This repository contains configurations and instructions that can be used for deploying a full instance of Stoat, including the back-end, web front-end, file server, and metadata and image proxy.
> If you are updating an instance from before February 28, 2026, please consult the [notices section](#notices) at the bottom.
> [!IMPORTANT]
> A list of security advisories is [provided at the bottom](#security-advisories).
> [!NOTE]
> Currently, most official clients do not support self-hosted instances. The web client works well, and when you use the [PWA](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web_apps/Guides/What_is_a_progressive_web_app) the experience is close to a native app. For more instructions regarding clients please see the [Guides](Guides.md) section of the readme.
> [!NOTE]
> Please consult _[What can I do with Stoat and how do I self-host?](https://developers.stoat.chat/faq)_ on our developer site for information about licensing and brand use.
> [!TIP]
> For guides on how to perform common configuration alterations like using NGINX or setting your instance to invite only, see the [Guides](Guides.md) section of the readme.
The instructions going forward will use Hostinger as an example hosting platform, but you should be able to adapt these to other platforms as necessary. There are important details throughout.
You should set a secure root password for login (_or disable password login after setup, which is explained later! but you shouldn't make the password trivial until after this is secured at least!_) and we recommend that you configure an SSH key:
> If you are using another cloud provider, or you are doing this on a physical machine, you will need to forward ports 80, 443, 7881 and 50000-50100/udp.
> Installing docker is different per platform and this guide only covers installing on Ubuntu Server. You can find more about installing docker on other platforms [here](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/).
The generate_config.sh script will create the neccessary secrets required to create a Stoat instance, and the secrets will be inserted into a file named `secrets.env`. You should back up this file, as losing it may result in you losing access to all files on your Stoat instance.
You can find [more options here](https://github.com/stoatchat/stoatchat/blob/main/crates/core/config/Revolt.toml), some noteworthy configuration options:
Before updating, ensure you consult the notices at the top of this README, **as well as** [the notices](#notices) at the bottom, to check if there are any important changes to be aware of.
Ensure that your secrets in `Revolt.toml` and `secrets.env` match. If your secrets don't match, copy the secrets from `Revolt.toml` to `secrets.env`. The following step will **overwrite** your existing configuration. If you have custom configuration settings you will need to copy them over afterwards. Alternatively, you can forgo running the configurator, but you may miss out on new features.
Run the configuration script with your domain and pass the overwrite flag:
During configuration using `generate_config.sh` you will be asked if you'd like to place Stoat behind another reverse proxy. Enter `y` to configure for reverse proxy. This will expose your caddy on port 8880, and you can reverse proxy to <http://localhost:8880>
Docker will bypass your ufw rules when you do this. This means that if the port is open, the database will be publically accessible and anyone will be able to modify it.
### Why ports 7881 and 50000-50100/udp aren't in the Caddyfile
Livekit requires ports 7881/tcp and 50000-50100/udp to be openly accessible on the internet. These ports are used for the RTC protocol. Caddy does not support RTC without significant configuration changes that are out of scope of this repo.
### Getting kicked on video enabled instances when turning on video
Due to an incomplete implementation, Stoat will kick any user that attempts to stream a video that is larger than the maximum size defined in `Revolt.toml`. If you would like to increase the maximum size allowed on your Stoat instance, you can do so by modifying the `video_resolution` field under `[features.limits.new_user]` and `[features.limits.default]` to a larger value in your `Revolt.toml`. For example, 4k would be : `[3996, 2160]`.
> If you deployed Stoat before [2022-10-29](https://github.com/minio/docs/issues/624#issuecomment-1296608406), you may have to tag the `minio` image release if it's configured in "fs" mode.
> If you deployed Stoat before [2023-04-21](https://github.com/stoatchat/stoatchat/commit/32542a822e3de0fc8cc7b29af46c54a9284ee2de), you may have to flush your Redis database.
> As of October 5, 2025, the following breaking changes have been applied:
>
> - Rename docker compose project from revolt to stoat
>
> These will NOT automatically be applied to your environment.
>
> You must run the environment with the old revolt name to apply the update. After you run `docker compose pull` during the upgrade procedure, you must run `docker compose -p revolt down`. You may then continue with the upgrade procedure.
> As of February 28, 2026, the configuration script will load secrets into `secrets.env`. You must copy your existing secrets into secrets.env to prevent `generate_config.sh` from overwriting your secrets. If your secrets are overwritten you will lose access to all files on your Stoat instance.
> Begin the process of copying your secrets to secrets.env. You can view where each secret is located by reading the `secrets.env` file. Open the file with micro and read the instructions.
> All of your secrets can be found in `Revolt.toml` and should be copied to your `secrets.env` file. After all 5 secrets are copied over, you are safe to run `generate_config.sh` to get new configuration options.
> If you deployed Stoat before September 17th 2026 your minio environment will automatically migrate to silo. Stoat maintainers recommend backing up your minio directory. In the default configuration, this directory is at `data/minio`.
You can find information about security advisories on Stoat repositories on Github. Listed below are the latest versions that contain remediations, and links to the security advisory pages.
