How to Install PeerTube

There is now increased interest in federated web applications as alternatives to the major social media sites. Federated servers operate independently in an interconnected manner. PeerTube is a distributed open source variation on YouTube. It allows users to share and enjoy videos without corporate interference or manipulative algorithms. This guide explains how to download, install, and configure a PeerTube instance on a Linode server.

What is a Federated Web Application?

PeerTube is one of the applications comprising the federated web, also known as the Fediverse. The Fediverse is a collection of independent yet interconnected servers. Applications in the Fediverse are decentralized by design. There is no central server or administrative hierarchy. Mastodon is probably the best-known federated web application.

Each server is typically self-hosted, and users can join any public server. In most cases, users can access or post content on multiple servers. The Fediverse is frequently used to host web content, most typically websites, social networks, videos, music, and blogs.

What is PeerTube?

PeerTube is a federated application for decentralized video sharing produced by a French non-profit as a free and open source application. It operates in a distributed manner and allows administrators to create their own video platform. PeerTube does not have any recommendation algorithms or attempt to influence the audience. PeerTube instances can connect to one another to form larger networks, but each owner operates, manages, and moderates their own instance autonomously. Because PeerTube is an open source product, users can suggest modifications to the source code or develop new features themselves.

Some of the main features and advantages of PeerTube are as follows:

• Features allowing content creators to upload and import videos and manage metadata, subtitles, comments, downloads, and privacy settings. Creators can personalize their channels and create public playlists. They retain full extended copyright to their works.
• Live streaming capabilities, allowing creators to publish live videos.
• The ability to post or view videos on different PeerTube servers.
• Integration with ActivityPub to allow users and creators to connect to Mastodon and other federated sites.
• Server bandwidth management for viral videos.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) functionality, which can be disabled on a per-user basis.
• A customizable user interface and themes.
• NSFW policies.
• A built-in playlist feature. Users can share and interact with videos and playlists.
• The ability to subscribe to channels.
• Advanced search capabilities.

For more information about PeerTube, see the PeerTube FAQ.

Before You Begin

1. If you have not already done so, create a Linode account and Compute Instance. See our Getting Started with Linode and Creating a Compute Instance guides.

2. Follow our Setting Up and Securing a Compute Instance guide to update your system. You may also wish to set the timezone, configure your hostname, create a limited user account, and harden SSH access.

3. Create and configure a domain name to point at the Linode. This domain name provides access to the PeerTube instance. For more information on domains and how to create a DNS record, see the Linode DNS Manager guide.

How to Install PeerTube

PeerTube must be used with the NGINX web server. It does not support Apache. PeerTube recommends PostgreSQL for the database. It is possible to use another database system, but this guide only provides instructions for PostgreSQL.

This guide is recommended for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS users, but is generally applicable for most Linux distributions. For a full list of dependencies and instructions for other systems, see the PeerTube dependencies list.

The PeerTube installation process is subdivided into several sections. To install and configure PeerTube on a Linode, follow these steps:

1. Install the PeerTube prerequisites.
2. Add directories and configure the database.
3. Download and install PeerTube.
4. Configure PeerTube.
5. Configure the virtual host file and enable HTTPS.
6. Tune PeerTube and activate the PeerTube system service.

How to Install the PeerTube Prerequisites

The following section explains how to install the NGINX web server, PostgreSQL database, and supporting software utilities. To configure all PeerTube prerequisites, follow these steps.

1. Ensure all packages are updated and install some basic utilities. Some of these packages might already be installed on the system.

   sudo apt-get update -y && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
   sudo apt-get install build-essential gnupg curl unzip

2. Download Node.js using curl and install it.

   sudo curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_16.x | sudo -E bash -
   sudo apt-get install nodejs -y

3. Use npm to install the yarn package manager.

   sudo npm install -g yarn

4. The Python programming language should already be installed on Ubuntu. However, additional Python development packages must also be installed. The python-is-python3 package aliases the python command to python3.

   sudo apt install python3-dev python-is-python3

5. Install the NGINX web server.

   sudo apt install nginx

6. Ensure the web server is running.

   sudo systemctl status nginx

   nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server
       Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
       Active: active (running) since Tue 2022-12-06 14:35:39 UTC; 15min ago

   You may need to press the Q key to exit the output.

