How to Create a PeerTube Account

PeerTube is an ActivityPub compliant YouTube alternative that can federate with Mastodon and other federated social media platforms. There are public instances of the Fediverse app that cater to many unique communities, similar to any other video hosting platforms. Vimeo is beloved by many professional videographers. Dailymotion can have some rare gems that were wiped from YouTube. Many of the others are incredibly niche or unknown, making them seem sketchy to average users.

Below we’ll help you discover the best way to get started with PeerTube.

• Private or Public?
  • Install PeerTube
• Choose a PeerTube Instance
  • Create a PeerTube Account

Private or Public?

The best way to get started is by joining an existing PeerTube instance, or server. This allows you to quickly learn the workflow of the software and figure out how much you enjoy interacting with it and other users.

If you already host a website or file sharing service, you’ll be able to more quickly compare PeerTube to other options for sharing or embedding videos. Softaculous can instantly install CumulusClips and ClipBucket on cPanel servers. They haven’t been updated in years. However, they may still be worth checking out, even if only to show you what features are most important for your users – speed, subtitles/closed captions (CC), etc.

Install PeerTube

If you do decide to install a private PeerTube instance on your server, first check your current bandwidth stats. Video sharing is very resource intensive so you may need to upgrade your hosting plan for higher bandwidth or install NGINX caching software. PeerTube installation requires:

• Linux or FreeBSD VPS hosting
• PostgreSQL database management system
• NodeJS and yarn

Choose a PeerTube Instance

For those who forego the PeerTube download route, you can browse public PeerTube instances at https://joinpeertube.org/instances and filter according to your needs:

• Regular use or content creator
• Create an account or simply view videos
• Live streaming as a content creator
• Primary interests
• Moderation against NSFW videos
• Preferred language(s)

https://peertube.co.uk, normally a top recommendation for trying PeerTube, has disabled new user registrations at the time of publishing this article. https://tilvids.com is a good starting point for those interested in technology “edutainment.”

peertube.com is not affiliated with the official PeerTube project by Framasoft.

When you visit a PeerTube instance, check out the latest uploads to get a feel of what type of content is common there. Does it match the type of content you like to see? If you’re planning to upload videos, does it mesh well with your brand? 

Go to the lower-left corner of the page and select “About” to read more about the admin team maintaining the server:

• Administrators and their goals for the instance
• Contact methods
• Rules and code of conduct
• Features enabled
• Instance stats

Create a PeerTube Account

1. Once you find the right community, select “Create an account” in the upper-left corner of the page. 
2. Agree to the terms and code of conduct.

   

3. Specify a display name and unique username. Then add your email address and a strong password.
4. Check your email for the verification link to unlock your account.
5. Log into PeerTube and select “My account” on the left to edit preferences.
6. Enjoy your PeerTube experience.

Learn more about the Fediverse.