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ActivityPub

Loveshack is built to work with the official ActivityPub plugin, so a Loveshack site can be followed from Mastodon and the rest of the fediverse.

The plugin is optional — the theme works fully without it — but it is the piece that turns the activity stream into something people can actually follow from elsewhere.

Setup

  1. Install and activate the ActivityPub plugin.
  2. Configure the actor (site-wide or per-author) in the plugin's settings.
  3. In Loveshack, decide how the actor appears in the header:
    • Automatically show the main ActivityPub actor — Loveshack picks it up
    • ActivityPub actor — choose it manually when automatic is off

See Header and social links.

Post types

Loveshack handles its custom stream post types so they federate correctly rather than being invisible to the plugin. Statuses, image posts, and video posts are part of the site's outbound activity, not just internal content types.

Follower count

The header can display an ActivityPub follower count pill, optionally combined with the subscriber count into a single number:

Setting Effect
Show ActivityPub follower count pill Displays the follower count
Combine subscriber and follower counts Merges it with the subscriber count

The pill requires the plugin to be active; with the plugin off there is no count to display.

Gated posts and federation

Think carefully before federating gated content. ActivityPub delivers a post's content to remote servers, which is fundamentally at odds with restricting it to paying subscribers. Keep paid posts out of the federated output, and federate public posts and teasers instead.

Gated posts are kept out of federation

Loveshack tells the ActivityPub plugin not to federate any post with a required subscription tier. If an ActivityPub version ignores that, the federated content of a gated post is reduced to its public teaser and a link to the post.

Plugin Adds
Webmention Cross-site replies and mentions — see Webmentions
WebFinger Address discovery, usually installed alongside ActivityPub
IndieAuth Sign-in with your own domain