7. Allow web server access through the firewall and enable the firewall. Add permission for the Nginx Full profile to ensure both HTTP and HTTPS are allowed. Run the ufw status to ensure ufw is configured properly.

   sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
   sudo ufw allow in "Nginx Full"
   sudo ufw enable
   sudo ufw status

   Status: active
   
   To                         Action      From
   --                         ------      ----
   OpenSSH                    ALLOW       Anywhere
   Nginx Full                 ALLOW       Anywhere
   OpenSSH (v6)               ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)
   Nginx Full (v6)            ALLOW       Anywhere (v6)

8. Visit the domain URL to ensure the web server is working. The browser should display the NGINX landing page stating “Welcome to nginx”.

9. Install the remaining prerequisites, including the PostgreSQL database and Redis.

   sudo apt install git ffmpeg postgresql postgresql-contrib g++ redis-server -y

10. Start the redis and postgresql services and ensure all mandatory services are configured to start upon reboot.

    sudo systemctl start redis postgresql
    sudo systemctl enable --now nginx postgresql redis-server

How to Create the Required Directories and Database

For the next section of the installation process, create a dedicated PeerTube user and add a PostgreSQL database for the application to use. Follow these steps to create these components.

1. Create a new peertube user on the Linode and a home directory for them to use.

   sudo useradd -m -d /var/www/peertube -s /bin/bash -p peertube peertube

2. Assign a secure unique password for the peertube user.

   sudo passwd peertube

3. Verify the directory permissions for the new user directory. Everyone must have read and execute authority, but only the user should be able to write to the directory. The permissions string must be drwxr-xr-x.

   Note

   If execute and read permissions are not set for all users, add them using the command sudo chmod +rx /var/www/peertube.

   ls -ld /var/www/peertube

   drwxr-xr-x 2 peertube peertube 4096 Dec  7 11:07 /var/www/peertube

4. Switch to the new directory and create a PostgreSQL user. Enter a password for the new peertube user when prompted.

   cd /var/www/peertube
   sudo -u postgres createuser -P peertube

5. Create a PostgreSQL database for PeerTube to use.

   sudo -u postgres createdb -O peertube -E UTF8 -T template0 peertube_prod

6. Enable two PostgreSQL extensions.

   sudo -u postgres psql -c "CREATE EXTENSION pg_trgm;" peertube_prod
   sudo -u postgres psql -c "CREATE EXTENSION unaccent;" peertube_prod

   CREATE EXTENSION
   CREATE EXTENSION

How to Download and Install PeerTube

After all prerequisites are configured, use wget to download PeerTube and yarn to install it.

1. Query the PeerTube API for details about the current release of PeerTube.

   Note

   The result of the query is assigned to the temporary VERSION variable. You must complete this section and install PeerTube before closing the terminal.

   VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/chocobozzz/peertube/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d '"' -f 4) && echo "Latest PeerTube version is $VERSION"

   Latest PeerTube version is v5.0.0

2. Change to the peertube directory. As the peertube user, create and modify some directories.

   cd /var/www/peertube
   sudo -u peertube mkdir config storage versions
   sudo -u peertube chmod 750 config/

3. Change to the versions directory and download the PeerTube .zip file.

   cd versions
   sudo -u peertube wget -q "https://github.com/Chocobozzz/PeerTube/releases/download/${VERSION}/peertube-${VERSION}.zip"

4. Unzip the downloaded file and delete the .zip file.

   sudo -u peertube unzip -q peertube-${VERSION}.zip && sudo -u peertube rm peertube-${VERSION}.zip

5. Return to the peertube directory and create a symbolic link to the file.

   cd /var/www/peertube
   sudo -u peertube ln -s versions/peertube-${VERSION} ./peertube-latest

6. Change to the peertube-latest directory. Use yarn to install PeerTube.

   cd ./peertube-latest
   sudo -H -u peertube yarn install --production --pure-lockfile

How to Configure PeerTube

PeerTube uses two .yaml files to control its internal configuration. To configure these files, follow these steps.

