Practical Examples
Learn through real-world scenarios and step-by-step tutorials. These examples demonstrate practical applications of the ActivityPub MCP Server.
🚀 Quick Start Examples
Discover a Popular Actor
Learn about a well-known fediverse personality:
Ask Claude:
"Can you discover information about @gargron@mastodon.social?" What you'll learn:
- Profile information and bio
- Follower and following counts
- Recent post activity
- Instance details
Explore an Instance
Get comprehensive information about a fediverse instance:
Ask Claude:
"What can you tell me about the fosstodon.org instance?" What you'll discover:
- Community focus and rules
- Software version and features
- User statistics
- Federation status
🔍 Research Scenarios
Scenario 1: Finding Climate Science Communities
You want to find active climate science discussions and researchers on the fediverse.
Step 1: Use the Exploration Prompt
Ask Claude:
"Use the explore-fediverse prompt with interests 'climate science, environmental research, sustainability' and instance type 'mastodon'" Expected Result:
Personalized recommendations for instances, actors, and hashtags related to climate science.
Step 2: Investigate Recommended Instances
Follow up with:
"Can you get detailed information about scholar.social and climatejustice.social?" Expected Result:
Detailed comparison of academic vs. activist climate communities.
Step 3: Find Key Researchers
Search for content:
"Search for 'climate research' on scholar.social and show me the most active accounts" Expected Result:
List of active climate researchers and their recent contributions.
Scenario 2: Comparing Tech Communities
You want to understand the differences between various tech-focused fediverse instances.
Step 1: Use the Comparison Prompt
Ask Claude:
"Use the compare-instances prompt to compare 'fosstodon.org, hachyderm.io, mas.to' with criteria 'community size, technical focus, moderation style'" Expected Result:
Detailed comparison highlighting the unique characteristics of each tech community.
Step 2: Analyze Community Leaders
Discover influential members:
"Who are some influential tech leaders on fosstodon.org? Can you discover a few popular accounts?" Expected Result:
Profiles of key community members and their areas of expertise.
Step 3: Content Analysis
Examine recent discussions:
"What are the trending topics on hachyderm.io? Search for recent popular posts." Expected Result:
Current trending topics and active discussions in the community.
📊 Data Analysis Examples
Network Analysis: Following Patterns
Analyze the network connections of a prominent fediverse actor:
1. Get Actor Information
"Discover information about @dansup@pixelfed.social" 2. Analyze Following Network
"Who does @dansup@pixelfed.social follow? Can you categorize them by type?" 3. Examine Followers
"Show me some of @dansup@pixelfed.social's followers and their profiles" 4. Cross-Reference Networks
"Are there common connections between @dansup@pixelfed.social and @gargron@mastodon.social?" Insights You Can Gain:
- Understanding of fediverse developer networks
- Identification of key influencers in different communities
- Cross-platform relationship patterns
- Community overlap and bridges
Instance Health Assessment
Evaluate the health and activity of different instances:
1. Get Instance Statistics
"Compare the instance information for mastodon.social, mas.to, and mstdn.social" 2. Check Activity Levels
"Show me the public timeline from each of these instances to compare activity" 3. Analyze Content Diversity
"Search for different topics on each instance to see content diversity" 4. Federation Assessment
"Check if these instances are federating properly by looking at cross-instance interactions" Health Indicators:
- User growth and retention patterns
- Content posting frequency and diversity
- Cross-instance interaction levels
- Community engagement metrics
🎯 Specialized Use Cases
Academic Research
Using the fediverse for academic research and collaboration:
Finding Research Collaborators
Use discover-content prompt: "machine learning, computer vision, academic research"
Explore scholar.social and other academic instances
Analyze researcher networks and collaboration patterns
Identify active research discussions and conferences
Community Management
Understanding and managing fediverse communities:
Community Health Monitoring
Regular instance health checks using health-check tool
Monitor community activity and engagement patterns
Track cross-instance relationships and federation status
Identify emerging trends and discussion topics
Content Discovery
Finding interesting content and creators across platforms:
Multi-Platform Content Curation
Search across Mastodon, Pixelfed, and PeerTube instances
Identify cross-platform creators and their content
Analyze content engagement and reach patterns
Track trending topics and viral content propagation
🛠️ Advanced Techniques
Batch Analysis with Performance Monitoring
Efficiently analyze multiple instances while monitoring performance:
// Example conversation flow
1. "Use the health-check tool with metrics enabled"
2. "Get instance info for: mastodon.social, fosstodon.org, hachyderm.io"
3. "Compare their user counts and activity levels"
4. "Check performance metrics again to see resource usage"Cross-Instance Content Tracking
Track how content spreads across different instances:
// Example tracking workflow
1. "Search for a specific hashtag on multiple instances"
2. "Identify the original post and its author"
3. "Track reposts and mentions across instances"
4. "Analyze the propagation pattern and timing"💡 Tips for Success
🎯 Be Specific
Use specific actor handles (@user@domain.com) and instance domains for best results.
⏱️ Be Patient
Some queries may take time, especially when fetching data from distant or slow instances.
🔄 Use Prompts
Leverage the built-in prompts (explore-fediverse, compare-instances, discover-content) for structured exploration.
📊 Monitor Performance
Use the health-check tool to monitor server performance and rate limiting.