nitter/README.md

173 lines
5.7 KiB
Markdown
Raw Normal View History

# Nitter
2019-10-19 10:29:13 +00:00
2021-01-22 21:01:27 +00:00
[![Test Matrix](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/workflows/CI/CD/badge.svg)](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/actions?query=workflow%3ACI/CD)
[![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/zedeus/nitter?style=flat)](#license)
2021-01-22 20:58:54 +00:00
2019-06-21 01:17:21 +00:00
A free and open source alternative Twitter front-end focused on privacy. \
Inspired by the [Invidious](https://github.com/iv-org/invidious) project.
2019-06-21 01:17:21 +00:00
- No JavaScript or ads
- All requests go through the backend, client never talks to Twitter
- Prevents Twitter from tracking your IP or JavaScript fingerprint
- Uses Twitter's unofficial API (no rate limits or developer account required)
2020-07-04 13:49:39 +00:00
- Lightweight (for [@nim_lang](https://nitter.net/nim_lang), 60KB vs 784KB from twitter.com)
2019-12-25 02:28:05 +00:00
- RSS feeds
2019-10-23 10:16:21 +00:00
- Themes
2019-10-21 04:17:08 +00:00
- Mobile support (responsive design)
2019-12-25 02:28:05 +00:00
- AGPLv3 licensed, no proprietary instances permitted
2019-06-21 01:17:21 +00:00
2020-07-04 13:49:39 +00:00
Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/zedeus \
Patreon: https://patreon.com/nitter \
BTC: bc1qp7q4qz0fgfvftm5hwz3vy284nue6jedt44kxya \
ETH: 0x66d84bc3fd031b62857ad18c62f1ba072b011925 \
LTC: ltc1qhsz5nxw6jw9rdtw9qssjeq2h8hqk2f85rdgpkr \
XMR: 42hKayRoEAw4D6G6t8mQHPJHQcXqofjFuVfavqKeNMNUZfeJLJAcNU19i1bGdDvcdN6romiSscWGWJCczFLe9RFhM3d1zpL
## Roadmap
2019-09-23 23:16:24 +00:00
- Embeds
2020-07-04 13:49:39 +00:00
- Account system with timeline support
2020-06-01 11:36:10 +00:00
- Archiving tweets/profiles
2020-07-04 13:49:39 +00:00
- Developer API
2019-09-23 23:16:24 +00:00
## Resources
The wiki contains
[a list of instances](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Instances) and
2020-07-04 13:49:39 +00:00
[browser extensions](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Extensions)
2019-09-23 23:16:24 +00:00
maintained by the community.
## Why?
It's basically impossible to use Twitter without JavaScript enabled. If you try,
you're redirected to the legacy mobile version which is awful both functionally
and aesthetically. For privacy-minded folks, preventing JavaScript analytics and
potential IP-based tracking is important, but apart from using the legacy mobile
2020-06-01 11:36:10 +00:00
version and a VPN, it's impossible. This is is especially relevant now that Twitter
[removed the ability](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/twitter-removes-privacy-option-and-shows-why-we-need-strong-privacy-laws)
2020-06-01 11:36:10 +00:00
for users to control whether their data gets sent to advertisers.
2019-09-23 23:16:24 +00:00
Using an instance of Nitter (hosted on a VPS for example), you can browse
Twitter without JavaScript while retaining your privacy. In addition to
respecting your privacy, Nitter is on average around 15 times lighter than
2020-07-04 13:49:39 +00:00
Twitter, and in most cases serves pages faster (eg. timelines load 2-4x faster).
2019-09-23 23:16:24 +00:00
In the future a simple account system will be added that lets you follow Twitter
users, allowing you to have a clean chronological timeline without needing a
Twitter account.
## Screenshot
![nitter](/screenshot.png)
2019-06-21 01:17:21 +00:00
## Installation
2019-06-23 23:34:30 +00:00
2021-12-26 22:33:11 +00:00
### Dependencies
* libpcre
* libsass
* redis
To compile Nitter you need a Nim installation, see
[nim-lang.org](https://nim-lang.org/install.html) for details. It is possible to
install it system-wide or in the user directory you create below.