1. Change to the peertube directory.

   cd /var/www/peertube

2. Copy the default.yaml configuration to the config directory. Do not edit this file.

   sudo -u peertube cp peertube-latest/config/default.yaml config/default.yaml

3. From the same directory, copy production.yaml to a new location.

   sudo -u peertube cp peertube-latest/config/production.yaml.example config/production.yaml

4. Create a secrets key and save it for the next step.

   openssl rand -hex 32

5. Edit the production.yaml file.

   sudo -u peertube nano config/production.yaml

6. production.yaml is a large file with many settings. Many of these can either be changed at a later time or adjusted using the web interface. For now, change the following values.

   • Under the webserver section, change hostname to the domain name. This is the URL for the PeerTube instance. In the following example, change example.com to the actual domain name.
   • Under the secrets section, add the secret key you created in the previous step to the peertube entry.
   • In the database section, change the password to the password for the peertube database user.
   • In the admin section, change the email attribute to the administrative email account.

   The three sections should resemble the following example. Due to the length of the file, most of the contents are not shown.

   Note

   To enable PeerTube to send emails, fill in the mail server details under the smtp section. Email must be enabled on the Linode before PeerTube can send emails.

   File: /var/www/peertube/config/production.yaml

   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

   ... webserver: https: true hostname: 'example.com' port: 443 ... secrets: # Generate one using `openssl rand -hex 32` peertube: 'your_secret_key' ... database: hostname: 'localhost' port: 5432 ssl: false suffix: '_prod' username: 'peertube' password: 'your_password' pool: max: 5 ... admin: email: 'admin@example.com' ...

How to Configure the PeerTube Virtual Host File and Enable HTTPS

NGINX requires a PeerTube virtual host to properly serve the files. Copy the sample peertube virtual host file to the correct location in /etc/nginx/sites-available and edit it. Most of the file is pre-filled, so only a few changes are required.

Use Certbot to install a Let’s Encrypt certificate and enable HTTPS support. For more background on Certbot, Let’s Encrypt certificates, and HTTPS, review the Linode guide to Using Certbot on NGINX.

To configure the NGINX virtual host for HTTP and HTTPS, follow these steps.

1. Copy the sample NGINX configuration file for PeerTube to the sites-available directory.

   sudo cp /var/www/peertube/peertube-latest/support/nginx/peertube /etc/nginx/sites-available/peertube

2. Replace the WEBSERVER_HOST and PEERTUBE_HOST variables with the name of the domain and the local port for PeerTube. In the first command, replace example.com with the actual name of the domain.

   sudo sed -i 's/${WEBSERVER_HOST}/example.com/g' /etc/nginx/sites-available/peertube
   sudo sed -i 's/${PEERTUBE_HOST}/127.0.0.1:9000/g' /etc/nginx/sites-available/peertube

3. Enable the peertube site.

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/peertube /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/peertube

4. Install the snap package manager. Snap is used to install Certbot.

   sudo apt install snapd
   sudo snap install core

5. Remove any old certbot packages and use snap to install a new one. Create a symbolic link to the directory.

   sudo apt remove certbot
   sudo snap install --classic certbot
   sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot

6. Shut down NGINX and use the certbot command to request and install a Let’s Encrypt certificate. Because the HTTPS configuration is already part of the peertube virtual host file, use the certonly option. Otherwise certbot overwrites much of the existing content. The --standalone option tells certbot to use its own internal webserver. Reload NGINX after the certificate is installed.

   During the certificate granting process, certbot prompts for some information. To complete the certification, follow these guidelines:

   • Enter an email address for the administrator when requested to do so. Let’s Encrypt sends renewal notices and other relevant information to this address.
   • Enter Y to agree to the Terms of Service. Certbot terminates the request if N is entered.
   • Enter either Y or N when asked whether to register with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. This answer does not affect the installation in any way.
   • Enter the domain name for the PeerTube server.

