--- /dev/null
+Administration guide
+=================
+
+So, you have a working Mastodon instance... now what?
+
+## Administration web interface
+
+A user that is designated as `admin = TRUE` in the database is able to access a suite of administration tools:
+
+* View, edit, silence, or suspend users - https://yourmastodon.instance/admin/accounts
+* View PubSubHubbub subscriptions - https://yourmastodon.instance/admin/pubsubhubbub
+* View domain blocks - https://yourmastodon.instance/admin/domain_blocks
+* Sidekiq dashboard - https://yourmastodon.instance/sidekiq
+* PGHero dashboard for PostgreSQL - https://yourmastodon.instance/pghero
+* Edit site settings - https://yourmastodon.instance/admin/settings
+
+## Site settings
+
+Your site settings are stored in the `settings` database table, and editable through the admin interface at https://yourmastodon.instance/admin/settings.
+
+You are able to set the following settings:
+
+- Contact username
+- Contact email
+- Site description
+- Site extended description
+
+You may wish to use the extended description (shown at https://yourmastodon.instance/about/more ) to display content guidelines or a user agreement (see https://mastodon.social/about/more for an example).
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+Heroku guide
+============
+
+[](https://heroku.com/deploy)
+
+Mastodon can theoretically run indefinitely on a free [Heroku](https://heroku.com) app. It should be noted this has limited testing and could have unpredictable results.
+
+1. Click the above button.
+2. Fill in the options requested.
+ * You can use a .herokuapp.com domain, which will be simple to set up, or you can use a custom domain. If you want a custom domain and HTTPS, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan (to use Heroku's SSL features), or set up [CloudFlare](https://cloudflare.com) who offer free "Flexible SSL" (note: CloudFlare have some undefined limits on WebSockets. So far, no one has reported hitting concurrent connection limits).
+ * You will want Amazon S3 for file storage. The only exception is for development purposes, where you may not care if files are not saaved. Follow a guide online for creating a free Amazon S3 bucket and Access Key, then enter the details.
+ * If you want your Mastodon to be able to send emails, configure SMTP settings here (or later). Consider using [Mailgun](https://mailgun.com) or similar, who offer free plans that should suit your interests.
+3. Deploy! The app should be set up, with a working web interface and database. You can change settings and manage versions from the Heroku dashboard.
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--- /dev/null
+Vagrant guide
+=============
+
+A quick way to get a development environment up and running is with Vagrant. You will need recent versions of [Vagrant](https://www.vagrantup.com/) and [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/) installed.
+
+## Basic setup
+
+Install the latest versions of Vagrant and VirtualBox for your operating systems, and then run:
+
+ vagrant plugin install vagrant-hostsupdater
+
+This is optional, but will update your 'hosts' file when you start the virtual machine, allowing you to access the site at http://mastodon.dev (instead of http://localhost:3000).
+
+To create and provision a new virtual machine for Mastodon development:
+
+ git clone git@github.com:tootsuite/mastodon.git
+ cd mastodon
+ vagrant up
+
+Running `vagrant up` for the first time will run provisioning, which will:
+
+- Download the Ubuntu 14.04 base image, if there isn't already a copy on your machine
+- Create a new VirtualBox virtual machine from that image
+- Run the provisioning script (located inside the Vagrantfile), which installs the system packages, Ruby gems, and JS modules required for Mastodon
+- Run the startup script
+
+## Starting the server
+
+The Vagrant box will automatically start after provisioning. It can be started in future with `vagrant up` from the mastodon directory.
+
+Once the Ubuntu virtual machine has booted, it will run the startup script, which loads the environment variables from `.env.vagrant` and then runs `rails s -d -b 0.0.0.0`. This will start a Rails server. You can then access your development site at http://mastodon.dev (or at http://localhost:3000 if you haven't installed vagrants-hostupdater).
+
+To stop the server, simply run `vagrant halt`.
+
+## Using the server
+
+You should now have a working Mastodon instance, although it will not federate, as it is not publicly accessible. Should you need temporary federation for development and testing, see the Ngrok information in the [Development Guide](Development-guide.md).
+
+By default, your instance's ActionMailer will use "Letter Opener Web" for email. This means that any email that would normally be sent, will instead be stored, and accessible at http://mastodon.dev/letter_opener - you can use this to verify a registered user account.
+
+## Making changes/developing
+
+You are able to set environment variables, which are used for Mastodon configuration, by editing the `.env.vagrant` file. Any changes you make will take effect after a Vagrant restart.
+
+Vagrant has mounted your mastodon folder inside the virtual machine. This means that any change to the files in the folder(e.g. the Rails controllers or the React components in /app) should immediately take effect on the live server. This allows you to make and test changes, and create new commits, without ever needing to access the virtual machine.
+
+Should you need to access the virtual machine (for example, to manually restart the Rails process without restarting the box), run `vagrant ssh` from the mastodon folder. You will now be logged in as the `vagrant` user on the VirtualBox Ubuntu VM. You will want to `cd /vagrant` to see the app folder.
+
+## Debugging
+
+You can find the Rails server logs in in the `log` folder, which will often have the information you need.
+
+If your Mastodon instance or Vagrant box are really not behaving, you can re-run the provisioning process. Stop the box with `vagrant halt`, and then run `vagrant destroy` - this will delete the virtual machine. You may then run `vagrant up` to create a new box, and re-run provisioning.
+
+## Testing
+
+To run the `rspec` tests and `rubocop` style checker, you may either:
+
+* Install the relevant gems locally, or
+* SSH into the virtual machine, `cd /vagrant`, and then run the commands
+
+## Support/help
+
+If you are confused, or having any issues with the above, the Mastodon IRC channel ( irc.freenode.net #mastodon ) is a good place to find assistance.
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