Practical Examples

Real-world scenarios and use cases for the ActivityPub MCP Server. These examples show complete workflows with step-by-step instructions and expected outputs.

🔍 Example 1: Discovering Technology Communities

Scenario

You want to find active technology communities in the fediverse and see what topics are being discussed.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Find Technology-Focused Instances

discover-instances technology
Expected Output:
{`{
  "instances": [
    {
      "domain": "fosstodon.org",
      "name": "Fosstodon",
      "description": "A community for anyone interested in technology",
      "users": 15420,
      "posts": 892341
    },
    {
      "domain": "hachyderm.io",
      "name": "Hachyderm",
      "description": "A safe space for tech workers and enthusiasts",
      "users": 8932,
      "posts": 445123
    }
  ]
}`}

Step 2: Get Detailed Instance Information

get-instance-info fosstodon.org
Expected Output:
{`{
  "domain": "fosstodon.org",
  "title": "Fosstodon",
  "description": "Fosstodon is an English speaking Mastodon instance...",
  "version": "4.2.1",
  "languages": ["en"],
  "rules": [
    "Be respectful",
    "No harassment or hate speech",
    "Keep content appropriate"
  ],
  "stats": {
    "user_count": 15420,
    "status_count": 892341,
    "domain_count": 8932
  }
}`}

Step 3: Find Popular Actors

discover-actor @kev@fosstodon.org
Expected Output:
{`{
  "id": "https://fosstodon.org/users/kev",
  "type": "Person",
  "preferredUsername": "kev",
  "name": "Kev Quirk",
  "summary": "Founder of Fosstodon. Privacy advocate...",
  "url": "https://fosstodon.org/@kev",
  "followers": 4521,
  "following": 892,
  "posts": 3421
}`}

Step 4: Check Recent Activity

fetch-timeline https://fosstodon.org/users/kev
Expected Output:
{`{
  "posts": [
    {
      "id": "https://fosstodon.org/users/kev/statuses/111234567",
      "content": "Just published a new blog post about privacy...",
      "published": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "replies": 12,
      "boosts": 45,
      "likes": 89
    }
  ]
}`}

👥 Example 2: Following a Conversation Thread

Scenario

You found an interesting post and want to follow the entire conversation thread to understand the discussion.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Get the Original Post

fetch-post https://mastodon.social/@gargron/111234567890

This retrieves the original post with its content, metadata, and reply information.

Step 2: Fetch Reply Thread

fetch-replies https://mastodon.social/@gargron/111234567890

Gets all replies to the post, showing the conversation flow.

Step 3: Explore Participants

discover-actor @participant@instance.social

Learn more about active participants in the conversation.

🌐 Example 3: Cross-Instance Content Discovery

Scenario

You want to discover content about a specific topic across multiple fediverse instances.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Find Relevant Instances

discover-instances "climate change"

Step 2: Search Each Instance

search-content "renewable energy" climate.social

Step 3: Follow Interesting Actors

discover-actor @scientist@climate.social

Step 4: Monitor Their Activity

fetch-timeline https://climate.social/users/scientist

🤖 Example 4: Using with Claude Desktop

Natural Language Queries

Examples of how to ask Claude to use the MCP tools naturally:

Query:

"Help me find interesting open source projects being discussed on Mastodon. Show me what people are saying about them."

Claude's Approach:

  1. Use discover-instances to find tech-focused instances
  2. Use get-instance-info to learn about each instance
  3. Use discover-actor to find developers and maintainers
  4. Use fetch-timeline to see recent discussions
  5. Summarize findings and highlight interesting projects

Query:

"I'm interested in privacy and security topics. Can you find some experts in the fediverse and show me their recent thoughts?"

Claude's Approach:

  1. Search for privacy/security focused instances
  2. Identify prominent actors in those communities
  3. Fetch their recent posts and analyze themes
  4. Provide a summary of current privacy/security discussions

📊 Example 5: Instance Analysis and Comparison

Scenario

You want to compare different instances to decide which community might be the best fit for your interests.

Comparison Workflow

Step 1: Gather Instance Data

# Compare multiple instances
get-instance-info mastodon.social
get-instance-info fosstodon.org  
get-instance-info hachyderm.io

Step 2: Analyze Community Activity

# Check popular actors on each instance
discover-actor @admin@mastodon.social
discover-actor @kev@fosstodon.org
discover-actor @admin@hachyderm.io

Step 3: Sample Content

# Get recent posts to understand community tone
fetch-timeline https://mastodon.social/users/admin
fetch-timeline https://fosstodon.org/users/kev
fetch-timeline https://hachyderm.io/users/admin

🔗 Next Steps

← Back to Basic Usage

Review the fundamental concepts and tools.

Complete Tool Reference

Detailed documentation for all available tools.

Troubleshooting Guide

Solutions for common issues and problems.