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2025-04-25 09:28:59

Zappes

zappes@mastodon.online

I am interested in that #pixelfed thing, but unsure about it works in detail. Most pressing question before just trying it: Is there a federated authentication in the #fediverse?

The concrete point: Do I really need to have a separate account on some server or can that somehow be linked to my primary identity on Mastodon? I assume that this isn't possible, but I wanted to ask before making a far-reachingh decision.

2025-04-25 18:01:09

Jupiter Rowland

jupiter_rowland@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

@Zappes Generally: If you want to use something, anything in the Fediverse like a user with full-blown user rights, you know, like you have a local user account, you need a local user account.

So, yes, if you want to post images on Pixelfed, you need a separate Pixelfed account. If Pixelfed offers you to log into it with your Mastodon credentials, that's just a "smoke screen" to make that corner of the Fediverse feel easier to use for newbies and clueless users.

The closest thing to federated authentication in the Fediverse is OpenWebAuth magic single sign-on. It was created in 2018 or 2019 by @Mike Macgirvin ?️, also creator of the Facebook alternative Friendica and its own fork, the social network-cum-cloud storage-cum-CMS-cum-groupware server Hubzilla and inventor of nomadic identity.

It does not provide you with full-blown user rights on instances on which you don't have a user account, though. It works like this: You're logged into your home instance which supports OpenWebAuth in a standard Web browser. In the same browser, you open another instance that supports OpenWebAuth. That instance recognises your login, it recognises you as you, and it may grant you certain permissions. For example, one of your contacts may have set their profile to private, and only certain contacts of theirs are allowed to see it. You are allowed. So when you visit their profile on their home instance, you are recognised, and you are allowed to see the profile. Only one example.

However: OpenWebAuth is only fully implemented on Mike's own creations Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte. Fully implemented means that the instances of these recognise logins, and logins on these instances are recognised elsewhere. Friendica has only got a client-side implementation, i.e. Friendica logins are recognised on Hubzilla, (streams) and Forte.

Mastodon does not have OpenWebAuth in any shape or form, and it most likely never will. There is actually a pull request on GitHub for implementing client-side OpenWebAuth on Mastodon. It hasn't been touched in years, so it's safe to assume that it was silently rejected. Similarly, the attempt at having OpenWebAuth implemented client-side on Pixelfed has led to nothing.

#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #Fediverse #Mastodon #Pixelfed #Friendica #Hubzilla #Streams #(streams) #Forte #SingleSignOn #OpenWebAuth