[Lemmy](https://github.com/dessalines/lemmy) is similar to sites like [Reddit](https://reddit.com), [Lobste.rs](https://lobste.rs), [Raddle](https://raddle.me), or [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/): you subscribe to forums you're interested in, post links and discussions, then vote, and comment on them. Behind the scenes, it is very different; anyone can easily run a server, and all these servers are federated (think email), and connected to the same universe, called the [Fediverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse).
For a link aggregator, this means a user registered on one server can subscribe to forums on any other server, and can have discussions with users registered elsewhere.
The overall goal is to create an easily self-hostable, decentralized alternative to reddit and other link aggregators, outside of their corporate control and meddling.
Each lemmy server can set its own moderation policy; appointing site-wide admins, and community moderators to keep out the trolls, and foster a healthy, non-toxic environment where all can feel comfortable contributing.
Made with [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org), [Actix](https://actix.rs/), [Inferno](https://www.infernojs.org), [Typescript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) and [Diesel](http://diesel.rs/).
First, you need to [install Ansible on your local computer](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/installation_guide/intro_installation.html) (e.g. using `sudo apt install ansible`) or the equivalent for you platform.
You'll need to have an existing Kubernetes cluster and [storage class](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/storage/storage-classes/).
Setting this up will vary depending on your provider.
To try it locally, you can use [MicroK8s](https://microk8s.io/) or [Minikube](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-minikube/).
Once you have a working cluster, edit the environment variables and volume sizes in `docker/k8s/*.yml`.
You may also want to change the service types to use `LoadBalancer`s depending on where you're running your cluster (add `type: LoadBalancer` to `ports)`, or `NodePort`s.
By default they will use `ClusterIP`s, which will allow access only within the cluster. See the [docs](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/service/) for more on networking in Kubernetes.
**Important** Running a database in Kubernetes will work, but is generally not recommended.
If you're deploying on any of the common cloud providers, you should consider using their managed database service instead (RDS, Cloud SQL, Azure Databse, etc.).
Now you can deploy:
```bash
# Add `-n foo` if you want to deploy into a specific namespace `foo`;
# otherwise your resources will be created in the `default` namespace.
kubectl apply -f docker/k8s/db.yml
kubectl apply -f docker/k8s/pictshare.yml
kubectl apply -f docker/k8s/lemmy.yml
```
If you used a `LoadBalancer`, you should see it in your cloud provider's console.
Lemmy is free, open-source software, meaning no advertising, monetizing, or venture capital, ever. Your donations directly support full-time development of the project.
- [Support on Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/dessalines).
- Languages supported: English (`en`), Chinese (`zh`), Dutch (`nl`), Esperanto (`eo`), French (`fr`), Spanish (`es`), Swedish (`sv`), German (`de`), Russian (`ru`), Italian (`it`).
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