🎬 PeerTube: A Decentralized, Federated Video Ecosystem

Framasoft

PeerTube is a free, open-source, and federated video platform. It was engineered as a direct alternative to centralized giants like YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion that typically monetize user attention and hoard personal data.

Developed with ❤️ by Framasoft, PeerTube allows users to be part of a global network consisting of many small, interoperable video hosting providers.

🚀 Getting Started & Exploration

If you want to dive in, check out these resources:

Quick Intro: Watch this 2-minute explainer (hosted on PeerTube!) to see the mechanics in action.
Official Hub: Visit joinpeertube.org.
Live Demos:
- peertube.cpy.re $\rightarrow$ Stable
- peertube2.cpy.re $\rightarrow$ Nightly
- peertube3.cpy.re $\rightarrow$ Release Candidate (RC)
Interoperability: See how PeerTube talks to Mastodon, the decentralized alternative to Twitter.

✨ Core Capabilities

For the Viewer & Creator

PeerTube isn't just about hosting; it's about empowerment.

Feature	Description	Benefit
Universal Streaming	Upload once, stream everywhere.	High accessibility.
Fediverse Discovery	Use tags and descriptions.	Videos are findable across the entire network.
Live Broadcasting	Support for live streams and permanent feeds.	Real-time engagement.
Cross-Platform Following	Follow creators via Mastodon, Pleroma, or RSS.	No need for an account on every instance.

The Philosophy of the Interface

We believe in a clean, honest user experience.

No ~~UX dark patterns~~.
No ~~data mining~~.
No ~~recommendation algorithms designed to manipulate~~.
Full Control: Both users and admins can customize their experience (e.g., choosing whether to list videos from other instances).

🌐 How the Network Works

PeerTube utilizes a hybrid approach to distribution. While a server hosts the file, the viewers help distribute it using WebRTC.

The Math of P2P

The total bandwidth available for a video can be represented as: $\text{Total Bandwidth} = \text{Server Capacity} + \sum_{i=1}^{n} \text{Peer}_i \text{ Upload Speed}$

Community Synergy

P2P Load Sharing: Visitors share the bandwidth load via their browsers.
Instance Redundancy: Larger instances can cache videos from smaller ones, ensuring content remains available even if a small server struggles.
Direct Support: Creators can add a support button for donations, removing the need for ~~intrusive advertisements~~ or pay-per-view walls.

🛠 Technical Implementation & Setup

Deploying Your Own Instance

Ready to host? Follow these steps:

Read the Production Guide (Recommended for install/upgrades).
Review Hardware Requirements (Check the "Should I have a big server?" guide).
Explore Community Packages (Available for Docker and YunoHost).

Documentation & API

For those digging into the code or managing a server:

General Help: Start with the FAQ.md.
Management: Use the Tools Documentation to learn about CLI uploads and admin tasks.
Architecture: Consult the Architecture Blueprint for design choices.
API Access:
- Schema: /support/doc/api/openapi.yaml (OpenAPI 3.0.0)
- Explorer: docs.joinpeertube.org/api-rest-reference.html
- Protocol: See the ActivityPub documentation.

Example CLI interaction:

# Hypothetical command to upload a video via CLI
peertube-cli upload --file "my_video.mp4" --title "Hello Fediverse" --tags "open-source,p2p"

🤝 Contributing & Community

We welcome your help! Whether it's reporting bugs, translating, or writing docs, you can get started in under 2 minutes via the Contributing Guide.

Join the conversation:

Matrix/Discord: #peertube:matrix.org
Forum: framacolibri.org/c/peertube

⚖️ Legal & Licensing

Logo: Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 by Framasoft.

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL) version 3 or later. It is provided WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY.

🖼 Gallery

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