PeerTube

Decentralized video platform. YouTube alternative powered by ActivityPub and peer-to-peer streaming.

Overview

PeerTube is a free, open-source video hosting platform that federates via ActivityPub. Started by Framasoft, it creates a network of interconnected video servers that share bandwidth through peer-to-peer technology.

Key Features

Federation

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   PeerTube Network                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                          │
│  ┌──────────────┐        ┌──────────────┐               │
│  │  Instance A  │◄──────►│  Instance B  │               │
│  │  videos.org  │   AP   │  tube.social │               │
│  └──────┬───────┘        └──────┬───────┘               │
│         │                       │                        │
│         │    ActivityPub        │                        │
│         │                       │                        │
│  ┌──────▼───────┐        ┌──────▼───────┐               │
│  │  Instance C  │◄──────►│  Mastodon    │               │
│  │  peertube.io │        │  (comments)  │               │
│  └──────────────┘        └──────────────┘               │
│                                                          │
│  Videos on A appear in B's feed                         │
│  Mastodon users can comment on PeerTube videos          │
│                                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Peer-to-Peer Streaming

Traditional Video:
Server ───────────────► All viewers
         (bandwidth)

PeerTube P2P:
Server ──► Viewer A ──┐
              │       │
              ▼       ▼
         Viewer B ◄─► Viewer C

Viewers share pieces with each other
Server load stays low even when video goes viral

Technologies:

• WebRTC — Browser-to-browser streaming
• HLS — HTTP Live Streaming fallback
• WebTorrent — Peer-to-peer protocol

Channel System

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Your PeerTube Account          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                          │
│  Channel: Tech Tutorials                │
│  ├── Video: Linux Basics                │
│  ├── Video: Docker Guide                │
│  └── Followers: 1,234                   │
│                                          │
│  Channel: Gaming                        │
│  ├── Video: Game Review                 │
│  └── Followers: 567                     │
│                                          │
│  Channels can be followed via:          │
│  ├── PeerTube                           │
│  ├── Mastodon                           │
│  ├── Pleroma                            │
│  └── Any ActivityPub platform           │
│                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Content Features

Feature	Description
Videos	Upload any format
Live streaming	Real-time broadcasts
Playlists	Organize videos
Captions	Subtitle support
Comments	Federated discussions
Chapters	Video sections
Transcoding	Automatic quality options

Self-Hosting

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• PostgreSQL
• Redis
• FFmpeg
• Storage (local or S3)

Docker Installation

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3'
services:
  peertube:
    image: chocobozzz/peertube:production-bookworm
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
      - ./config:/config
    environment:
      PEERTUBE_DB_USERNAME: peertube
      PEERTUBE_DB_PASSWORD: peertube
      PEERTUBE_WEBSERVER_HOSTNAME: tube.example.com
      PEERTUBE_WEBSERVER_PORT: 443
      PEERTUBE_WEBSERVER_HTTPS: true

  postgres:
    image: postgres:13-alpine
    volumes:
      - ./postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: peertube
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: peertube
      POSTGRES_DB: peertube

  redis:
    image: redis:6-alpine

Configuration

# config/production.yaml

webserver:
  https: true
  hostname: 'tube.example.com'
  port: 443

database:
  hostname: 'postgres'
  port: 5432
  name: 'peertube'
  username: 'peertube'
  password: 'peertube'

redis:
  hostname: 'redis'

smtp:
  hostname: 'smtp.example.com'
  port: 587
  username: 'noreply@example.com'
  password: 'password'
  from_address: 'noreply@example.com'

storage:
  videos: '/data/videos/'
  streaming_playlists: '/data/streaming-playlists/'

transcoding:
  enabled: true
  threads: 2
  resolutions:
    0p: false
    144p: false
    240p: true
    360p: true
    480p: true
    720p: true
    1080p: true
    1440p: false
    2160p: false

Privacy & Moderation

Instance Rules

Each instance sets its own policies:

• Content guidelines
• Registration (open, approval, closed)
• Federation policies
• NSFW handling

Moderation Tools

Tool	Description
Video moderation	Review uploads
Auto-blacklist	First upload review
Reports	User flagging
Instance blocking	Defederate
User banning	Account removal
Plugins	Extend moderation

Network Stats (2025)

Metric	Value
Active instances	~1,900
Registered users	~815,000
Hosted videos	~1,500,000

Comparison with YouTube

Aspect	PeerTube	YouTube
Ownership	Distributed	Google
Algorithm	None	Heavy
Ads	Optional	Required
Data collection	Minimal	Extensive
Monetization	Donations/tips	Ad revenue
Censorship	Instance choice	Platform rules
Open source	Yes	No

Finding Instances

• Sepia Search: search.joinpeertube.org — Federated video search
• Instance list: instances.joinpeertube.org

Plugins

Extend PeerTube functionality:

Plugin	Description
Auto-mute	Automatic moderation
RSS feed	Enhanced feeds
Video filters	Content filtering
Auth LDAP	Enterprise login
Analytics	View statistics

Links

• Website: joinpeertube.org
• GitHub: Chocobozzz/PeerTube
• Docs: docs.joinpeertube.org
• Framasoft: framasoft.org

See Also

• ActivityPub Protocol — The protocol
• Mastodon — Microblogging server
• Pixelfed — Image sharing
• Federation — The concept