2019-09-13 09:23:21 +00:00
2020-06-01 11:36:10 +00:00
To compile the scss files, you need to install `libsass`. On Ubuntu and Debian,
you can use `libsass-dev`.
Redis is required for caching and in the future for account info. It should be
available on most distros as `redis` or `redis-server` (Ubuntu/Debian).
Running it with the default config is fine, Nitter's default config is set to
use the default Redis port and localhost.
Here's how to create a `nitter` user, clone the repo, and build the project
along with the scss.
2019-06-21 01:17:21 +00:00
```bash
# useradd -m nitter
# su nitter
$ git clone https://github.com/zedeus/nitter
$ cd nitter
$ nimble build -d:release
2019-09-13 09:03:53 +00:00
$ nimble scss
$ cp nitter.example.conf nitter.conf
2019-06-21 01:17:21 +00:00
```
2020-06-01 11:36:10 +00:00
Set your hostname, port, HMAC key, https (must be correct for cookies), and
Redis info in `nitter.conf`. To run Redis, either run
`redis-server --daemonize yes`, or `systemctl enable --now redis` (or
redis-server depending on the distro). Run Nitter by executing `./nitter` or
using the systemd service below. You should run Nitter behind a reverse proxy
2021-12-27 03:12:06 +00:00
such as [Nginx](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Nginx) or
[Apache](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Apache) for security and
performance reasons.
2019-06-21 01:17:21 +00:00
2021-12-27 01:23:24 +00:00
### Docker
To run Nitter with Docker, you'll need to install and run Redis separately
before you can run the container. See below for how to also run Redis using
Docker.
2020-10-01 03:41:47 +00:00
2019-10-17 22:10:40 +00:00
To build and run Nitter in Docker:
```bash
2019-10-21 04:17:08 +00:00
docker build -t nitter:latest .
docker run -v $(pwd)/nitter.conf:/src/nitter.conf -d --network host nitter:latest
2019-10-21 04:17:08 +00:00
```
A prebuilt Docker image is provided as well:
```bash
docker run -v $(pwd)/nitter.conf:/src/nitter.conf -d --network host zedeus/nitter:latest
2020-10-01 03:41:47 +00:00
```
Using docker-compose to run both Nitter and Redis as different containers:
Change `redisHost` from `localhost` to `redis` in `nitter.conf`, then run:
2020-10-01 03:41:47 +00:00
```bash
docker-compose up -d
2019-10-17 22:10:40 +00:00
```
Note the Docker commands expect a `nitter.conf` file in the directory you run
them.
2020-06-01 11:36:10 +00:00
2021-12-27 01:23:24 +00:00
### systemd
2019-09-13 09:03:53 +00:00
To run Nitter via systemd you can use this service file:
```ini
[Unit]
Description=Nitter (An alternative Twitter front-end)
After=syslog.target
After=network.target
[Service]
Type=simple
# set user and group
User=nitter
Group=nitter
# configure location
WorkingDirectory=/home/nitter/nitter
ExecStart=/home/nitter/nitter/nitter
Restart=always
RestartSec=15
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```
2019-09-13 09:03:53 +00:00
Then enable and run the service:
`systemctl enable --now nitter.service`
2021-12-27 01:23:24 +00:00
### Logging
Nitter currently prints some errors to stdout, and there is no real logging
implemented. If you're running Nitter with systemd, you can check stdout like
this: `journalctl -u nitter.service` (add `--follow` to see just the last 15
lines). If you're running the Docker image, you can do this:
`docker logs --follow *nitter container id*`
2019-09-13 09:03:53 +00:00
## Contact
2021-06-23 21:15:18 +00:00
Feel free to join our [Matrix channel](https://matrix.to/#/#nitter:matrix.org).
2019-09-23 23:16:24 +00:00
You can email me at zedeus@pm.me if you wish to contact me personally.