nitter/README.md

# Nitter (WIP)

A free and open source alternative Twitter front-end focused on privacy. \
Inspired by the [invidio.us](https://github.com/omarroth/invidious) project.

- No JavaScript or ads
- All requests go through the backend, client never talks to Twitter
- Prevents Twitter from tracking your IP or JavaScript fingerprint
- Unofficial API (no rate limits or developer account required)
- AGPLv3 licensed, no proprietary instances permitted
- Dark theme
- Lightweight (for [@nim_lang](https://twitter.com/nim_lang), 36KB vs 580KB from twitter.com)
- Native RSS feeds

## Todo (roughly in this order)

- Embeds
- More caching (waiting for [moigagoo/norm#19](https://github.com/moigagoo/norm/pull/19))
- Simple account system with customizable feed
- Json API endpoints
- Themes
- Nitter logo
- Emoji support (WIP, uses native font for now)

## Resources

The wiki contains a list of
[Nitter instances](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Instances) and
a list of [browser extensions](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Extensions)
maintained by the community.

## Why?

It's basically impossible to use Twitter without JavaScript enabled. If you try,
you're redirected to the legacy mobile version which is awful both functionally
and aesthetically. For privacy-minded folks, preventing JavaScript analytics and
potential IP-based tracking is important, but apart from using the legacy mobile
version and a VPN, it's impossible.

Using an instance of Nitter (hosted on a VPS for example), you can browse
Twitter without JavaScript while retaining your privacy. In addition to
respecting your privacy, Nitter is on average around 15 times lighter than
Twitter, and in some cases serves pages faster.

In the future a simple account system will be added that lets you follow Twitter
users, allowing you to have a clean chronological timeline without needing a
Twitter account.

## Screenshot

![nitter](/screenshot.png)

## Installation

To compile Nitter you need a Nim installation, see [nim-lang.org](https://nim-lang.org/install.html) for details. It is possible to install it system-wide or in the user directory you create below.

You also need to install `libsass` to compile the scss files. On Ubuntu and Debian, you can use `libsass-dev`.

```bash
# useradd -m nitter
# su nitter
$ git clone https://github.com/zedeus/nitter
$ cd nitter
$ nimble build -d:release -d:hostname="..."
$ nimble scss
$ mkdir ./tmp
```

Change `-d:hostname="..."` to your instance's domain, eg. `-d:hostname:"nitter.net"`.
Set your port and page title in `nitter.conf`, then run Nitter by executing `./nitter`.
You should run Nitter behind a reverse proxy such as
[Nginx](https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Nginx) or Apache for better security.

To build and run Nitter in Docker:
```bash
docker build -t nitter:latest --build-arg HOSTNAME=nitter.net .
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 nitter:latest
```

To run Nitter via systemd you can use this service file:

```bash
[Unit]
Description=Nitter (An alternative Twitter front-end)
After=syslog.target
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple

# set user and group
User=nitter
Group=nitter

# configure location
WorkingDirectory=/home/nitter/nitter
ExecStart=/home/nitter/nitter/nitter

Restart=always
RestartSec=15

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

Then enable and run the service:
`systemctl enable --now nitter.service`

## Contact

Feel free to join our Freenode IRC channel at #nitter, or our
[Matrix server](https://riot.im/app/#/room/#nitter:matrix.org).
You can email me at zedeus@pm.me if you wish to contact me personally.