

Installing Pleroma

Create a Pleroma user:

adduser --system --shell  /bin/false --home /opt/pleroma pleroma

Set the flavour environment variable to the string you got in Detecting flavour section. For example if the flavour is amd64-musl the command will be:

export FLAVOUR="amd64-musl"

Clone the release build into a temporary directory and unpack it:

sudo -Hu pleroma curl "https://git.pleroma.social/api/packages/pleroma/generic/pleroma-otp-stable-$FLAVOUR/latest/pleroma.zip" -o /tmp/pleroma.zip
sudo -Hu pleroma unzip /tmp/pleroma.zip -d /tmp/

Move the release to the home directory and delete temporary files:

sudo -Hu pleroma mv /tmp/release/* /opt/pleroma
sudo -Hu pleroma rmdir /tmp/release
sudo -Hu pleroma rm /tmp/pleroma.zip

Create uploads directory and set proper permissions (skip if planning to use a remote uploader). Note: It does not have to be /var/lib/pleroma/uploads, the config generator will ask about the upload directory later.

mkdir -p /var/lib/pleroma/uploads
chown -R pleroma /var/lib/pleroma

Create custom public files directory (custom emojis, frontend bundle overrides, robots.txt, etc.) Note: It does not have to be /var/lib/pleroma/static, the config generator will ask about the custom public files directory later.

mkdir -p /var/lib/pleroma/static
chown -R pleroma /var/lib/pleroma

Create a config directory:

mkdir -p /etc/pleroma
chown -R pleroma /etc/pleroma

Run the config generator:

sudo -Hu pleroma "./bin/pleroma_ctl instance gen --output /etc/pleroma/config.exs --output-psql /tmp/setup_db.psql"

Create the postgres database and schema:

sudo -u postgres -s $SHELL -lc "psql -f /tmp/setup_db.psql"
sudo -Hu pleroma "./bin/pleroma_ctl migrate"

(Optional) If you have installed RUM indexes:

sudo -Hu pleroma "./bin/pleroma_ctl migrate --migrations-path priv/repo/optional_migrations/rum_indexing/"

Start the instance to verify that everything is working as expected:

sudo -Hu pleroma "./bin/pleroma daemon"

Wait for about 20 seconds and query the instance endpoint, if it shows your uri, name and email correctly, you are configured correctly:

sleep 20 && curl http://localhost:4000/api/v1/instance

Stop the instance:

sudo -Hu pleroma "./bin/pleroma stop"

Setting up nginx and getting Let's Encrypt SSL certificaties

Get a Let's Encrypt certificate

certbot certonly --standalone --preferred-challenges http -d yourinstance.tld

Copy Pleroma nginx configuration to the nginx folder

The location of nginx configs is dependent on the distro

cp /opt/pleroma/installation/pleroma.nginx /etc/nginx/conf.d/pleroma.conf

cp /opt/pleroma/installation/pleroma.nginx /etc/nginx/sites-available/pleroma.conf
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/pleroma.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/pleroma.conf

If your distro does not have either of those you can append include /etc/nginx/pleroma.conf to the end of the http section in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf and 

cp /opt/pleroma/installation/pleroma.nginx /etc/nginx/pleroma.conf

Edit the nginx config

# Replace example.tld with your (sub)domain
$EDITOR path-to-nginx-config

# Verify that the config is valid
nginx -t

Refer to the Hardening your instance document on how to serve media on another domain. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND you to do this to minimize attack vectors.

Start nginx

rc-service nginx start

systemctl start nginx

At this point if you open your (sub)domain in a browser you should see a 502 error, that's because Pleroma is not started yet.

Setting up a system service

# Copy the service into a proper directory
cp /opt/pleroma/installation/init.d/pleroma /etc/init.d/pleroma

# Start pleroma and enable it on boot
rc-service pleroma start
rc-update add pleroma

# Copy the service into a proper directory
cp /opt/pleroma/installation/pleroma.service /etc/systemd/system/pleroma.service

# Start pleroma and enable it on boot
systemctl start pleroma
systemctl enable pleroma

If everything worked, you should see Pleroma-FE when visiting your domain. If that didn't happen, try reviewing the installation steps, starting Pleroma in the foreground and seeing if there are any errors.

Questions about the installation or didn’t it work as it should be, ask in #pleroma:libera.chat via Matrix or #pleroma on libera.chat via IRC, you can also file an issue on our Gitlab.

Post installation

Setting up auto-renew of the Let's Encrypt certificate

# Create the directory for webroot challenges
mkdir -p /var/lib/letsencrypt

# Uncomment the webroot method
$EDITOR path-to-nginx-config

# Verify that the config is valid
nginx -t

# Restart nginx
rc-service nginx restart

# Start the cron daemon and make it start on boot
rc-service crond start
rc-update add crond

# Ensure the webroot menthod and post hook is working
certbot renew --cert-name yourinstance.tld --webroot -w /var/lib/letsencrypt/ --dry-run --post-hook 'rc-service nginx reload'

# Add it to the daily cron
echo '#!/bin/sh
certbot renew --cert-name yourinstance.tld --webroot -w /var/lib/letsencrypt/ --post-hook "rc-service nginx reload"
' > /etc/periodic/daily/renew-pleroma-cert
chmod +x /etc/periodic/daily/renew-pleroma-cert

# If everything worked the output should contain /etc/cron.daily/renew-pleroma-cert
run-parts --test /etc/periodic/daily

# Restart nginx
systemctl restart nginx

# Ensure the webroot menthod and post hook is working
certbot renew --cert-name yourinstance.tld --webroot -w /var/lib/letsencrypt/ --dry-run --post-hook 'systemctl reload nginx'

# Add it to the daily cron
echo '#!/bin/sh
certbot renew --cert-name yourinstance.tld --webroot -w /var/lib/letsencrypt/ --post-hook "systemctl reload nginx"
' > /etc/cron.daily/renew-pleroma-cert
chmod +x /etc/cron.daily/renew-pleroma-cert

# If everything worked the output should contain /etc/cron.daily/renew-pleroma-cert
run-parts --test /etc/cron.daily

Create your first user and set as admin

cd /opt/pleroma
su pleroma -s $SHELL -lc "./bin/pleroma_ctl user new joeuser joeuser@sld.tld --admin"
This will create an account withe the username of 'joeuser' with the email address of joeuser@sld.tld, and set that user's account as an admin. This will result in a link that you can paste into the browser, which logs you in and enables you to set the password.

Further reading

Questions

Questions about the installation or didn’t it work as it should be, ask in #pleroma:libera.chat via Matrix or #pleroma on libera.chat via IRC, you can also file an issue on our Gitlab.