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Customizing Newsmast

Newsmast makes a number of customization options available by setting environment variables. Here’s a guide to making the system work for you. Be sure to read Getting the Lay of the Land first so you understand more about the various features mentioned.

🗒️ Note

All variables are optional unless noted otherwise.

The following variables would need to be set on the server where your Mastodon instance (and newsmast_mastodon) is installed.

General #

LOCAL_DOMAIN - Domain for the Mastodon instance (for example: example.social). Used for deep links, channel detection, and reblog operations.

Accounts Management #

  • AUTO_FOLLOW_ENABLED - Enable auto-follow behavior for newly registered users (true or false, defaults to disabled)
  • AUTO_FOLLOW_ACCOUNTS - Comma-separated list of account handles to auto-follow after user registration
  • WELCOME_EMAIL_DISABLED - Disable welcome email for newly registered users (set to true to disable, defaults to enabled)

Channels & Feeds #

  • MAIN_CHANNEL - Enable/disable main channel reblogging functionality
  • BOOST_BOT_ENABLED - Enable/disable automated boost bot
  • BOOST_COMMUNITY_BOT_URL - URL for Newsmast bot Lambda service
  • BOOST_COMMUNITY_BOT_API_KEY - API key for Newsmast bot authentication
  • REBLOG_ENABLED - Enable reblog functionality (set to true to enable)
  • REBLOG_INSTANCE_URL - Mastodon instance URL used for reblog operations
  • REBLOG_EMAIL - Email account used for reblog authentication
  • REBLOG_PASSWORD - Password used for reblog authentication
  • REBLOG_CLIENT_ID - OAuth client ID for the reblog instance (required if reblog enabled)
  • REBLOG_CLIENT_SECRET - OAuth client secret for the reblog instance (required if reblog enabled)

Deep Linking (for mobile apps) #

  • IOS_APP_ID - Full iOS app identifier in TeamID.BundleID format (required for iOS; the AASA endpoint returns 404 if unset)
  • IOS_DEEPLINK_PATHS - Comma-separated URL path patterns (defaults to /@*,/@*/*)
  • ANDROID_PACKAGE_NAME - Android app package name (required for Android; the asset links endpoint returns 404 if unset)
  • ANDROID_SHA256_CERT_FINGERPRINTS - Comma-separated SHA-256 certificate fingerprints for Android app verification (required for Android)

Integrations #

The following integrations can be set up as part of the newsmast_mastodon installation. There are a few additional integrations requiring a newsmast-dashboard installation as well (see below).

Push Notifications #

  • FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID - Firebase project ID for FCM push notifications (required for push notifications to work)
  • FIREBASE_KEY_FILE_NAME - Path to Firebase service account JSON key file (required for push notifications to work)
  • NOTIFICATION_SENDER_NAME - App name displayed in push notification titles (defaults to Development Patchwork)
  • SKIP_SIGNUP_PUSH_NOTI - Skip sending push notifications on signup (set to true to skip)
  • ARTICLE_NOTIFICATION_SENDER_NAME - Sender name for article notifications (defaults to Development Patchwork)

Email Notifications & Branding #

  • MAIL_SENDER_NAME - Name used as sender for all outgoing email notifications (defaults to Development Patchwork)
  • MAIL_LOGO_URL - URL for logo image in email templates (defaults to Patchwork demo logo)
  • DEFAULT_EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED - Default email notification state for new users (true or false)
  • IOS_APP_STORE_URL - URL to iOS app in App Store; when set, displays app store link in email footer
  • ANDROID_APP_STORE_URL - URL to Android app in Google Play; when set, displays app store link in email footer
  • PRIVACY_POLICY_URL - URL to privacy policy; when set along with TERMS_AND_CONDITIONS_URL, displays policy links in email footer
  • TERMS_AND_CONDITIONS_URL - URL to terms of service; when set along with PRIVACY_POLICY_URL, displays policy links in email footer

CiviCRM Membership Check (Optional) #

Add this integration when you need to restrict user access to verified members of a CiviCRM instance. You can except specific accounts (such as admins) from the auth restriction.

