Mastodon is a free, open-source social networking service that’s decentralized and distributed. It was created in 2016 as an alternative choice to centralized social media platforms reminiscent of Twitter and Fb.
One of many key options of Mastodon is using the WebFinger protocol, which permits customers to find and entry details about different customers on the Mastodon community. WebFinger is a straightforward HTTP-based protocol that permits a person to find details about different customers or sources on the web by utilizing their electronic mail tackle or different figuring out info. The WebFinger protocol is vital for Mastodon as a result of it permits customers to search out and comply with one another on the community, no matter the place they’re hosted.
WebFinger makes use of a “well-known” path construction when calling an area. It’s possible you’ll be aware of the robots.txt conference. All of us simply agree that robots.txt will sit on the prime path of everybody’s area.
The WebFinger protocol is a straightforward HTTP-based protocol that permits a person or search to find details about different customers or sources on the web by utilizing their electronic mail tackle or different figuring out info. My is first title ultimately title .com, so…my private WebFinger API endpoint is right here https://www.hanselman.com/.well-known/webfinger
The concept is that…
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A person sends a WebFinger request to a server, utilizing the e-mail tackle or different figuring out info of the person or useful resource they’re attempting to find.
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The server appears to be like up the requested info in its database and returns a JSON object containing the details about the person or useful resource. This JSON object is known as a “useful resource descriptor.”
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The person’s shopper receives the useful resource descriptor and shows the data to the person.
The useful resource descriptor comprises varied sorts of details about the person or useful resource, reminiscent of their title, profile image, and hyperlinks to their social media accounts or different on-line sources. It will probably additionally embody different sorts of info, such because the person’s public key, which can be utilized to determine a safe reference to the person.
There’s a fantastic explainer right here as nicely. From that web page:
When somebody searches for you on Mastodon, your server will probably be queried for accounts utilizing an endpoint that appears like this:
Observe that Mastodon person names begin with @ so they’re @username@someserver.com. Similar to twiter could be @shanselman@twitter.com I might be @shanselman@hanselman.com now!
So maybe https://www.hanselman.com/.well-known/webfinger?useful resource=acct:FRED@HANSELMAN.COM
Mine returns
{
"topic":"acct:shanselman@hachyderm.io",
"aliases":
[
"https://hachyderm.io/@shanselman",
"https://hachyderm.io/users/shanselman"
],
"hyperlinks":
[
{
"rel":"http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page",
"type":"text/html",
"href":"https://hachyderm.io/@shanselman"
},
{
"rel":"self",
"type":"application/activity+json",
"href":"https://hachyderm.io/users/shanselman"
},
{
"rel":"http://ostatus.org/schema/1.0/subscribe",
"template":"https://hachyderm.io/authorize_interaction?uri={uri}"
}
]
}
This file needs to be returned as a mime kind of utility/jrd+json
My web site is an ASP.NET Razor Pages web site, so I simply did this in Startup.cs to map that well-known URL to a web page/route that returns the JSON wanted.
providers.AddRazorPages().AddRazorPagesOptions(choices =>
{
choices.Conventions.AddPageRoute("/robotstxt", "/Robots.Txt"); //i did this earlier than, not wanted
choices.Conventions.AddPageRoute("/webfinger", "/.well-known/webfinger");
choices.Conventions.AddPageRoute("/webfinger", "/.well-known/webfinger/{val?}");
});
then I made a webfinger.cshtml like this. Observe I’ve to double escape the @@ websites as a result of it is Razor.
@web page
@{
Structure = null;
this.Response.ContentType = "utility/jrd+json";
}
{
"topic":"acct:shanselman@hachyderm.io",
"aliases":
[
"https://hachyderm.io/@@shanselman",
"https://hachyderm.io/users/shanselman"
],
"hyperlinks":
[
{
"rel":"http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page",
"type":"text/html",
"href":"https://hachyderm.io/@@shanselman"
},
{
"rel":"self",
"type":"application/activity+json",
"href":"https://hachyderm.io/users/shanselman"
},
{
"rel":"http://ostatus.org/schema/1.0/subscribe",
"template":"https://hachyderm.io/authorize_interaction?uri={uri}"
}
]
}
This can be a static response, but when I used to be internet hosting pages for multiple individual I might wish to take within the url with the person’s title, after which map it to their aliases and return these accurately.
Even simpler, you may simply use the JSON file of your personal Mastodon server’s webfinger response and SAVE IT as a static json file and duplicate it to your personal server!
So long as your server returns the fitting JSON from that well-known URL then it’s going to work.
So that is my template https://hachyderm.io/.well-known/webfinger?useful resource=acct:shanselman@hachyderm.io from the place I am hosted now.
If you wish to get began with Mastodon, begin right here. https://github.com/joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon/ it appears like Twitter circa 2007 besides it is not owned by anybody and relies on internet requirements like ActivityPub.
Hope this helps!
About Scott
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, marketing consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft worker. He’s a failed stand-up comedian, a cornrower, and a guide writer.