   After completion, certbot confirms the certificate is installed. It automatically schedules a task to renew the certificate when it is about to expire.

   Note

   Because the virtual host file is pre-filled, NGINX must be shut down first. The certbot request fails if it is operational.

   sudo systemctl stop nginx
   sudo certbot certonly --standalone --post-hook "systemctl restart nginx"
   sudo systemctl reload nginx

   Successfully received certificate.
   Certificate is saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
   Key is saved at:         /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
   This certificate expires on 2023-03-07.
   These files will be updated when the certificate renews.
   Certbot has set up a scheduled task to automatically renew this certificate in the background.

How to Tune PeerTube and Activate the PeerTube Service

A few more steps are required before PeerTube is finally ready to use. PeerTube requires different Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) settings than most applications. PeerTube must also be registered as a system service. This allows users to control it using systemctl. To finalize the PeerTube configuration, complete these steps.

1. Copy the PeerTube TCP file to the system settings.

   sudo cp /var/www/peertube/peertube-latest/support/sysctl.d/30-peertube-tcp.conf /etc/sysctl.d/

2. Enable the PeerTube TCP settings.

   sudo sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/30-peertube-tcp.conf

   net.core.default_qdisc = fq_codel
   net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control = bbr

3. Enable the PeerTube service. Copy the default service file to the /etc/systemd/system/ directory.

   Note

   The default configuration should suffice for most instances. To confirm the service settings, review the /etc/systemd/system/peertube.service file.

   sudo cp /var/www/peertube/peertube-latest/support/systemd/peertube.service /etc/systemd/system/

4. Reload the systemctl daemon.

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload

5. Register the peertube service to start automatically upon system boot.

   sudo systemctl enable peertube

6. Start the peertube service.

   sudo systemctl start peertube

7. Verify the status of the peertube service and ensure it is active.

   Note

   If the service is not running, review the service logs using the command sudo journalctl -feu peertube.

   sudo systemctl status peertube

   peertube.service - PeerTube daemon
       Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/peertube.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
       Active: active (running) since Thu 2022-12-08 10:14:28 UTC; 17s ago

   You may need to press the Q key to exit the output.

8. The default administrative account for PeerTube is named root. Although the password can be found in the logs defined in the production.yaml file, it is easier to reset the password. Switch to the peertube-latest directory and use the following command to set a unique secure password for the PeerTube root account. Supply the new password when prompted to do so.

   cd /var/www/peertube/peertube-latest
   sudo -u peertube NODE_CONFIG_DIR=/var/www/peertube/config NODE_ENV=production npm run reset-password -- -u root

   New password?
   User password updated.

How to Use and Administer PeerTube

Although the various PeerTube configuration files can be edited to change the site behavior, most changes can be made through the administration panel. To access the panel, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the PeerTube domain. The web browser displays the default welcome page for PeerTube. Click the Login button on the upper-left-hand side to access the login page.

   

2. To log in as an administrator, use root as the user name. Enter the administrator password configured in the previous section. Click the Login bar to continue.

   

3. PeerTube now displays the main user and administration page. From here, the administrator can post or watch videos and manage the PeerTube instance. For more information on how to use and administer PeerTube, see the PeerTube documentation.

   

Conclusion

PeerTube is a federated application that allows users to watch or post videos on a distributed network of servers. It includes a wide range of features for both creators and audiences. To install PeerTube, first download and configure the NGINX web server, PostgreSQL database, and other supporting packages. Download PeerTube using wget and install it using yarn. To complete the PeerTube installation, configure an NGINX virtual host, two PeerTube .yaml files, and the TCP settings. For more information about PeerTube, visit the PeerTube website.

More Information

You may wish to consult the following resources for additional information on this topic. While these are provided in the hope that they will be useful, please note that we cannot vouch for the accuracy or timeliness of externally hosted materials.

• PeerTube
• PeerTube documentation
• PeerTube FAQ
• PeerTube installation instructions
• PeerTube dependencies
• Certbot