Mastodon is a decentralized social platform made up of independently run servers. dlvr.it lets you automatically share content from your RSS feeds and other sources to any Mastodon server.
What’s supported on Mastodon
Feature | Mastodon |
Publishing | ✓ |
Publishing from RSS sources | ✓ |
Joining a Mastodon server
Mastodon works differently from other social platforms. Because it’s decentralized, there’s no single Mastodon account to sign up for — you join a specific server (also called an instance), and that server becomes part of your handle. If you don’t have a Mastodon account yet:
Find a server that’s accepting new sign-ups — you can browse the official list at joinmastodon.org/servers.
Once you’ve chosen a server, fill in the sign-up form and choose your username.
Click Sign Up and wait for the confirmation email.
Once confirmed, you’re ready to connect your Mastodon account to dlvr.it.
Your Mastodon handle includes both your username and your server — for example, @[email protected]. Keep this in mind when sharing your handle or mentioning others.
Connecting your Mastodon account
To connect your Mastodon account to dlvr.it, log into the Mastodon server you want to connect before starting — dlvr.it connects to whichever account is currently active in your browser.
Connecting multiple accounts. You can connect multiple Mastodon accounts. To avoid connecting the wrong one, log into the correct Mastodon server in another browser tab before connecting each one.
Reconnecting. For help reconnecting an expired Mastodon account, see Reconnecting a social channel in dlvr.it.
Publishing to Mastodon
dlvr.it automatically publishes new content to your Mastodon account when items appear in your connected source. A few things worth knowing:
Character limit. Posts can be up to 500 characters. Some servers allow more, but dlvr.it applies the standard 500-character default regardless of your server’s settings.
Daily posting limit. dlvr.it can publish up to 100 posts per 24 hours to a single Mastodon account.
Links. Links must start with
http://orhttps://, otherwise they appear as plain text. Every link counts as 23 characters toward the limit regardless of its actual length, so there’s no need to use a link shortener.Hashtags. Hashtags can contain alphanumeric characters only. Including one makes your post discoverable to anyone searching that term.
Mentions. To mention another user, include their full address — for example,
@[email protected]. Autocomplete isn’t available, so type the full handle accurately.Content warnings. If your post contains sensitive content, you can add a content warning — a summary line readers click through before seeing the full post. When setting up your route, check whether your source content may need this.
Image, video, and GIF specifications
Mastodon supports images, videos, and GIFs. Use the table below when preparing media for Mastodon posts.
Videos | Images | GIFs | |
Number per post | 1 | Up to 4 | 1 |
Max file size | Up to 99MB | Up to 8MB | — |
Transcoding | H.264 MP4, max 1300kbps, 60fps | Downscaled to 1.6MP (max ~1280 × 1280px) | Converted to soundless MP4 |
File types | MP4, M4V, MOV, WebM | PNG, JPG, WebP, HEIC | GIF |
Alt text | — | ✓ | — |
GIF and video handling
GIFs are automatically converted to soundless MP4 videos when published to Mastodon; you can also upload soundless MP4 or WebM files directly. For media troubleshooting, see the Photos, Video & Media collection.
FAQ
Can I use Mastodon as a content source in dlvr.it? No — Mastodon is supported as a publishing destination only. See Supported channels in dlvr.it for the full list of supported sources.
Does dlvr.it support Mastodon polls? Not at this time — polls need to be created directly on your Mastodon server.
What if my Mastodon connection stops working? Access tokens can expire after a password change or server update. See Reconnecting a social channel in dlvr.it for steps to restore the connection.
Can I publish to any Mastodon server? Yes — dlvr.it can connect to any Mastodon server, as long as you have an active account there.
Why isn’t my mention linking correctly after publishing? Make sure you’re using the full Mastodon handle, including the server — for example, @[email protected]. Partial handles won’t resolve as links on Mastodon.
Still have questions?
Still have questions about Mastodon and dlvr.it? Reach out to our support team — we’re happy to help.