Hollo Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy Hollo hosting and run a self-hosted single-user fediverse server of your own, reachable from Mastodon, Misskey and other ActivityPub servers. xCloud starts the pinned Hollo image beside a private PostgreSQL 17 database, generates the secret key and database credentials, mounts persistent volumes for media and data, and serves it over HTTPS. Open /setup straight away to claim the owner account, then sign in with a Mastodon-compatible client.

Deploy your Hollo

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Hollo?

Hollo is a federated, single-user microblogging server released under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Upstream describes it as your personal Mastodon instance stripped down to the essentials, speaking ActivityPub so people on Mastodon, Misskey and other servers can follow and interact with your account. It is headless: it implements Mastodon-compatible APIs and has no timeline of its own, so you use an existing Mastodon client. A self-hosted Hollo suits one person who wants their own handle on their own domain.

On xCloud the template runs the upstream ghcr.io/fedify-dev/hollo 0.9.22 image, pinned by digest, with a PostgreSQL 17 sidecar that publishes no port and two named volumes, hollo_data and hollo_db. Media is stored on the local filesystem and served by Hollo from /assets/. The first visitor to /setup sets the owner email and password, and the domain in your handle cannot be changed later.

From Sign-Up to Your Own Fediverse Handle In 3 Easy Steps

A Hollo stack normally means an app container, a PostgreSQL database, a secret key, two volumes, a domain, a certificate and an upload limit raised for video before your first post. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Hollo from the OneClick catalog. Choose the domain you want in your handle — there are no extra fields to fill in.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the upstream Hollo image and a PostgreSQL 17 sidecar, both pinned by digest, with the database kept off the public internet. We mount the hollo_db and hollo_data volumes, generate the secret key and database credentials, raise the proxy upload limit to 150 MB, and publish it over HTTPS.
Step 03
Claim Your Instance
Open https://your-domain/setup straight away and set the owner email and password — until an owner exists, anyone who can reach the URL can claim the instance. Then create your account at /accounts and sign in with a Mastodon-compatible client using your domain.

Everything Hollo Does, On Your Own Server

Hollo runs in full here: an ActivityPub server for one person, on your domain, with a database and media storage you own.

Your Own Fediverse Identity
Get a handle like @you@your-domain that people on Mastodon, Misskey and other ActivityPub servers can follow.
Mastodon-Compatible Clients
Hollo implements Mastodon-compatible APIs, so you sign in with an existing Mastodon client and do not need a Hollo-specific app.
Built For One Person
Upstream describes Hollo as a simple, single-user tool: a personal instance stripped down to the essentials rather than a multi-user community server.
Media Served From Your Domain
Uploads, avatars and custom emoji are served from the same domain under /assets/, so there is no second hostname to set up.
Setup And Accounts Pages
A web dashboard covers first-run setup, accounts, custom emoji, federation, thumbnail cleanup and authentication.
Private PostgreSQL Included
PostgreSQL 17 runs as a sidecar reachable only inside the install's private network, with no published host port.

Everything You Need To Run Your Fediverse Account 24/7

Managed hosting for Hollo, so the parts that keep your account online are not your problem.

Hollo 0.9.22 deployed instantly
Upstream image pinned by digest
Secret key and database credentials generated
Upload limit raised to 150 MB
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Hollo

Run your own fediverse handle
Use your own domain for an account that people on Mastodon and Misskey can follow.
Post from the client you like
Connect Phanpy, Elk, Ivory or another Mastodon-compatible client instead of learning a new app.
Own your posts and media
Keep posts, followers and uploaded media in PostgreSQL and on volumes you back up yourself.
Stay small and simple
Skip multi-user moderation and run a single-user server with only the settings you need.

Hollo Screenshots

Hollo dashboard Accounts page with a New account button and an account card showing its handle, bio, Edit, Migrate and Delete actions

Hollo vs Alternatives

Mastodon: Upstream calls Hollo your personal Mastodon instance, stripped down to the essentials. It is single-user and headless, built for one account that you drive from a Mastodon-compatible client.
GoToSocial: GoToSocial has its own xCloud page. Hollo is the choice here when you want one account behind a Mastodon-compatible API and a client of your choice.
Misskey: Misskey has its own xCloud page. Hollo interoperates with Misskey over ActivityPub as a minimal, single-user server.
Bluesky PDS: Bluesky PDS has its own xCloud page. Hollo joins the ActivityPub fediverse, where people on Mastodon, Misskey and other servers can follow your account.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Hollo hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Hollo sits alongside other social and publishing apps.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Hollo itself is licensed by Hollo's maintainers under AGPL-3.0.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Hollo on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Fediverse Account?

Hollo on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Can you self-host Hollo with Docker?

Yes. For Hollo Docker hosting, the template runs the upstream ghcr.io/fedify-dev/hollo 0.9.22 image and a PostgreSQL 17 sidecar, both pinned by digest. Hollo listens on container port 3000 behind the xCloud proxy, and the database publishes no port. Migrations run before it starts listening.

Is Hollo free and open source?

Hollo is open source under AGPL-3.0, so the server has no licence fee. xCloud bills for the dedicated Cloud VPS and the deployment. The Mastodon-compatible client you choose is separate and its price, if any, is set by its maker.

How much RAM does Hollo need?

The manifest asks for 1024 MB of RAM, one CPU core and 10 GB of disk for Hollo plus PostgreSQL. Hollo buffers each uploaded file in memory, so large videos raise peak use. The 6 GB plan on this page leaves generous headroom for that and for growing media.

How do I set up the Hollo owner account?

Wait a minute or two for first boot, then open /setup on your domain right away. The first visitor to submit that page sets the owner email and password, so until you do, anyone who finds the URL could claim the instance. Then create your account at /accounts.

Which apps can I use with Hollo?

Hollo has no timeline of its own, so sign in with a Mastodon-compatible client using your domain. The template README names Phanpy, Elk and Ivory as examples. The web pages cover setup, accounts and administration only, not reading or posting.

Can I change the Hollo domain later?

No. The host in your handle, @you@your-domain, is taken from the request host when the account is created and cannot be changed afterwards. Choose the final domain before finishing setup, and keep STORAGE_URL_BASE at your domain's /assets/ address.

How do I back up Hollo?

Back up hollo_db, which holds accounts, posts, follows and the owner credential, and hollo_data, which holds uploaded media, avatars, custom emoji and cached remote media, together. Keep the generated secret key and database password with the copy. Test a restore.

Backups in xCloud

How do I upgrade Hollo?

Version 0.9.22 and the PostgreSQL image are fixed by digest, so a catalog update reaches new installs only. Back up both volumes, read the upstream release notes, and then move to a newer template version. Afterwards check the owner login, a post, and that federation still works.

Can I protect Hollo with Basic Auth?

Not on the whole site. Profiles, public posts, /assets/ media and the federation endpoints are public by design, because other servers cannot authenticate. A gate in front of everything stops federation. Most of the API and admin pages already require the owner login or an OAuth token.

Can I run Hollo in the cloud on xCloud?

Yes. Hollo cloud use gives the server and its database a dedicated Cloud VPS with a public domain and certificate, which federation needs in order to reach you. Another provider's server can be connected as self-managed and run this same template.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.