documentation/content/en/administration/post-installation.md

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Post-installation steps	docs parent weight administration 3

Using the command-line interface

The command-line interface of Mastodon is an executable file called tootctl residing in the bin directory within the Mastodon root directory. You must specify which environment you intend to use whenever you execute it by specifying the RAILS_ENV environment variable. Unless you are a developer working on a local machine, you need to use RAILS_ENV=production. If you are sure that you will never need another environment (for development, testing, or staging), you can add it to your .bashrc file for convenience, e.g.:

echo "export RAILS_ENV=production" >> ~/.bashrc

If so, you won't need to specify it each time inline. Otherwise, calls to tootctl will usually go like this, assuming that the Mastodon code is checked out in /home/mastodon/live:

cd /home/mastodon/live
RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl help

Creating an admin account

In the browser

After signing up in the browser, you will need to use the command line to give your newly created account admin privileges. Assuming your username is alice:

RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl accounts update alice --role admin

From the command line

You can create a new account using the command-line interface.

RAILS_ENV=production bin/tootctl accounts create \
  alice \
  --email alice@example.com \
  --confirmed \
  --role admin

A randomly generated password will be shown in the terminal.

Filling in server information

After logging in, navigate to the Site settings page. While there are no technical requirements for filling in this information, it is considered crucial for operating a server for humans.

Setting	Meaning
Contact username	Your username so people know who owns the server
Business e-mail	An e-mail address so people locked out of their accounts, or people without accounts, can contact you
Instance description	Why did you start this server? Who is it for? What makes it different?
Custom extended information	You can put all sorts of information in here but a code of conduct is recommended

After you fill these in, simply hit "Save changes".