Loops

Loops is an open-source, federated short-video social platform designed to let communities host and share short-form video content while connecting across the Fediverse. It provides a creator-focused experience without ads and includes APIs and deployment tooling for self-hosting.

Key Features

• ActivityPub-based federation, enabling instances to interact with other Fediverse services
• Short-form video upload, transcoding-ready workflows and playback optimized for mobile and web
• Web UI built with a Vue frontend and a PHP backend; server-side templates use Blade
• Official API surface and documentation for integrations and client apps
• Docker-friendly deployment artifacts and support for CDN/object storage to serve large media

Use Cases

• Run a community-owned short-video platform for niche communities or interest groups
• Provide creators a federated alternative to centralized short-video services without advertising
• Integrate with Fediverse tools and instances to expand reach across ActivityPub networks

Limitations and Considerations

• Video-heavy workloads require proper object storage and CDN configuration for performance and cost efficiency
• As an open beta project, some features or integrations may be incomplete or subject to change
• Instance administrators are responsible for moderation policies and handling federated content

Loops offers a federated, privacy-conscious alternative to mainstream short-video services, focused on community control and extensibility. It is suitable for teams and communities willing to operate the required media infrastructure and moderation responsibilities.