  • CSID_MEMBERSHIP_CHECK_ENABLED - Enable CiviCRM membership verification (true or false, defaults to disabled)
  • CIVICRM_BASE_URL - Base URL for the CiviCRM instance (required if enabled, e.g., https://civicrm.example.com)
  • CIVICRM_AUTH_TOKEN - CiviCRM API authentication token (required if enabled; a Bearer prefix is added automatically if omitted)
  • CSID_MEMBERSHIP_ALLOWLIST_EMAILS - Comma-separated email addresses that bypass the CiviCRM membership check

Ghost Integration (Optional) #

Add this integration to notify subscribers when a Ghost newsletter or post is published.

  • GHOST_URL - Base URL of Ghost CMS instance (required only if using Ghost subscriptions feature, e.g., https://newsletter.example.com)
  • GHOST_ADMIN_API_KEY - Ghost Admin API key in format id:secret for authentication (required only if using Ghost subscriptions feature)
  • GHOST_WEBHOOK_ID - Ghost webhook ID used for incoming update callbacks
  • GHOST_WEBHOOK_TARGET_URL - Target URL registered for Ghost webhook callbacks
  • GHOST_WEBHOOK_SECRET - Secret token used to verify incoming Ghost webhooks
  • GHOST_NOTIFICATION_SENDER_NAME - Sender name for Ghost-related notifications (defaults to Development Patchwork)

WordPress Integration (Optional) #

Add this integration to notify subscribers when a WordPress post is published.

  • WORDPRESS_URL - WordPress instance URL (automatically added to the host’s allowed hosts when set)

Custom Relay & Instances Timeline (Optional) #

The custom relay timeline feature subscribes the host Mastodon instance to FediBuzz relay URLs and stores delivered statuses in a per-domain Redis feed.

  • CUSTOM_RELAY_DOMAINS - Comma-separated source instance domains to subscribe to via FediBuzz relay endpoints (e.g., mastodon.social,mastodon.beer). Powers the instances timeline endpoint.

Post Enhancements #

Server-level settings such as long-post limits and local-only post availability are managed in the Newsmast Dashboard. The variables below configure optional external services used by the gem.

🗒️ Note

Automatic ALT text generation currently supports alttext.ai only. Set ALT_TEXT_URL to the alttext.ai API endpoint and ALT_TEXT_SECRET to your alttext.ai API key.

  • ALT_TEXT_ENABLED - Enable/disable automatic ALT text generation (true/false)
  • ALT_TEXT_URL - Base URL for ALT text API service
  • ALT_TEXT_SECRET - API key for ALT text service authentication
  • ALT_TEXT_USER_TOGGLE - Require user opt-in for ALT text generation when true, unless SKIP_ALT_TEXT_USER_SETTING is enabled
  • SKIP_ALT_TEXT_USER_SETTING - Bypass the per-user alt text setting when true; this takes precedence over ALT_TEXT_USER_TOGGLE.
  • BOOST_POST_ENABLED - Enable/disable automatic post boosting (true/false)
  • BOOST_POST_INSTANCE_URL - Target instance URL for boosting posts
  • BOOST_POST_API_KEY - API key for boost service authentication
  • BOOST_POST_API_SECRET - API secret for boost service authentication
  • BOOST_POST_USERNAME - Username for boost service account
  • BOOST_POST_USER_DOMAIN - Domain for boost service account

Dashboard Environment Variables #

When you install the admin dashboard, you’ll need to set these environment variables as part of your server configuration or by copying the .env.sample link (missing) file over to .env and modifying accordingly. You can find additional instructions for determining some of these variables within the .env.sample file.

Rails Runtime #

  • RAILS_ENV, RAILS_SERVE_STATIC_FILES, SECRET_KEY_BASE - Common settings used to configure Rails application at boot
  • PORT, EXTERNAL_PORT - The server localhost port (for Docker setup, EXTERNAL_PORT should match PORT)
  • STATIC_TOKEN API bearer-token validation for selected endpoints

Admin Credentials #

Please ensure the following credentials are unique and a user with these credentials does not exist in your Mastodon instance.

