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.