# Mastodon Mastodon is free, open-source decentralized social media software built on open web protocols, including ActivityPub. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## Crosspost Your Blog articles to Social Media DevFeed: [Crosspost Your Blog articles to Social Media]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Tom Published: 2025-09-14T00:00:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Tomasz Gągor]() Topics: [GitHub Actions](), [Hugo](), [RSS Feed](), [Mastodon](), [X (Twitter)]() Tags: [articles](), [boost-blog-traffic](), [crosspost-blog-to-social-media](), [dockerignore-usage](), [github](), [github-actions](), [github-actions-automation](), [how-to](), [hugo](), [hugo-rss-sitemap](), [mastodon](), [mastodon-blog-integration](), [rss](), [seo](), [twitter](), [twitter-crossposting](), [wordpress]() ### AI overview A tutorial on automating blog post crossposting to social networks with GitHub Actions. It describes a custom action that reads posts from a Sitemap or RSS/Atom feed, filters and sorts them, and publishes them automatically, with RSS preferred to avoid reposting updated articles. ### Source excerpt Learn how to automatically share your latest blog posts to Mastodon, Twitter/X, and other social networks using GitHub Actions and the crosspost tool. A simple way to regain traffic lost to search engines and AI. ## New microblog with TILs DevFeed: [New microblog with TILs]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Julia Evans Published: 2024-11-09T09:24:29Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Julia Evans]() Topics: [RSS](), [Website](), [Bluesky](), [Mastodon](), [X (Twitter)](), [SQLite](), [Go Language]() Tags: [blog-post](), [go](), [rss](), [social-media](), [sqlite]() ### AI overview The author describes creating a TIL section on their website for saving short notes about useful tools and facts that do not warrant full blog posts. The section uses custom styling, a Rake task for creating posts, and a separate RSS feed, serving as a searchable public alternative to bookmarks while allowing other social-media posts to remain ephemeral. ### Source excerpt I added a new section to this site a couple weeks ago called TIL ("today I learned"). the goal: save interesting tools & facts I posted on social media One kind of thing I like to post on Mastodon/Bluesky is "hey, here's a cool thing", like the great SQLite repl litecli, or the fact that cross compiling in Go Just Works and it's amazing, or cryptographic right answers, or this great diff tool. Usually I don't want to write a whole blog post about those things because I really don't have much more to say than "hey this is useful!" It started to bother me that I didn't have anywhere to put those things: for example recently I wanted to use diffdiff and I just could not remember what it was called. the solution: make a new section of this blog So I quickly made a new folder called /til/, added some custom styling (I wanted to style the posts to look a little bit like a tweet), made a little Rake task to help me create new posts quickly (rake new_til), and set up a separate RSS Feed for it. I think this new section of the blog might be more for myself than anything, now when I forget the link to Cryptographic Right Answers I can hopefully look it up on the TIL page. (you might think "julia, why not use bookmarks??" but I have been failing to use bookmarks for my whole life and I don't see that changing ever, putting things in public is for whatever reason much easier for me) So far it's been working, often I can actually just make a quick post in 2 minutes which was the goal. inspired by Simon Willison's TIL blog My page is inspired by Simon Willison's great TIL blog, though my TIL posts are a lot shorter. I don't necessarily want everything to be archived This came about because I spent a lot of time on Twitter, so I've been thinking about what I want to do about all of my tweets. I keep reading the advice to "POSSE" ("post on your own site, syndicate elsewhere"), and while I find the idea appealing in principle, for me part of the appeal of social media is that it's a ## Webmentions and POSSE improvements DevFeed: [Webmentions and POSSE improvements]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2024-08-07T21:14:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Jeremy Kun]() Topics: [Webmentions](), [Bluesky](), [Mastodon](), [X (Twitter)](), [github action](), [Algolia]() Tags: [algolia](), [bluesky](), [github-action](), [indieweb](), [mastodon](), [posse](), [shortform](), [twitter](), [webmentions]() ### AI overview The article describes improvements to a blog's webmention and POSSE system. Shortform posts are syndicated to Mastodon, Bluesky, and Twitter, with syndicated links automatically added to posts. It also discusses GitHub Actions for sending and rendering Hacker News webmentions, while noting limitations related to the Algolia search API and uncertainty about future