In a recent announcement, Pixelfed creator Daniel Supernault (@dansup), shared exciting news for Pixelfed instance administrators. A forthcoming feature is set to empower admins by allowing the storage of imported media from Instagram directly on S3 Storage.
The development is part of a pull request (PR) on GitHub, where Supernault detailed the functionality of the feature. Admins will soon have the ability to opt-in to store Instagram-imported media on S3 filesystem driver. This marks a significant enhancement for Pixelfed instances, providing a seamless integration for media management.
Key Configuration Details:
To enable or disable the feature, admins can set PF_IMPORT_IG_CLOUD_STORAGE to true or false. Notably, this can only be activated if Cloud Storage (PF_ENABLE_CLOUD) is enabled. However, admins have the flexibility to disable this feature and retain Instagram-imported media locally, even with Cloud Storage enabled.
Existing local media will be seamlessly migrated without requiring any action from admins. A cron job will automatically handle the migration of both existing and new Instagram media. While the process may take some time for instances with substantial media content, Pixelfed assures administrators that the system is designed to efficiently manage the transition.
Migration Process:
During the migration, Pixelfed has chosen to silently update media URLs to avoid sending unnecessary “Update” activities. This careful approach ensures a smooth experience for users, with local media URLs gracefully redirecting to their corresponding S3 URLs when appropriate.
Pixelfed’s commitment to user experience and efficient media management is evident in this upcoming feature. Admins can anticipate enhanced control over media storage, providing a more seamless and scalable solution for Pixelfed instances.
The Pixelfed community eagerly awaits the official release of this feature, anticipating its positive impact on the platform’s media management capabilities.