Serverless Fediverse: Setting up a Minimal Fediverse Server with Vercel Edge Functions
2 min read2025-August-16
Introduction
Fediverse is a decentralized social network that allows users to interact across different platforms. Fediverse servers use protocols like ActivityPub to communicate with each other.
In the recent years, I used many fediverse servers as my fediverse instances, but I always wanted to set up my own minimal server. Last year, I tested snac2, a minimal ActivityPub server, but it was too complex for my needs. I wanted something simpler than that.
Understanding the Needs
I wanted a minimal server that could:
- Handle basic ActivityPub interactions.
- Be easy to set up and maintain.
- Run on a serverless platform for cost-effectiveness.
- Be fast and responsive.
- Allow me to experiment with different features without worrying about server management.
- Be able to handle a small number of users (just me, for now).
What I Did
Steps I took to create the serverless Fediverse server
- I chose Vercel Edge Functions for their simplicity and performance.
- I set up a basic Edge Function that responds to ActivityPub requests.
- I implemented a simple ActivityPub endpoint that can handle basic interactions like profile, followers, following and posts.
Finally, I deployed the Edge Function to Vercel and tested it with a Fediverse client
You can find the fediverse account I created for testing here: @sivothajan@Sivothajan.me.
