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Fedra User Manual

Fedra is a native, keyboard-first Mastodon client for Windows.

System Requirements

Windows 10 or 11

Core Features

  • Native Windows UI with screen-reader-friendly controls and live announcements.
  • Multi-account support, including account switching while preserving per-account timelines.
  • Timelines: Home, Notifications, Local, Federated, Direct Messages, Bookmarks, Favorites, User, Hashtag, Thread, and Search timelines.
  • Real-time streaming for Home, Notifications, Local, Federated, and Direct timelines.
  • Rich post creation and editing with:
    • Visibility (Public, Unlisted, Followers only, Direct)
    • Content warnings
    • Content type (Default, plain text, markdown, HTML)
    • Optional post language (ISO code)
    • Media attachments with descriptions
    • Poll creation and voting
  • Relationship and discovery tools:
    • Open profile/timeline from posts, mentions, and search
    • Follow/unfollow hashtags
    • View users who boosted/favorited posts
    • Search for accounts, hashtags, and posts
  • Tray integration and a global hotkey to show/hide the main window.
  • Optional update checks at startup plus manual update checks.

Window Visibility and Tray

  • Fedra runs with a tray icon menu:
    • Show/Hide
    • Exit
  • A global hotkey toggles the main window (default: Ctrl+Alt+F).
  • You can customize the global hotkey in Options -> General -> Customize Window Hotkey....

Options

Open options with Ctrl+,.

General Tab

  • Use enter to send posts
  • Always prompt to open links
  • Use quick action keys in timelines
  • Check for updates on startup
  • Notifications mode:
    • Classic Windows notifications
    • Sound only
    • Disabled
  • Customize Window Hotkey... (Ctrl/Alt/Shift/Win modifiers + custom key)

Timeline Tab

  • Autoload posts:
    • Never
    • When reaching the end
    • When navigating past the end
  • Posts to fetch when loading more (1 to 40)
  • Content warning display:
    • Show inline
    • Don't show
    • CW only
  • Display name emoji filtering:
    • None
    • Unicode emojis
    • Instance emojis
    • All
  • Show oldest timeline entries first
  • Always preserve thread order
  • Customize Default Timelines...
    • Home and Notifications are always opened
    • Additional startup timelines are configurable
  • Post language:
    • Per-post ISO language code can be set in compose dialogs

Templates Tab

Customize how posts appear in each timeline using Jinja2-style templates.

  • Select a timeline from the dropdown (or Global Default to set the fallback used by all timelines without their own override).
  • Edit the Window title template, Post template, Boost template, and Quote template text fields.
  • Click Reset to default to restore the selected timeline's templates to the global default (or restore the global default to the built-in default).

Templates are rendered per-entry each time a timeline is displayed. If a template contains a syntax error, the entry falls back to author: content.

Available Variables

Variable Value
{{ author }} Display name (respects emoji filtering setting)
{{ username }} @acct handle
{{ content }} Post text, HTML-stripped (respects content warning display setting)
{{ content_warning }} Spoiler text, or empty if none
{{ relative_time }} Relative timestamp, e.g. 2 hours ago
{{ absolute_time }} Absolute local timestamp, e.g. Feb 17, 2026 at 2:30 PM
{{ visibility }} Public, Unlisted, Followers only, or Direct
{{ reply_count }} e.g. 3 replies
{{ boost_count }} e.g. 1 boost
{{ favorite_count }} e.g. 5 favorites
{{ client }} Posting app name, or empty if unknown
{{ media }} Media attachment summary, or empty if none
{{ poll }} Poll summary, or empty if none
{{ booster }} Display name of the person who boosted (boost template only; empty for regular posts)
{{ booster_username }} @acct handle of the booster (boost template only)
{{ quote_author }} Display name of the quoted post's author (quote/boost templates)
{{ quote_username }} @acct handle of the quoted post's author (quote/boost templates)
{{ quote_content }} Text content of the quoted post (quote/boost templates)
{{ quote_media }} Media summary of the quoted post (quote/boost templates)
{{ quote_poll }} Poll summary of the quoted post (quote/boost templates)
{{ app }} The application name (window title template only)
{{ timeline }} The active timeline name (window title template only)
{{ account }} Your @acct handle (window title template only)

Conditionals

You can use {% if %} blocks to show text only when a variable is non-empty:

{% if client %}, via {{ client }}{% endif %}

Filters Tab

Hide post types per timeline. Select a timeline from the dropdown, then check the types you want to hide:

  • Original posts (not replies or boosts)
  • Replies to others
  • Replies to me
  • Threads (self-replies)
  • Boosts
  • Quote posts
  • Posts with media
  • Posts without media
  • Your posts
  • Your replies

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global / App

  • Ctrl+Alt+F: Show/hide main window (default global hotkey; customizable)
  • F1: Open help

