This guide covers a installation using OTP releases as built by the Pleroma project, it is meant as a fallback to distribution packages/recipes which are the preferred installation method.
To install Pleroma from source, please check out the corresponding guide for your distro.
## Pre-requisites
* A machine you have root access to running Debian GNU/Linux or compatible (eg. Ubuntu), or Alpine on `x86_64`, `aarch64` or `armv7l` CPU. If you are not sure what you are running see [Detecting flavour section](#detecting-flavour) below
* A (sub)domain pointed to the machine
You will be running commands as root. If you aren't root already, please elevate your privileges by executing `sudo -i`/`su`.
Similarly to other binaries, OTP releases tend to be only compatible with the distro they are built on, as such this guide focuses only on Debian/Ubuntu and Alpine.
+!!! note
+ If you get `GLIBC_... not found` errors on Debian/Ubuntu, you can run the OTP release from `/opt/pleroma` inside a newer distro container without upgrading the host. See [`release_to_docker_en.md`](release_to_docker_en.md).
It is recommended to use PostgreSQL v11 or newer. We have seen some minor issues with lower PostgreSQL versions.
RUM indexes are an alternative indexing scheme that is not included in PostgreSQL by default. You can read more about them on the [Configuration page](../configuration/cheatsheet.md#rum-indexing-for-full-text-search). They are completely optional and most of the time are not worth it, especially if you are running a single user instance (unless you absolutely need ordered search results).
If your distro does not have either of those you can append `include /etc/nginx/pleroma.conf` to the end of the http section in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf and
#### (Strongly recommended) serve media on another domain
Refer to the [Hardening your instance](../configuration/hardening.md) document on how to serve media on another domain. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND you to do this to minimize attack vectors.
#### Start nginx
=== "Alpine"
```
rc-service nginx start
```
=== "Debian/Ubuntu"
```
systemctl start nginx
```
At this point if you open your (sub)domain in a browser you should see a 502 error, that's because Pleroma is not started yet.
If everything worked, you should see Pleroma-FE when visiting your domain. If that didn't happen, try reviewing the installation steps, starting Pleroma in the foreground and seeing if there are any errors.
Questions about the installation or didn’t it work as it should be, ask in [#pleroma:libera.chat](https://matrix.to/#/#pleroma:libera.chat) via Matrix or **#pleroma** on **libera.chat** via IRC, you can also [file an issue on our Gitlab](https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma-support/issues/new).
## Post installation
### Setting up auto-renew of the Let's Encrypt certificate
```sh
# Create the directory for webroot challenges
mkdir -p /var/lib/letsencrypt
# Uncomment the webroot method
$EDITOR path-to-nginx-config
# Verify that the config is valid
nginx -t
```
=== "Alpine"
```
# Restart nginx
rc-service nginx restart
# Start the cron daemon and make it start on boot
rc-service crond start
rc-update add crond
# Ensure the webroot menthod and post hook is working
# If everything worked the output should contain /etc/cron.daily/renew-pleroma-cert
run-parts --test /etc/cron.daily
```
## Create your first user and set as admin
```sh
cd /opt/pleroma
su pleroma -s $SHELL -lc "./bin/pleroma_ctl user new joeuser joeuser@sld.tld --admin"
```
This will create an account withe the username of 'joeuser' with the email address of joeuser@sld.tld, and set that user's account as an admin. This will result in a link that you can paste into the browser, which logs you in and enables you to set the password.
Questions about the installation or didn’t it work as it should be, ask in [#pleroma:libera.chat](https://matrix.to/#/#pleroma:libera.chat) via Matrix or **#pleroma** on **libera.chat** via IRC, you can also [file an issue on our Gitlab](https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma-support/issues/new).