# Mastodon

> Mastodon is a free, open-source app you can self-host in the social & forums category. Federated microblogging server. It has 50,353 GitHub stars, is released under the AGPL-3.0 license and ships a Docker image. It is a self-hosted alternative to Twitter / X.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon |
| Website | https://joinmastodon.org/ |
| GitHub stars | 50,353 |
| Forks | 7,503 |
| Open issues | 4,373 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | Open source |
| Language | Ruby |
| Docker image | Yes |
| Platforms | Ruby |
| Categories | Social & Forums |
| Commits, last 12 months | 2,689 |
| Last commit | Oct 6, 2026 |
| Latest release | v4.7.3 (Oct 1, 2026) |
| Created | Feb 22, 2016 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained |
| Archived | No |

Topics: mastodon, docker, microblog, activity-stream, webfinger, social-network, activitypub, fediverse, social-web

## Install

Mastodon ships a Docker image; follow the README at https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon for the image name and environment variables.

Need it installed for you? [appsgit installation help](https://appsgit.com/services/install): a fixed quote by email, single app installs from $79.

## Mastodon replaces

- [Twitter / X alternatives](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/twitter): A microblogging social network for short public posts.

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## Articles

- [The 25 best self-hosted apps in 2026 (ranked by GitHub activity)](https://appsgit.com/blog/best-self-hosted-apps-2026): The 25 best self-hosted apps in 2026, ranked with real GitHub data: stars, commits in the last 12 months and licence. Immich, Ollama, Jellyfin and more.

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