Navigation

  • Left Arrow: Previous timeline
  • Right Arrow: Next timeline
  • Ctrl+1..Ctrl+9: Switch to timeline index 1-9
  • Ctrl+W: Close current timeline (when Quick Action Keys are off)
  • Delete (in Timelines list): Close current timeline
  • Ctrl+[: Previous account
  • Ctrl+]: Next account
  • Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow: Move current timeline left (in Timelines list)
  • Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow: Move current timeline right (in Timelines list)
  • Shift+Left Arrow: Move current timeline left (in Posts list)
  • Shift+Right Arrow: Move current timeline right (in Posts list)

Timelines / Discovery

  • Ctrl+T: Open selected user's timeline
  • Ctrl+U: Open user by handle
  • Ctrl+/: Search
  • Ctrl+Shift+I: Open an instance's local timeline by domain
  • Ctrl+L: Open Local timeline
  • Ctrl+D: Open Direct Messages timeline
  • Ctrl+Shift+M: Open Mentions timeline
  • Ctrl+.: Load more posts
  • F5: Refresh current timeline
  • Ctrl+F: Find in current timeline
  • F3: Find next occurrence
  • Shift+F3: Find previous occurrence

Post Actions

  • Ctrl+N: New post
  • Ctrl+R: Reply to all mentioned users
  • Ctrl+Shift+R: Reply to author only
  • Ctrl+Q: Quote selected post
  • Enter: Open links in selected post
  • Shift+Enter: View post details in Fedra
  • Alt+Enter: Open thread / context (or open selected search result)
  • Ctrl+I: Play media attached to selected post
  • Ctrl+P: View profile
  • Alt+F: Follow/unfollow the post's author
  • Ctrl+M: View mentions
  • Ctrl+H: View hashtags
  • Ctrl+Shift+O: Open selected post in browser
  • Ctrl+Shift+C: Copy selected post text
  • Ctrl+E: Edit selected post
  • Delete (in Posts list): Delete selected post
  • Ctrl+V: Vote in poll
  • Ctrl+Shift+F: Favorite/unfavorite
  • Ctrl+Shift+K: Bookmark/unbookmark
  • Ctrl+Shift+B: Boost/unboost
  • Ctrl+X: Toggle CW expansion (CW-only mode)

Account / Settings

  • Ctrl+Alt+A: Manage accounts
  • Ctrl+Shift+E: Edit current profile
  • Ctrl+,: Open options
  • Options menu → Manage Filters...: View, add, edit, or delete server-side content filters
  • Options menu → Manage Lists...: Create and manage Mastodon lists; open a list timeline via Timelines → Open List...

Quick Action Keys Mode

  • Toggle with Ctrl+Shift+Q
  • Single-key actions while enabled:
    • Backspace: Close current timeline
    • c: New post
    • r: Reply to all
    • Ctrl+R: Reply to author
    • q: Quote post
    • f: Favorite/unfavorite
    • k: Bookmark/unbookmark
    • b: Boost/unboost
    • e: Edit post
    • i: Play media
    • t: User timeline
    • u: Open user by handle
    • Shift+I: Open instance timeline by domain
    • m: Mentions
    • p: Profile
    • h: Hashtags
    • o: Open in browser
    • v: Vote
    • x: Toggle CW expansion (CW-only mode)
    • .: Load more
    • /: Search
    • 1..9: Switch timeline index

Media Player

Press Ctrl+I (or I in Quick Action Keys mode) on a post with media attachments to open the media player. If the post has multiple attachments, a dialog lets you choose which one to play.

Media Player Keys

Key Action
Space Play / Pause
Left Arrow Seek backward 10 seconds
Right Arrow Seek forward 10 seconds
Up Arrow Volume up
Down Arrow Volume down
D Download media file
Escape Close media player

Search

  • Use Ctrl+/ to open Search.
  • Search types:
    • All
    • Accounts
    • Hashtags
    • Posts
  • Results open in a dedicated timeline (Search: <query>) and support paging.

Configuration File

  • Installed build: %APPDATA%\Fedra\config.json
  • Portable/uninstalled run: config.json next to the executable

Changelog

Version 0.4.0

  • Added an actions button to the follower/following dialogs, working the exact same way as it does in the view profile dialog.
  • Find in timeline now respects your timeline sort direction.
  • Fixed a bug where going to the bottom of a thread, hitting home, and then performing an action would perform that action on the post you were previously on, not the newly focused one.
  • Fixed Fedra crashing when exiting from the system tray.
  • Fixed hashtags showing in the mentions dialog as @tags@instance.domain.
  • Fixed modal dialogs not stacking how you'd expect, leading to you sometimes ending up with a bunch of ghost dialogs that you'd only discover when hiding Fedra's window.
  • Fixed quote posts not rendering properly in the webview.
  • Fixed streaming not working on instances such as mastodon.social.
  • Fixed the compose dialog closing and taking your post content with it on error.
  • Fixed your list position being randomly moved up a few items sometimes.
  • Follower relationships are now shown in the follower/following dialogs.
  • It is now possible to mark media as sensitive.
  • It is now possible to mute/unmute hashtags directly in Fedra.
  • Made Fedra expand quote posts much more reliably.
  • Opening a thread will now put you on the post you selected from that thread, not the first post.
  • Sensitive media in posts is now properly handled by Fedra.
  • Swapped the open link and view thread hotkeys, so now enter opens links in posts and alt+enter opens the thread.
  • Switched to a fully custom list control, backed by AccessKit, to prevent screen readers from rereading the focused item every minute among other things.
  • The followers/following dialogs now properly fetch users from remote instances, and give you progress as they load the lists.
  • The media player dialog will now be properly focused after downloading media.
  • Various little UI tweaks, for example adding accelerators where there previously were none.

