# Mastodon / Misskey

A microblog you host. Mastodon is AGPL-3.0; Misskey is AGPL-3.0 — Twitter without the hosted timeline seat.

**Replaces:** Twitter

**Tier:** Medium

## Problem

Twitter (X) is a hosted microblog and ad graph. You wanted short posts, follows, and a local timeline on hardware you control. Mastodon is AGPL-3.0 (mastodon/mastodon; last push 24 Oct 2026). Misskey is AGPL-3.0 (misskey-dev/misskey) if that reaction-heavy UI is the job — /compare/mastodon-vs-misskey. This is not X Premium, Grok, or the old Twitter social graph. A link aggregator stays on /replace/reddit (Lemmy). A photo feed stays on /replace/instagram (Pixelfed). Short video stays on /replace/tiktok (Loops).

## Stack

- [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org) — AGPL-3.0 federated microblog — the published Twitter path
- [Misskey](https://misskey-hub.net/) — AGPL-3.0 federated microblog if that UI is the job

## Estimated SaaS cost saved

| You stop paying | Typical / year | Self-host instead |
|---|---:|---|
| Twitter / X Premium (small team) | $1,200 | Mastodon or Misskey + Postgres |

**About $1,200 / year** on a small team, before you count lock-in.

## Deploy on Railway

Placeholder: Mastodon (web + streaming + Sidekiq + Postgres + Redis) plus a volume for media. Federation wants a public hostname. Misskey is a separate Node stack. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. A Reddit-shaped community stays on /stacks/lemmy-reddit.

[Start on Railway](https://c17.io/go/railway/mastodon-social?from=%2Fstacks%2Fmastodon-social.md)

[Lemmy if this is a link aggregator, not a microblog](https://c17.io/stacks/lemmy-reddit)

## AGENT_PROMPT

```
Replace Twitter with Mastodon (preferred) or Misskey.

- Official docs. Persist Postgres, Redis, and media. Create one account and one post. Do not claim X Premium, Grok, or the old social graph.
- Misskey if that UI is the job — /compare/mastodon-vs-misskey. A link aggregator stays on /stacks/lemmy-reddit.
- Write AGENT_PROMPT.md.
```

## FAQ

### Mastodon or Misskey?

Mastodon if you want the common AGPL Twitter-shaped server (the published path). Misskey if you want that reaction-heavy UI — /compare/mastodon-vs-misskey.

### Is this Reddit?

No. Reddit stays on /replace/reddit (Lemmy). This page is a microblog.

### Are these free?

Mastodon and Misskey are AGPL-3.0. You pay hosting. Template users never pay c17.

Source: https://c17.io/stacks/mastodon-social