Hometown v1.0.5 (Mastodon 3.3.0)

First release in nine months! I am very sorry but also... 2020 was a hell of a year for motivation and ability to think and do things.

Changes this release:

• updating to Mastodon 3.3.0, which adds new features including changes to how audio and video are rendered in the web client (you can pop out audio/video and watch it while you scroll!)

No new features, this is just a parity release with upstream Mastodon, but I hope to release some good new features in the coming months.

This release is up to date with Mastodon v3.3.0, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from a lower Mastodon version. If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki.

Upgrading from v1.0.5+3.2.0

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.05+3.2.0, do the following:

git remote update && git checkout v1.0.5+3.3.0

Non-Docker only:

The recommended Ruby version has been bumped to 2.7.2. You can upgrade, or you can continue using the old version by overwriting the .ruby-version file with e.g. 2.6.6 which was recommended previously
Install dependencies: bundle install and yarn install

Both Docker and non-Docker:

⚠️ Scheduled tasks have been moved to a dedicated scheduler queue in Sidekiq. If you only run a single Sidekiq process with no custom queue selection, you don't need to change anything. If you customize Sidekiq processes/queues, ensure that there is exactly one Sidekiq process that runs the scheduler queue.

1. Run the pre-deployment database migrations by specifying the SKIP_POST_DEPLOYMENT_MIGRATIONS=true environment variable:
   • Non-Docker: SKIP_POST_DEPLOYMENT_MIGRATIONS=true RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
   • Docker: docker-compose run --rm -e SKIP_POST_DEPLOYMENT_MIGRATIONS=true web rails db:migrate
2. Precompile the assets:
   • Non-Docker: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
   • Docker: The assets are already precompiled during the build step
3. Restart all Mastodon processes
4. Clear cache:
   • Non-Docker: RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl cache clear
   • Docker: docker-compose run --rm web bin/tootctl cache clear
5. Now that the new code is running, we can finish the database migrations. This will run the post-deployment ones:
   • Non-Docker: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
   • Docker: docker-compose run --rm web rails db:migrate
6. Restart all Mastodon processes

Hometown v1.0.5 (Mastodon 3.2.0)

Changes this release:

• updating to Mastodon 3.2.0, which adds new features including personal notes on accounts, and lots of bug fixes and changes
• a new feature where the inclusion in a post of a custom emoji named :local_only: will force that post to be local only, intended for people using 3rd party Mastodon clients that don't support local posts (read more here)

This release is up to date with Mastodon v3.2.0, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from a lower Mastodon version. If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki.

Upgrading from v1.0.4+3.1.5

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.04+3.1.5, do the following:

git remote update && git checkout v1.0.5+3.2.0

• Install dependencies: bundle install and yarn install
• ⚠️ No longer compatible with ElasticSearch <6.8 due to an upstream library update
• ⚠️ If you are serving user-uploaded files from a different domain/subdomain than the one the Mastodon web UI is served from, please keep in mind that you need to return CORS headers on those files, otherwise the new audio player will not work. Here is an example of nginx directives for returning the appropriate CORS headers:

add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin'  '*';

Some object storage providers may have preferences for such CORS headers in their control panels.

• Run database migrations: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes
• Clear cache: RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl cache clear

Hometown v1.0.4 (Mastodon 3.1.5)

Changes this release:

• updating to Mastodon 3.1.5, which is a security release with some minor code changes
• use the Hometown logo on the about page (PR, thanks @extstral)

This release is up to date with Mastodon v3.1.5, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from a lower Mastodon version. If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki.

Upgrading from v1.0.4+3.1.4

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.0.4+3.1.4, do the following:

git remote update && git checkout v1.0.4+3.1.5

• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes

(This update doesn't affect the database so you don't have to do the usual migration or database backup.)

Hometown v1.0.4 (Mastodon 3.1.4)

Changes this release:

• updating to Mastodon 3.1.4
• better default behavior of 3rd party apps for local-only posting
  • if your account is set to post local by default, 3rd party apps will now respect this
  • updated language on settings page to reflect this
  • more info here
  • thanks @lostfictions for the PR work
• UI tweaks (thanks @exstral and @emmawinston)
• fix: pinned local posts now stay local

This release is up to date with Mastodon v3.1.4, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from a lower Mastodon version. If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki.

Upgrading from v1.0.3+3.1.2

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.0.3+3.1.2, do the following:

git remote update && git checkout v1.0.4+3.1.4

• Make sure to update Node.js to version 10 or higher if you're not already on 10+. To upgrade Node.js, run curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | bash - and then apt install nodejs
• Back up your database: pg_dump -Fc -U postgres mastodon_production > name_of_the_backup.dump
• Install dependencies: bundle install and yarn install
• Run database migrations: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes

Hometown v1.0.3 (Mastodon 3.1.2)

Changes this release:

• updating to Mastodon 3.1.2, which includes a security fix so we recommend upgrading as soon as you can

This release is up to date with Mastodon v3.1.2, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from a lower Mastodon version. If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki. You should have Mastodon v3.1.2 installed.