Version 0.3.1

  • Added a mentions timeline.
  • Added an option to open the local timeline for a specific instence.
  • Added the ability to play back and download media in posts!
  • Fixed quick keys not disabling properly until you changed your list position.
  • You will no longer get a select user dialog with two of the same entry for posts where a user boosts their own post.
  • Your last-viewed post is now automatically restored upon relaunch if it is successfully fetched.

Version 0.3.0

  • Added an option to hide the totals from polls, and switched to preset amounts of time for poll durations.
  • Added an option to restore previously opened timelines on startup.
  • Added an option to show link previews in the timeline.
  • Added many more supported extensions to the add media dialog.
  • Added support for managing and opening list timelines.
  • Added support for reading and writing quote posts.
  • Added a new timeline filters tab to the options dialog, allowing you to filter your timelines on the client side.
  • Added the ability to schedule posts.
  • Added the {{ booster_username }} template variable for consistent @username display.
  • Added a thread mode check box to the new post dialog. When checked, every time you hit post, you'll get the dialog again, and be replying to your previous post.
  • Fedra will now respect the account-wide default post visibility in the new post dialog.
  • Fixed message duplication in the direct messages timeline.
  • Fixed the description fields in the add media dialog not showing up.
  • Fixed the post context menu not showing hotkeys and post-specific actions such as edit or delete.
  • Fixed the post context menu showing incorrect labels for actions on boosted/favorited posts.
  • It is now possible to interact with follower requests.
  • It is now possible to reorder your timelines with ctrl+shift+left/right arrow.
  • It is now possible to search your timelines with ctrl+f and f3/shift+f3.
  • List timelines now stream.
  • Opening the select user dialog is now much more responsive.
  • Pinned posts are now shown at the top of user timelines.
  • Removed the buggy global template system for now. There are plans to rewrite it in a much more stable way in the future.
  • The default templates now hide the reply/boost/favorite counts if they're zero.
  • The post details webview will now come up much faster and smoother.
  • The timeline switching hotkeys now work in the list of timelines as well as the timeline list.
  • You can now pin/unpin posts.

Version 0.2.0

  • Added a webview-based dialog for viewing the raw contents of a post.
  • Added a new option, checked by default, to remove tracking parameters from URLs.
  • Added an option to check for development builds upon update, not new stable releases.
  • Added timeline templates, allowing you to customize everything about how Fedra's timeline entries are displayed. The relative/absolute time check box has also been removed from the options dialog, and is now settable per-template. See the templates section of the readme for more details.
  • Filters are now respected in the timeline, and you can manage them in a super basic sense. This capability will be expanded in a future version.
  • Fixed attaching media, so more than teeny tiny files work now.
  • Fixed the handling of JSON responses from certain servers.
  • Hopefully fixed a rare but annoying crash in the new post dialog.
  • It is now possible to type past the character limit once again, but you will get a warning sound when you do so.
  • Post statistics are now properly pluralized, so you will now hear "1 reply" instead of "1 replies".
  • pressing shift+f10 or the context menu key on a post will now bring up a menu of post actions.
  • Replies are properly grouped in threads now.
  • The mentions dialog will now include users who haven't fedrated with your instance yet.
  • The open user dialog will now be automatically prepopulated with all of the usernames that appear in your current timeline.
  • When closing a timeline, the name of the newly focused one will now be spoken before the timeline contents, as intended.

Version 0.1.1

  • Added the ability for you to set the language of your posts!
  • API errors are now included in error output in a brief form.
  • Fixed Delete not closing timelines when the list had keyboard focus.
  • Improved default configuration values for new Fedra installs.
  • Reduced unnecessary screen reader output when entering the compose dialog.
  • The compose dialog now enforces the instance's character limit.
  • The focused timeline name is now spoken when using Ctrl+1-9, matching left/right arrow behavior.
  • The reply dialog title is now announced with the correct character count on first focus.
  • There is now only one key to back out of a timeline and close it, Ctrl+W normally or backspace in quick keys mode.
  • Updated the README and performed internal code cleanup.
  • When a timeline is closed, the newly focused timeline is now announced.

Version 0.1.0

  • Initial release of the Fedra desktop Mastodon client, currently for Windows only.