automation. ### Source excerpt This blog now accepts webmentions. I used webmention.io and webmention.js for live rendering. You can see an example at the end of my old Bezier Curves post. After my initial experiments with POSSE, I've made a few improvements to the system. Now shortform posts are syndicated to Mastodon, Bluesky, and Twitter, and the links to the syndicated posts are automatically added to the end of each post. I don't have any automatic social media posting for longform posts yet, though I plan to add a very simple version of that soon. ## A new blog site moves posts from dev.to to a Ghost-hosted site DevFeed: [A new blog site moves posts from dev.to to a Ghost-hosted site]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Zach Klippenstein Published: 2024-06-26T20:11:50Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Zach Klippenstein's Blog]() Topics: [ActivityPub](), [Mastodon]() Tags: [blog](), [mastodon]() ### AI overview The author announces that the blog has moved from dev.to to a Ghost-hosted site, while keeping the old posts available to preserve links. The author also hopes Ghost will eventually support ActivityPub integration for following and commenting from Mastodon. ### Source excerpt Welcome, you've successfully found the new home of my blog! It used to be on dev.to, but I was not comfortable with my posts living under a domain name I didn't control. I've moved all my old posts over here, but I' ## Experiments with POSSE DevFeed: [Experiments with POSSE]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2024-05-13T03:28:54Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Jeremy Kun]() Topics: [Mastodon](), [Hugo](), [GitHub Actions](), [Netlify](), [GitHub](), [GitHub API](), [static-site-generator](), [Python](), [Serverless](), [Markdown](), [Command-line interface]() Tags: [cli](), [github](), [github-action](), [github-actions](), [hugo](), [indieweb](), [markdown](), [mastodon](), [netlify](), [posse](), [python](), [shortform]() ### AI overview The author describes an experiment that automates POSSE syndication by converting Hugo shortform posts into Mastodon threads. Netlify triggers a serverless function, which uses the GitHub API to start a GitHub Actions workflow; a Python script parses Markdown, publishes the thread through Mastodon.py, and records URL mappings in the repository. ### Source excerpt POSSE stands for Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere. I first heard about it from Cory Doctorow. I'm experimenting with automation to convert posts tagged shortform into Mastodon threads (I'm mathstodon.xyz/@j2kun). I'm using Hugo as a static site generator, with the source a (private) GitHub repository, and Netlify for deployments. After a deployment, Netlify calls a serverless function that hits the GitHub API with a POST request to trigger a GitHub action workflow. ## Release: Fossil 0.2 DevFeed: [Release: Fossil 0.2]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2024-01-12T00:00:00Z Content type: release Language: en Sources: [Tim Kellogg]() Topics: [Mastodon](), [Artificial Intelligence](), [Python](), [Large Language Model](), [API](), [Framework]() Tags: [ai](), [api](), [bug](), [debug](), [llm](), [mastodon](), [openai](), [plugins](), [python](), [release]() ### AI overview Fossil 0.2 is a release of a Mastodon client focused on reading. It adds an AI-based feed algorithm that organizes content into curated topics, expands the plugin system with algorithm, display-button, and API-operation integration points, and adds boost and like buttons. The release also documents LLM and local-model support, fixes pagination, and refactors configuration options. ### Source excerpt I just pushed fossil v0.2. Fossil is a Mastodon client built for reading. It includes an AI-based algorithm for displaying your feed as an automatically curated list of topics. I personally enjoy this algorithm because it lets me skip right to the content I care most about, without relying on authors to correctly use hashtags. ## Meet the Maker: Matthew Skiles DevFeed: [Meet the Maker: Matthew Skiles]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Matthew S. Published: 2024-01-08T15:29:28Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [Sketch Blog]() Topics: [Sketch](), [Website](), [App](), [Mastodon](), [Canvas]() Tags: [3d](), [app](), [canvas](), [design](), [designer](), [gaussian](), [made-with-sketch](), [photoshop](), [web]() ### AI overview An interview with icon and visual designer Matthew Skiles about using Sketch, creating an app icon for the Mastodon app Radiant, and his approach to shapes, gradients, Gaussian blurs, and other design tools. ### Source excerpt "For years now I've used Sketch every day -- and wouldn't want it any other way." ## Birb + Fossil: An RSS Revival? DevFeed: [Birb + Fossil: An RSS Revival?]