# ‎
How to use PeerTube
Author: Bob Mottram
Keywords: freedombone, peertube

# PeerTube

This is a video hosting system similar to Mediagoblin but using webtorrent to help distribute the files to or between clients. This should be more practical for situations where a video becomes popular because the load is then spread across the network, with performance increasing with the number of nodes. However, the torrenting aspect of it only works with WebRTC enabled browsers and so this means it's unlikely to fully work with a Tor browser. Without WebRTC then from a user point of view it's effectively the same thing as Mediagoblin.

## Installation

Log into your system with:

    ssh myusername@mydomain -p 2222

Using cursor keys, space bar and Enter key select Administrator controls and type in your password.

Select Add/Remove Apps then peertube. You will then be asked for a domain name and if you are using FreeDNS also the code for the domain which can be found under Dynamic DNS on the FreeDNS site (the random string from "quick cron example" which appears after update.php? and before >>). For more details on obtaining a domain and making it accessible via dynamic DNS see the FAQ. Typically the domain name you use will be a subdomain, such as video.mydomainname.net. It will need to be a domain which you have bought somewhere and own and not one of the FreeDNS subdomains, otherwise you won't be able to get a SSL/TLS certificate for it.

## Initial setup

Navigate to your site and select Signup to create a new account. By default the maximum number of accounts on your system is limited to a small number so that millions of random internet users can't then begin uploading dubious content. After that it's pretty straightforward.

One thing to be aware of is that after you upload a video it will take quite a while to transcode, and during that time you won't be able to play it or it will hang after playing. A way to avoid this wait is to ensure that your videos are already in mp4 format when you upload them.

Back to top | E-mail me