PeerTube: Decentralised Video Sharing Platform

PeerTube is an open source platform for creating a decentralised video-sharing network, offering an alternative to centralised platforms such as YouTube. Thanks to its decentralised structure, PeerTube allows anyone to create their own video-sharing server, while interconnecting the various servers to form a global network. This article explores the main advantages of PeerTube and provides a detailed guide to installing it using Docker Compose.

Why choose PeerTube?

1. Decentralisation

PeerTube is based on a decentralised architecture, which means that videos are hosted on several independent servers instead of a single centralised platform. This reduces dependency on a single entity and improves resilience and confidentiality.

2. Open Source and Free

PeerTube is entirely open source, allowing users to modify and customise the software to suit their needs. You can visit the PeerTube GitHub repository to access the source code, suggest improvements or report problems.

3. Total control

By hosting your own instance of PeerTube, you have complete control over content, privacy settings and moderation policies. This allows you to create a video sharing environment that perfectly matches your needs and values.

4. Interoperability

PeerTube allows different PeerTube servers to be interconnected via the ActivityPub protocol, enabling users to share and discover videos between different servers. This encourages a global community while allowing local autonomy.

5. Easy to install

Installing PeerTube via Docker Compose is quick and easy, allowing you to deploy a video sharing server in just a few minutes.

Installing PeerTube with Docker Compose

Installing PeerTube via Docker Compose is straightforward. Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up PeerTube on your server.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure that Docker and Docker Compose are installed on your server. You can install them using the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y

Creating the Docker Compose file

Create a docker-compose.yml file in a directory of your choice. This file will contain the configuration needed to deploy PeerTube. Use the following code to configure PeerTube:

version: '3'

services:
  peertube:
    image: chocobozzz/peertube:latest
    container_name: peertube
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
    volumes:
      - ./peertube_data:/var/www/peertube
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://peertube:peertube@db:5432/peertube
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
    restart: always

  db:
    image: postgres:latest
    container_name: peertube-db
    volumes:
      - ./db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=peertube
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=peertube
      - POSTGRES_DB=peertube

  redis:
    image: redis:latest
    container_name: peertube-redis
    volumes:
      - ./redis_data:/data

Explanations

• peertube:
• image: Indicates the official PeerTube Docker image.
• container_name: Name of the container for easy identification.
• ports: Map port 9000 on the container to port 9000 on the host to access the PeerTube web interface.
• volumes: Create a local directory to store persistent PeerTube data. Create the peertube_data directory in the same directory as your docker-compose.yml file.
• environment: Defines the environment variables needed to configure PeerTube.
  
• db:
• image: Indicates the official Docker image of PostgreSQL, the database used by PeerTube.
• container_name: Name of the container for easy identification.
• volumes: Create a local directory to store the database data. Create the db_data directory in the same directory as your docker-compose.yml file.
• environment: Defines the environment variables for configuring PostgreSQL.
  
• again:
• image: Indicates the official Redis Docker image, used for caching and sessions.
• container_name: Name of the container for easy identification.
• volumes: Create a local directory to store Redis data. Create the redis_data directory in the same directory as your docker-compose.yml file.
  

Launch PeerTube

Once you have created the docker-compose.yml file, launch PeerTube with the following command:

sudo docker-compose up -d

This command downloads the Docker images, creates the containers, and starts PeerTube, PostgreSQL, and Redis in the background. You can access the PeerTube web interface by opening a browser and navigating to http://:9000.

Initial configuration

When you first connect to the PeerTube interface, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the initial configuration. You will then be able to create users, customise settings and start sharing videos.

Conclusion

PeerTube is a powerful and flexible platform for creating and managing a decentralised video-sharing network. With its easy installation via Docker Compose and extensive customisation capabilities, PeerTube is an excellent choice for those looking to manage their own video-sharing platform while respecting decentralisation and privacy.

Useful links

• PeerTube official website
• PeerTube GitHub repository
• Official PeerTube documentation
  

Share your experiences with PeerTube and ask your questions in the comments section!