Upgrading from v1.0.3+3.0.1

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.0.3+3.0.1, do the following:

git remote update && git checkout v1.0.3+3.1.2

• Make sure to update Node.js to version 10 or higher if you're not already on 10+. To upgrade Node.js, run curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | bash - and then apt install nodejs
• Back up your database: pg_dump -Fc -U postgres mastodon_production > name_of_the_backup.dump
• Install dependencies: bundle install and yarn install
• Run database migrations: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes

Hometown v1.0.3 (Mastodon 3.0.1)

Changes this release:

• updating to Mastodon 3.0.1 (and thus the excellent 3.0.0, which has a lot of useful new features)
• a major design overhaul by Emma Winston that removes almost all of the elephants from Hometown's visual branding
• A bugfix from David Underwood for this feed regeneration (I believe this is our first bugfix contribution back up to main Mastodon as well!)

This release is up to date with Mastodon v3.0.1, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from Mastodon 2.9.3 or lower.

If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki. You should have Mastodon v3.0.1 installed.

Upgrading from v1.0.2+2.9.3

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.0.2, do the following:

git remote update && git checkout v1.0.3+3.0.1

Make sure to install Ruby 2.6.5, or you can continue using the old version by overwriting the .ruby-version file with e.g. 2.6.1 or 2.5.3 which were recommended previously.

• Back up your database: pg_dump -Fc -U postgres mastodon_production > name_of_the_backup.dump
• Install dependencies: bundle install and yarn install
• Run the pre-deployment database migrations by specifying the SKIP_POST_DEPLOYMENT_MIGRATIONS=true environment variable:
  • SKIP_POST_DEPLOYMENT_MIGRATIONS=true RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes
• Clear the cache: RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl cache clear
• Run the post-deployment migrations: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
• Restart all Mastodon processes
• If you are using ElasticSearch, there are new indices to be deployed (this step is likely to take a considerable amount of time, so running it through screen or tmuxis advised):
  • Non-Docker: RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl search deploy
  • Docker: docker-compose run --rm web bin/tootctl search deploy

Hometown v1.0.2 (Mastodon 2.9.3)

This minor release contains some CSS fixes thanks to Emma Winston:

• correct border color
• fix inconsistent link underlining
• better local-only indicator spacing (special thanks to @marrus-sh for filing such a detailed issue)

Also:

• Hometown version now indicated in footer of web interface

This release is up to date with Mastodon v2.9.3, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from Mastodon 2.9.2 or lower.

If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki. You should have Mastodon v2.9.2 installed, or v2.9.3 will work too.

Upgrading from v1.0.1+2.9.3

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.0.1, do the following:

git fetch && git checkout v1.0.2+2.9.3

• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes

Hometown v1.0.1 (Mastodon 2.9.3)

This minor release contains two themes:

• Fairy Floss, a "Pastel dark" theme by Emma Winston based on Amy Wibowo's Fairy Floss
• Macaron, a "Pastel light" theme by Emma Winston

Also the wiki now has a themes page!

This release is up to date with Mastodon v2.9.3, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from Mastodon 2.9.2 or lower.

If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki. You should have Mastodon v2.9.2 installed, or v2.9.3 will work too.

Upgrading from v1.0.0+2.9.3

If you already have Hometown installed and are upgrading from v1.0.0, do the following:

git fetch && git checkout v1.0.1+2.9.3

• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes

Hometown v1.0.0 (Mastodon 2.9.3)

This is the first official release of Hometown! This release is up to date with Mastodon v2.9.3, so please check there for individual patch notes if you're upgrading from Mastodon 2.9.2 or lower.

Unique features we are launching with include:

• Local only posting (aka posts that never federate)
• In-line reading of full articles behind a cut for length
• Exclusive lists which let you follow accounts without them clogging up your home timeline
• Custom themes by Emma Winston

If you're installing Hometown for the first time, please follow the instructions on the wiki. You should have Mastodon v2.9.2 installed, or v2.9.3 will work too.

Upgrading from pre-release

For those of you wonderful people who had already installed a pre-release Hometown from source, you can upgrade using the following instructions:

Use git fetch && git checkout v1.0.0+2.9.3

• Install dependencies: bundle install
• If you were relying on Puma and Node binding to 0.0.0.0 by default for your setup, adjust your configuration by using the BIND=0.0.0.0 environment variable
• Precompile the assets: RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
• Restart all Mastodon processes

Note: if you're upgrading from a very early pre-release you might need to do a database migration as well:

• RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate

A note on versioning

You might wonder what the version number means. The 1.0.0 part is the actual Hometown version number, and then the 2.9.3 after the + sign is what's known in semantic versioning as "build metadata". It just means that this release has all the Mastodon version 2.9.3 features in it.