  • MASTER_ADMIN_USERNAME - Username of the dashboard admin user
  • MASTER_ADMIN_EMAIL - Email address of the admin user
  • MASTER_ADMIN_PASSWORD - Password of the admin user

Mastodon Connection #

Obtain these variables from your Mastodon instance under “Development” settings. Create a new application with the following scopes: read, profile, write, follow, push.

  • LOCAL_DOMAIN - This should match the domain you set for LOCAL_DOMAIN when creating your Mastodon instance
  • MASTODON_INSTANCE_URL - The public web address for your Mastodon instance
  • MASTODON_APPLICATION_TOKEN - Your dev application access token
  • MASTODON_CLIENT_ID - Your dev application client key
  • MASTODON_CLIENT_SECRET - Your dev application client secret

Database Connection #

Your Mastodon instance and the admin dashboard are dependent on a single database.

  • DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASS, DB_PORT, DB_POOL - You can copy these environment variables from your Mastodon server configuration
  • MAX_THREADS, DB_SSLMODE, PREPARED_STATEMENTS - Advanced DB settings as used in ActiveRecord config

Redis Connection #

Your Mastodon instance and the admin dashboard can share the same Redis server.

  • REDIS_HOST, REDIS_PORT, REDIS_PASSWORD - You can copy these environment variables from your Mastodon server configuration
  • REDIS_NAMESPACE - Use a unique namespace for some settings storage (defaults to dashboard)
  • REDIS_DB - Database name to use within Redis
  • SIDEKIQ_REDIS_DB - Optional, will override the REDIS_DB variable for Sidekiq if set

Features #

Aspects of this functionality is also managed by the newsmast_mastodon (missing) plugin gem.

  • CHANNELS_ENABLED - Enable custom Channels support (true or false, defaults to disabled)
  • CHANNEL_POST_HASHTAG_ENABLED - Enable post hashtag management for Channels (true or false, defaults to disabled)
  • NEWSMAST_POST_HASHTAG_ENABLED - Enable post hashtag management for Newsmast Channels (true or false, defaults to disabled)
  • PATCHWORK_HUB_URL - To connect with Patchwork Hub for Spam Block and Content Moderation services, plus settings synchronization. API credentials are managed in the Dashboard API-key interface

Service Integrations #

Email Notifications #

Used for Action Mailer for admin alerts and user invites. You might look into copying these over from your Mastodon server configuration.

  • SMTP_SERVER - Server address for your SMTP server
  • SMTP_PORT - SMTP port number (defaults to 587)
  • SMTP_LOGIN, SMTP_PASSWORD - SMTP access credentials
  • SMTP_DOMAIN - Domain name of the “from” email addresses

S3-Compatible Object Storage Configuration #

Configure your S3-compatible object storage for file storage (e.g., AWS S3, DigitalOcean Spaces). You might look into copying these environment variables from your Mastodon server configuration.

  • S3_ENABLED - Enable/disable S3 storage (true/false, defaults to disabled)
  • S3_REGION, S3_BUCKET, S3_ALIAS_HOST, S3_ENDPOINT - These are provided by your S3-compatible service after bucket is created
  • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY - S3-compatible access credentials

DNS Configuration #

Configure your DNS provider credentials for automatic DNS record management. This is required when you want Newsmast to set up domain-based bridged handles on Bluesky (USE_LOCAL_DOMAIN=true), rather than the default handles provided by Bridgy Fed. Route 53 is the only DNS service supported out of the box.

  • USE_LOCAL_DOMAIN - When true (default), sets up bridged handles like @username.yourdomain.com, otherwise @username.yourdomain.com.ap.brid.gy.
  • AWS_ACCESS_DNS_RESOLVE_ID, AWS_SECRET_DNS_RESOLVE_KEY, AWS_DNS_REGION - These access credentials are provided by Route53.
💡 Tip

It's possible to write your own DNS service integration (missing), in which case you can choose a different value for DNS_PROVIDER env var than the default route53.
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