OTP releases are as close as you can get to binary releases with Erlang/Elixir. The release is self-contained, and provides everything needed to boot it, it is easily administered via the provided shell script to open up a remote console, start/stop/restart the release, start in the background, send remote commands, and more.
## Pre-requisites
You will be running commands as root. If you aren't root already, please elevate your priviledges by executing `sudo su`/`su`.
The system needs to have `curl` and `unzip` installed for downloading and unpacking release builds.
=== "Alpine"
```sh
apk add curl unzip
```
=== "Debian/Ubuntu"
```sh
apt install curl unzip
```
## Moving content out of the application directory
When using OTP releases the application directory changes with every version so it would be a bother to keep content there (and also dangerous unless `--no-rm` option is used when updating). Fortunately almost all paths in Pleroma are configurable, so it is possible to move them out of there.
Pleroma should be stopped before proceeding.
### Moving uploads/custom public files directory
```sh
# Create uploads directory and set proper permissions (skip if using a remote uploader)
# Note: It does not have to be `/var/lib/pleroma/uploads`, you can configure it to be something else later
mkdir -p /var/lib/pleroma/uploads
chown -R pleroma /var/lib/pleroma
# Create custom public files directory
# Note: It does not have to be `/var/lib/pleroma/static`, you can configure it to be something else later
mkdir -p /var/lib/pleroma/static
chown -R pleroma /var/lib/pleroma
# If you use the local uploader with default settings your uploads should be located in `~pleroma/uploads`
mv ~pleroma/uploads/* /var/lib/pleroma/uploads
# If you have created the custom public files directory with default settings it should be located in `~pleroma/instance/static`
and then copy custom emojis to `/var/lib/pleroma/static/emoji/custom`.
This is needed because storing custom emojis in the root directory is deprecated, but if you just move them to `/var/lib/pleroma/static/emoji/custom` it will break emoji urls on old posts.
Note that globs have been replaced with `pack_extensions`, so if your emojis are not in png/gif you should [modify the default value](../configuration/cheatsheet.md#emoji).
### Moving the config
```sh
# Create the config directory
# The default path for Pleroma config is /etc/pleroma/config.exs
# but it can be set via PLEROMA_CONFIG_PATH environment variable
* A machine running Linux with GNU (e.g. Debian, Ubuntu) or musl (e.g. Alpine) libc and `x86_64`, `aarch64` or `armv7l` CPU, you have root access to. If you are not sure if it's compatible 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 priviledges by executing `sudo su`/`su`.
While in theory OTP releases are possbile to install on any compatible machine, for the sake of simplicity this guide focuses only on Debian/Ubuntu and Alpine.
If your platform is supported the output will contain the flavour string, you will need it later. If not, this just means that we don't build releases for your platform, you can still try installing from source.
### Installing the required packages
Other than things bundled in the OTP release Pleroma depends on:
* curl (to download the release build)
* unzip (needed to unpack release builds)
* ncurses (ERTS won't run without it)
* PostgreSQL (also utilizes extensions in postgresql-contrib)
* nginx (could be swapped with another reverse proxy but this guide covers only it)
* certbot (for Let's Encrypt certificates, could be swapped with another ACME client, but this guide covers only it)
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
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 errrors.
Still doesn't work? Feel free to contact us on [#pleroma on freenode](https://irc.pleroma.social) or via matrix at <https://matrix.heldscal.la/#/room/#freenode_#pleroma:matrix.org>, 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:matrix.org](https://matrix.heldscal.la/#/room/#freenode_#pleroma:matrix.org) or IRC Channel **#pleroma** on **Freenode**.