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What is PeerTube?

PeerTube is the Fediverse’s answer to YouTube — a platform for publishing and watching videos.

Unlike YouTube, there’s no single company running it. Instead, many small servers (instances) host videos, and all of them connect to each other through federation. This means you’re not tied to one giant platform, but part of a diverse, community-owned network.

🎥 What makes PeerTube different?

  • Decentralized hosting → videos live on many servers, not one monopoly.
  • Peer-to-peer streaming → when lots of people watch, they share bandwidth with each other, reducing server strain.
  • Community focus → small groups, nonprofits, and creators can host their own instances.
  • Federation → you can follow channels from across the Fediverse.

In practice: PeerTube works like YouTube, but feels more like a patchwork of community TV stations, all linked together.

🤔 The pain points (and how to handle them)

Let’s be real: PeerTube can be confusing at first.

  • Which server should I join?
    Some servers are small and niche, others are broad. There’s no single “official” one, so it takes a bit of browsing.

  • Search isn’t centralized.
    YouTube has one search bar for everything. PeerTube doesn’t — you often need a search engine that looks across multiple servers.

  • Mobile apps are clunky.
    The web version is more polished, but apps like Fedilab (Android) or Thorium (iOS) can help.

👉 The good news: once you find a server you like, following creators and watching videos works smoothly.

🔍 How to find a PeerTube server

Here are some good starting points:
- joinpeertube.org → official directory of open instances.
- sepiasearch.org → a search engine that looks across PeerTube servers.
- Fediverse Observer → rankings and stats on PeerTube servers.

🏆 Well-known PeerTube instances

  • peertube.tv — large French-run instance, general purpose.
  • tilvids.com — educational, nonprofit focus.
  • diode.zone — general purpose, English-speaking.
  • video.blender.org — Blender Foundation’s official PeerTube for tutorials.

👉 Don’t stress too much about picking “the right” one. You can watch videos across the Fediverse no matter where you sign up.

📱 Using PeerTube

  • Best on desktop/web: the interface is clean, and playback is stable.
  • Mobile apps:
  • Fedilab (Android, supports PeerTube + Mastodon)
  • Thorium (iOS)
  • Subscribe to channels like you would on YouTube — and yes, you can even follow PeerTube creators from Mastodon or other Fediverse apps.

🌱 Why it’s worth a try

PeerTube may never feel as seamless as YouTube — and that’s okay. Its strength is in being independent, ethical, and community-run.

  • No surveillance capitalism.
  • No corporate ads.
  • No algorithm pushing junk at you.

If you care about supporting creators directly, or you want video hosting without Big Tech strings attached, PeerTube is a real option — even if it takes a little more patience.

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