diff --git a/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/.env b/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/.env
index ffdaf1e..e6f3ffd 100644
--- a/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/.env
+++ b/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/.env
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 LOCAL_DOMAIN=merping.synth.download
 AUTHORIZED_FETCH=true
 
+# dragonflydb
+REDIS_URL=redis://dragonfly:6379/0
+CACHE_REDIS_URL=redis://dragonfly-cache:6380/0
+SIDEKIQ_REDIS_URL=redis://dragonfly-sidekiq:6381/0
+
 # max character/profile related limits
 MAX_TOOT_CHARS=100000
 MAX_BIO_CHARS=100000
diff --git a/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/compose.yaml b/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/compose.yaml
index 1e37337..b34a2d8 100644
--- a/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/compose.yaml
+++ b/phosphorus/srv/docker/mastodon/compose.yaml
@@ -16,10 +16,11 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "127.0.0.1:46098:3000"
     depends_on:
-      redis:
+      dragonfly:
         condition: service_healthy
     volumes:
       - ./public/system:/mastodon/public/system
+      - ./shared:/shared # this is just to allow seeing/copying emoji exports
 
   streaming:
     image: ghcr.io/melontini/mastodon-streaming:nightly
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "127.0.0.1:58834:4000"
     depends_on:
-      redis:
+      dragonfly:
         condition: service_healthy
 
   sidekiq:
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ services:
       - .env
     command: bundle exec sidekiq
     depends_on:
-      redis:
+      dragonfly:
         condition: service_healthy
     networks:
       - masto
@@ -59,13 +60,70 @@ services:
     healthcheck:
       test: ['CMD-SHELL', "ps aux | grep '[s]idekiq\ 7' || false"]
 
-  redis:
+  # generic dragonfly instance
+  dragonfly:
+    image: docker.dragonflydb.io/dragonflydb/dragonfly
     restart: always
-    image: redis:alpine
+    ulimits:
+      memlock: -1
     networks:
       - masto
+    environment:
+      # these envvars are important to make dfdb act as closely as possible to redis for properly saving and loading data
+      DFLY_snapshot_cron: '* * * * *'
+      DFLY_version_check: false
+      DFLY_default_lua_flags: allow-undeclared-keys
+      DFLY_dbfilename: 'dump.rdb'
+      DFLY_df_snapshot_format: false
+      DFLY_dir: '/data'
     volumes:
-      - ./redis:/data
+      - ./dragonfly/generic:/data
+    healthcheck:
+      test: "redis-cli ping"
+      interval: 5s
+      retries: 20
+
+  # cache dragonfly instance
+  dragonfly-cache:
+    image: docker.dragonflydb.io/dragonflydb/dragonfly
+    restart: always
+    ulimits:
+      memlock: -1
+    networks:
+      - masto
+    environment:
+      DFLY_port: 6380
+      DFLY_snapshot_cron: '* * * * *'
+      DFLY_version_check: false
+      DFLY_default_lua_flags: allow-undeclared-keys
+      DFLY_dbfilename: 'dump.rdb'
+      DFLY_df_snapshot_format: false
+      DFLY_dir: '/data'
+    volumes:
+      - ./dragonfly/cache:/data
+    healthcheck:
+      test: "redis-cli ping"
+      interval: 5s
+      retries: 20
+
+  # sidekiq dragonfly instance
+  dragonfly-sidekiq:
+    image: docker.dragonflydb.io/dragonflydb/dragonfly
+    restart: always
+    ulimits:
+      memlock: -1
+    networks:
+      - masto
+    environment:
+      DFLY_port: 6381
+      DFLY_snapshot_cron: '* * * * *'
+      DFLY_version_check: false
+      DFLY_default_lua_flags: allow-undeclared-keys
+      DFLY_dbfilename: 'dump.rdb'
+      DFLY_df_snapshot_format: false
+      DFLY_dir: '/data'
+    volumes:
+      - ./dragonfly/sidekiq:/data
     healthcheck:
       test: "redis-cli ping"
       interval: 5s