Where to Find GoToSocial Configuration and Admin Guides

Updated

The GoToSocial documentation at docs.gotosocial.org splits its operational content into four main sections: Configuration, Admin, User Guide, and Client API Docs. If you are running an instance, start with Configuration for instance-level settings and Admin for moderation, federation, and maintenance tasks. If you are a regular user, the User Guide covers posts, search, and migration. Developers integrating with GoToSocial should go to Client API Docs.

Configuration: instance-level settings

The Configuration section is where you set up how your instance behaves. Its overview page links to individual topics, including:

  • General — core instance settings
  • Trusted Proxies — for deployments behind a reverse proxy
  • Database — database connection and options
  • Web — web-facing settings
  • Instance — instance identity and metadata
  • Accounts — account-related configuration
  • Media Storage — where media is stored
  • Statuses — post-related settings
  • TLS — certificate configuration
  • OpenID Connect (OIDC) — external authentication integration
  • Email Config (smtp) — outgoing email
  • Syslog — logging
  • HTTP Client and HTTP Server — HTTP behavior
  • Advanced — split-domain deployments, outgoing HTTP proxy, and other non-default setups

If you are deploying for the first time, the Getting Started section (Deployment considerations, Releases, Installation) sits alongside Configuration and is worth reading before you change settings.

Admin: moderation, federation, and maintenance

The Admin section covers day-to-day operation of a running instance. Topics listed in the documentation include:

  • Admin Settings Panel — the web UI for administration
  • New Account Sign-Ups — controlling registration
  • Federation Modes — how your instance federates
  • Domain Blocks, Domain Limits, and Domain Permission Subscriptions — controlling which domains you interact with
  • HTTP Request Header Filtering Modes and Robots.txt
  • GtS CLI Tool — command-line administration
  • Backup and Restore
  • Media Caching and Pruning and Post Caching and Pruning
  • Spam Filtering
  • Database Maintenance
  • Themes
  • Managing GtS on slow hardware
  • Relay Subscriptions

This is the section to check when you need to block a domain, change federation behavior, back up your database, or troubleshoot storage growth.

User Guide: for people on your instance

The User Guide is written for ordinary users rather than admins. It covers:

  • Settings
  • Posts
  • Search
  • Custom CSS (Advanced)
  • Password Management
  • RSS
  • Migration — including importing posts from previous instances
  • Relay Pushes

Point users here when they ask how to post, search, customize their profile, or move accounts.

Client API Docs: for developers

The Client API Docs section is aimed at developers building clients or integrations. It includes:

  • Authentication with the API
  • Routes and Methods
  • Request Rate Limiting
  • Request Throttling

If you are writing a client or script that talks to a GoToSocial instance, start with Authentication, then consult Routes and Methods.

Quick routing table

What you need Section
Set database, TLS, OIDC, or email Configuration
Block a domain, change federation mode, back up Admin
Post, search, migrate an account User Guide
Build a client or call the API Client API Docs

Related pages worth knowing

  • Federation — HTTP Signatures, Access Control, Request Throttling & Rate Limiting, Actors and Actor Properties, Posts and Post Properties, Interaction Controls, Moderation, Glossary
  • Installation — Bare metal, Container, Reverse Proxy (NGINX, Apache HTTP Server, Caddy 2), WebSocket
  • Advanced — Observability and Metrics, Split-domain deployments, Outgoing HTTP proxy, Caching, Provisioning TLS certificates, Enhanced security, Health Checks, Tracing, Metrics, Replicating SQLite, Advanced builds

The documentation also notes Known Issues and an Alternatives to GoToSocial page, which are useful when evaluating whether GoToSocial fits your deployment before you commit to configuration work.