How to Install PixelFed on Windows 11

PixelFed is a free, open-source and self-hosted photo-sharing social platform similar to Instagram. This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing PixelFed on your Windows 11 machine.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, make sure you have the following installed on your system:

  • XAMPP or a similar webserver with PHP support
  • Git
  • Composer

Step 1: Clone the PixelFed Repository

Open Git Bash or your preferred terminal application and navigate to the directory where you want to install PixelFed. Then, run the following command to clone the PixelFed repository:

git clone https://git.pixelfed.org/pixelfed/pixelfed.git

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Navigate to the PixelFed directory and install the required dependencies using composer. Run the following command:

cd pixelfed
composer install --no-dev

Step 3: Configure the Database

PixelFed requires a database to store its data. Open your XAMPP control panel and start the MySQL server. Then, open your browser and navigate to http://localhost/phpmyadmin/. Create a new database for PixelFed by clicking on the "New" button and entering a name for the database.

Next, copy the .env.example file to .env.

cp .env.example .env

Edit the .env file with your database information:

APP_NAME=PixelFed
APP_ENV=local
APP_KEY=

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=pixelfed
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

Change the DB_DATABASE, DB_USERNAME, and DB_PASSWORD fields to match your database information.

Step 4: Generate the Application Key

Run the following command to generate the application key:

php artisan key:generate

This will generate a new key and update the .env file.

Step 5: Migrate the Database

Run the following command to migrate the database:

php artisan migrate --seed

This will create the necessary database tables and populate them with sample data.

Step 6: Start the Web Server

Navigate to your XAMPP control panel and start the Apache server. Then, open your browser and navigate to http://localhost/pixelfed/public/. You should see the PixelFed login page.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed PixelFed on your Windows 11 machine. You can now create a new account and start sharing photos with others.