How to Self-Host PeerTube: An Open-Source YouTube Alternative Using Podman

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If you’re looking for a privacy-respecting, ad-free video hosting solution, look no further than PeerTube. PeerTube is an open-source, decentralized alternative to YouTube that lets you take control of your content. In this guide, we’ll show you how to easily self-host PeerTube using Podman and the latest Docker Compose configuration.

🚀 Why Choose PeerTube?

• Open Source – PeerTube is free to use and fully open source.
• Decentralized – Connects with other PeerTube instances for federation.
• No Ads or Tracking – A video platform that respects your privacy.
• Self-Hostable – Run it on your own server for full control over your content.

💻 Requirements

• A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended)
• Podman and podman-compose installed
• Basic knowledge of the terminal
• Open ports 80 and 443 on your firewall

⚡️ Installing PeerTube with Podman

Follow these steps to install PeerTube locally on your server using Podman.

1. Install Podman & podman-compose

First, you need to install Podman and Podman Compose on your server:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y podman podman-compose

2. Create a Directory for PeerTube

Next, create a directory for your PeerTube setup and navigate into it:

mkdir -p ~/peertube-podman && cd ~/peertube-podman

3. Download the Latest Docker Compose Configuration

Download the latest Docker Compose file from PeerTube’s official GitHub repository:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Chocobozzz/PeerTube/master/support/docker/production/docker-compose.yml

4. Modify docker-compose.yml for Podman Compatibility

You’ll need to adjust the configuration file to work with Podman. The following is a sample podman-compose.yml for local PeerTube installation:

version: "3.7"
services:
  # PeerTube application container
  peertube:
    image: chocobozzz/peertube:production-bookworm
    container_name: peertube
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - PEERTUBE_DB_HOSTNAME=peertube-db
      - PEERTUBE_ADMIN_EMAIL=your-email@example.com
      - PEERTUBE_WEBSERVER_HOSTNAME=localhost:9000
      - PEERTUBE_SECRET=your-secret-key
    ports:
      - "9000:9000" # PeerTube UI
    volumes:
      - ./peertube_data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - peertube-net

  # PostgreSQL container for PeerTube database
  peertube-db:
    image: postgres:13
    container_name: peertube-db
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=peertube
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=peertube_password
      - POSTGRES_DB=peertube
    volumes:
      - ./postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - peertube-net
    restart: unless-stopped

  # Redis container for PeerTube caching
  peertube-redis:
    image: redis:6
    container_name: peertube-redis
    networks:
      - peertube-net
    restart: unless-stopped

  # Nginx container as the reverse proxy (optional, useful for SSL)
  peertube-nginx:
    image: nginx:latest
    container_name: peertube-nginx
    volumes:
      - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
      - ./peertube_data:/data
    ports:
      - "8000:80"
      - "8443:443"
    networks:
      - peertube-net
    restart: unless-stopped

networks:
  peertube-net:
    driver: bridge

5. NGINX Configuration (Optional, for Reverse Proxy & SSL)

If you want to secure your PeerTube installation with SSL and run NGINX as a reverse proxy, you’ll need to configure NGINX with a custom configuration file.

Here is an example of a basic nginx.conf file for reverse proxying to PeerTube:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name localhost;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://peertube:9000;  # Forward requests to PeerTube
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

If you’re setting up SSL, you’ll also need to update the configuration to handle HTTPS traffic:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name yourdomain.com;  # Replace with your domain

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/your_certificate.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/your_private.key;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://peertube:9000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

You can obtain SSL certificates from a provider like Let’s Encrypt or any other SSL certificate provider.

6. Start PeerTube Using Podman-Compose

Once the configuration is ready, start the PeerTube containers using Podman Compose:

podman-compose up -d

7. Check the Status of Containers

Verify that the containers are running correctly with the following command:

podman ps

8. How to View PeerTube in Your Web Browser

Once your containers are up and running, you can view your PeerTube instance in a web browser:

• If you are using HTTP, open your browser and go to http://localhost:9000. This will display the PeerTube landing page.
• If you have configured SSL with NGINX, open your browser and go to https://yourdomain.com, where yourdomain.com is the domain you’ve set up.

📱 Screenshots & Screencast

💡 Need Help with PeerTube?

I’m available for:

• One-on-one programming tutorials
• Custom PeerTube installs
• Updates and migrations

👇 Contact me here

By choosing open-source solutions like PeerTube, you’re taking a step toward a freer, user-controlled internet. If you’re ready to take control of your video hosting, give PeerTube a try!