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2024-01-03T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Tim Kellogg]() Topics: [RSS Feed](), [Mastodon](), [Bot](), [Atom Feed](), [Algorithms](), [XML]() Tags: [algorithm](), [client](), [hacking](), [mastodon](), [rss]() ### AI overview The article discusses Birb, a Mastodon bot that turns RSS and Atom feeds into followable Mastodon accounts, and Fossil, a Mastodon client for experimenting with timeline algorithms. It argues that these projects may represent a revival of RSS by combining feed-based publishing with social media and more flexible timeline views. ### Source excerpt A few days ago, @twilliability announced Birb, a Mastodon bot where you can send it a URL of any RSS feed, Atom feed, podcast, Substack, etc. and it'll create a Mastodon account for it that you can follow. This effectively meshes social media and the blogosphere. This is great! But Mastodon has been notorious for sticking with chronologically-ordered timelines, so unless you have time to look at every single post, you'll likely miss something. ## A Better Mastodon Client DevFeed: [A Better Mastodon Client]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Published: 2023-12-19T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Tim Kellogg]() Topics: [Mastodon](), [client](), [Streamlit](), [Embeddings](), [SQLite](), [Algorithm](), [Vibe coding](), [Artificial Intelligence](), [scikit-learn](), [tailscale](), [OpenAI]() Tags: [client](), [clustering](), [embeddings](), [github](), [github-copilot](), [mastodon](), [sqlite](), [streamlit](), [tailscale]() ### AI overview A developer describes building a Mastodon timeline dashboard that caches posts in SQLite, creates embeddings, clusters posts by topic, summarizes the clusters with an LLM, and makes the dashboard accessible on a phone through Tailscale. ### Source excerpt Last night I had an idea and went ahead and built it. I'd like to tell you about it. Find the source code here. ## Tootbot for Mastodon DevFeed: [Tootbot for Mastodon]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Kaushik Gopal Published: 2023-02-04T03:00:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Kaushik Gopal's Site]() Topics: [Mastodon](), [Kotlin](), [Script](), [Shell](), [CSV](), [JSON](), [Homebrew](), [Mac Mini]() Tags: [blog](), [github](), [install](), [json](), [kotlin](), [local](), [mac-mini](), [script](), [shell-script]() ### AI overview A Kotlin shell script running on a Mac Mini uses a cron job to announce new blog posts on Mastodon. It downloads the blog's JSON feed, checks for new posts, compares them with a local CSV record of previous toots, and publishes announcements. The article also gives Homebrew installation and execution commands. ### Source excerpt Every time I create a new post in this blog I like to toot or tweet about it. Instead of manually doing this, I have my Mac Mini run a little shell script on a cron job, that does this automatically for me. You can download the source for this script over at github. The way it works is pretty simple: Download my latest blog feed as a json file. Check for any new blog posts. Compares with a local CSV file that records previous toots. Posts new toots to Mastodon1 Running the script is trivially easy (and it's all in Kotlin) so it's easy to follow the logic. All you need to do to run this script is: brew install kotlin kotlin tootbot.main.kts That's it! Just remember to update the variables at the top of the file. Not doing Twitter for obvious reasons. ↩︎ ## Own Your Online Presence with a Personal Domain and Social-Media Redirects DevFeed: [Own Your Online Presence with a Personal Domain and Social-Media Redirects]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Kaushik Gopal Published: 2023-02-03T03:13:13Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Kaushik Gopal's Site]() Topics: [Internet](), [Website](), [Mastodon](), [Amazon Route 53](), [DDoS](), [Cloudflare]() Tags: [cloudflare](), [ddos](), [dns](), [internet](), [io](), [social-media]() ### AI overview The article recommends buying a personal domain, configuring DNS, and creating subdomain redirects for social-media accounts. These redirects let the author preserve familiar URLs when changing platforms or handles, illustrated by a move from mastodon.social to hachyderm.io. ### Source excerpt Owning your content and where you put it is crucial in the online world. The first step to establishing your corner on the internet is to choose a domain name.1 After obtaining a domain name, many people only set up a website. However, I recommend taking the next step of creating subdomain redirects for your social media handles. By Cloudinary, CC BY-SA 4.0 For example, when mastodon.social suffered a DDoS attack, I moved to hachyderm.io,2 but the mastodon link I hand out to folks remained unchanged. How you ask? It's mastodon.kau.sh and I control the redirect. I just switched it intenally from mastodon.social/@kaushikgopal -> hachyderm.io/@kaush.3 This is also why I am not terribly worried about changing my handles on