[How to] Fix database errors on a clean install

[Radu Ursache]

Due to the original developer not being interested in fixing this glaring issue (or even keeping the docker image updated), some data must be inserted into the PostgreSQL database if you're doing a clean install.

The install order should be:

1. Install PostgreSQL
2. Add the data below into the database
3. Start the bird.makeup image

Add these rows in their respective tables using pgAdmin or your prefered choice of CLI/UI interface:

followers table:

id	followings	acct	host	inboxroute	sharedinboxroute	actorid	postingerrorcount
1	{1}	USER	INSTANCE	/users/USER/inbox	/inbox	https://INSTANCE/users/USER	0

twitter_users table:

id	acct	lasttweetpostedid	lastsync	fetchingerrorcount	twitteruserid	fediverseaccount
1	npr	1646138106595139584	2023-07-21 14:54:07.16	0	5392522	NULL

where
USER = your mastodon username (eg. myusername)
INSTANCE = your mastodon instance (eg. mastodon.social)

More details available here and here

Here is an example of a docker cli run command to start the bird.makeup instance:

docker run -d \
  --name birdmakeup \
  --restart always \
  -p 5992:80 \
  -p 5993:443 \
  -e TZ=Europe/Bucharest \
  -e Instance:Domain="twitter.domain.tld" \
  -e Instance:Name="Twitter Proxy" \
  -e Instance:AdminEmail="[e-mail]" \
  -e Instance:ParallelTwitterRequests=50 \
  -e Instance:ParallelFediverseRequests=20 \
  -e Db:Type=postgres \
  -e Db:Host=IP:PORT \
  -e Db:Name=birdmakeup \
  -e Db:User=birdmakeup \
  -e Db:Password=birdmakeup \
  -e DOTNET_HOSTBUILDER__RELOADCONFIGONCHANGE=false \
  ghcr.io/rursache/bird.makeup:latest

After these changes your instance should be up and running correctly.

Thanks to Eric Pierce for helping me and others get this mess up and running!