Where to Find the PixivFE Instance List and Public Image Proxies

Updated

The PixivFE documentation homepage links directly to both the Instance list and Public image proxies pages. Use these if you want to browse pixiv through PixivFE without hosting anything yourself. If you plan to run your own deployment, you'll instead want the Hosting section on the same page.

What PixivFE is

PixivFE (short for Pixiv FrontEnd) is described in its documentation as an open-source, self-hostable alternative front-end for pixiv. That means it's a separate interface for browsing pixiv content, and anyone can run their own copy of it.

Finding an instance or proxy

The documentation homepage is organized as a set of entry points. The two relevant to non-self-hosters are:

Resource What it's for Who it's for
Instance list Publicly available PixivFE deployments you can visit directly Users who don't want to host their own
Public image proxies Proxy servers that handle image loading for a PixivFE instance Users and instance operators who need images to load

Both are listed on the homepage alongside other sections such as Known quirks, Hosting, Authentication for the pixiv API, and Development.

Steps

  1. Open the PixivFE documentation site.
  2. On the homepage, locate the Instance list link.
  3. Pick an instance from that list and open it to start browsing.
  4. If images don't load on the instance you chose, check the Public image proxies page for a proxy you can use.

Expected result

You end up on a working PixivFE front-end without installing or configuring anything, and you have a proxy option if image loading fails.

Common snags

  • Images not loading. This is the main reason the public image proxy list exists — an instance may need a proxy configured for images to display.
  • Instance availability. The list is a directory of public deployments; individual instances are run by different people and may behave differently. The documentation also keeps a Known quirks page, which is worth checking when something looks off.
  • Self-hosting instead. If you'd rather run your own, start from the Hosting section, which covers configuration options, hosting PixivFE, hosting an image proxy server, and authentication for the pixiv API.

Other sections worth knowing

The same homepage also points to Development material (roadmap, scope, feature tracker, guidelines, testing tools, coding tips, design flaws, helpful resources, internationalization), Features (caching, tracing, flamegraph), and an Archive covering framework migration and old i18n. These are aimed at contributors and maintainers rather than everyday users.