Github, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube, as I have redirects for all of these: github.kau.sh twitter.kau.sh linkedin.kau.sh youtube.kau.sh To take control of your online presence, buy your own domain, adjust your DNS settings,4 and start using your own URLs. It's a simple first step with a big impact. After many many attempts, I landed on one that I liked. I use namecheap (referral code) ↩︎ It was already on my mind to be honest and I guess this was the push I needed. ↩︎ The added benefit is that I don't have to remember or type Mastodon's unattractive URLs. ↩︎ Cloudflare makes these trivially easy. ↩︎ ## From Tweetbot and Twitter to Mastodon and Ivory DevFeed: [From Tweetbot and Twitter to Mastodon and Ivory]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Erik Runyon Published: 2023-01-26T00:00:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Erik Runyon]() Topics: [Mastodon](), [X (Twitter)](), [dev-tools]() Tags: [apps](), [communications](), [dev-tools](), [social-media](), [twitter]() ### AI overview The author explains why Tweetbot had been their preferred way to use Twitter and describes moving to Mastodon after Tweetbot disappeared. Access to Tapbots' Ivory has made the author feel they no longer miss Twitter, although they hope for a Mac version of Ivory. ### Source excerpt To the best of my memory Tweetbot has been my window into Twitter since pretty close to when it was released. I open Twitter's web interface from time to time when I had to, but it has not been my primary way to use the service for well over a decade. There are multiple reasons I was fine with living as a second-class Twitter citizen. Primarily no ads, no algorithmic timeline, and syncing between mobile/desktop clients. I use a three monitor setup at both home and the office. The left is always my laptop, and the right is a vertical 24-inch monitor. That right monitor is used for two purposes. A browser with dev-tools docked to the bottom (the extra vertical space is quite nice). All my social/communications apps. This typically includes Slack, Messages, Discord, and up until recently Tweetbot. Having them all together on one screen (and covered by a browser the majority of the time) cuts down on distractions coming from any of them. However, for the last two weeks there has been no Tweetbot. It's former home now a glaring absence showing the desktop below. And gone with it is my consumption of Twitter. To say I dislike the Twitter web interface and native apps is an understatement. So for the past two weeks I've been exclusively on Mastodon. And since I've gained access to Ivory (by Tapbots) I've found I don't miss Twitter. The community on Mastodon has been growing rapidly, so if you've been putting off trying it out, I would encourage you to at least set up an account and start lurking. So like many others, outside of posting to my teams work account, I'm done with Twitter. The new management have made it place I no longer want or need to be. So if you need me, I'll be over on webperf.social Mastodon. And hopefully soon there will be a Mac version of Ivory to take up residence in that glaring Tweetbot shaped hole. ## Verify Github profile link on Mastodon DevFeed: [Verify Github profile link on Mastodon]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: info@jeroenmols.com (Jeroen Mols) Published: 2022-11-26T00:00:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Jeroen Mols]() Topics: [Mastodon](), [GitHub](), [Website]() Tags: [account](), [blogs](), [github](), [how-to](), [mastodon](), [personal-website](), [tips](), [verification](), [verify](), [website]() ### AI overview This tutorial explains how to verify a GitHub profile link on Mastodon when the main GitHub Pages domain already hosts a personal website. It uses a subpage containing Mastodon's verification tag and redirecting to the GitHub profile. ### Source excerpt Looking to get a fancy verified checkmark on Mastodon for your Github account? This post details how I made this work. Steps # Before I get started, huge thanks to Simon Wilson for inspiring me with the original idea. ## Mastodon on your own domain without hosting a server, Netlify edition DevFeed: [Mastodon on your own domain without hosting a server, Netlify edition]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Harsh Shandilya Published: 2022-11-16T06:30:00Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Posts on Harsh Shandilya]() Topics: [Mastodon](), [ActivityPub](), [Fediverse](), [Netlify](), [Command-line interface](), [TypeScript]() Tags: [cli](), [fediverse](), [mastodon](), [netlify](), [protocol](), [typescript](), [webfinger]() ### AI overview A tutorial for creating a Fediverse identity on a personal domain without hosting a Mastodon or other ActivityPub server. It uses a Netlify Edge Function to implement WebFinger and serve the identity information. ### Source excerpt A quick and easy way of creating a Fediverse identity on your own domain without an ActivityPub server