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Move to another Mastodon server

Important information about what data that can be moved between serves

You will not lose your followers; the Mastodon network will make sure to migrate them to the new server transparently and forward any messages sent to your old account to the new one. People with private accounts will need to accept your follow request again.

Posts you made on the old server can't be moved to the new server; the posts will remain on the old server until you delete that account (optional).

Almost all other data can be moved manually, and is covered within this guide.

This guide will help you move your account to another server.

You can check out the official documentation on moving accounts between servers if this guide isn't clear.

1. Guide configuration

To make the guide as easy as possible, please provide which server you are moving from and to below.

Filling out the two fields below will make all links in this guide automatically point to your correct servers and the pages you need to access. It's, of course, entirely optional if you prefer not to fill it out.

You can write either the server domain name (ex. mastodon.social) or any link from the server (ex. https://mastodon.social/profile).

  1. I'm leaving my old server at:
  2. and joining my new server at:

If a field has a red border, it's empty or not configured correctly.

2. Export your data

These steps all take place on the old server (ex. )

In this step, we export your data from the old server, so we can import it later on the new server.

If you don't care about your old data - or don't have any - feel free to skip this step fully or partially.

Do not use Request your archive for migrating data; you can not import that file on the new server. It's great for regular backups though

Export page

The export data page looks like this.

On the old server, navigate to the Preferences -> Import and Export page in the left menu.

In the table, click on the ⬇️ CSV link for each kind of data you want to migrate to the new server.

Note that the following can't be imported:

  • Lists
  • Followers - they are automatically handled later in the guide.

Done!

Now that we have a backup of your old data, we can import it on the new server later in this guide.

In the next step, we will prepare your new account for the server migration.

3. Setting up your new account

These steps all take place on the new server (ex. )

This step configures your new account to accept the account migration from the old server as well as copying your profile information.

Export page

Use your full username from the old server.
(ex. .)
  1. If you haven't already, create an account on the new server.
  2. Create an account alias on new server.
    1. Navigate to Preferences -> Profile
    2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Moving from a different account
    3. Write your full username from your old server in the Handle of the old account field.
      (ex. )
    4. Click Create alias button.

Setting up your profile on the new server

Your account on the new server is probably a bit empty. No bio, profile picture and so on.

This is an excellent time to copy this over from your old account.

  1. Open your old account (Preferences -> Profile)
  2. Open your new account (Preferences -> Profile)
  3. Start copying fields one by one and tweak as necessary.

Done!

Your new account is now configured to accept the migration request from your old server and your profile looks amazing with a picture, bio and so forth, just like your old account.

In the next step, we will start the account migration process.

4. Migrate to the new server

These steps all take place on the old server (ex. )

This still will move all your followers to the new server. The change is transparent to your followers, and neither they nor you need to take any additional manual steps beyond what's covered in this guide.

Please read the warning text on the migration page to make sure you are okay with the consequences.

Migrate Account Page

Please read the full description before clicking Move followers.
  1. Navigate to Preferences -> Profile
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Move to a different account
  3. For the Handle of the new account field, enter your username on the new server
    (ex. )
  4. For the Password field, enter the password you use on the old server
    (ex. )
  5. Read the description on the page carefully
  6. Click Move followers

Done!

The Mastodon network will move your followers from the old server to the new one.

Depending on server capacity, this can take anywhere from a minute to an hour.

We can let the migration run in the background, continue to the next step, and import your old data into the new server.

5. Import your data

These steps all take place on the new server (ex. )

Import data on the new server

The import page should look like this.
  1. Navigate to Preferences -> Import and export -> Import
  2. For each option in the Import type dropdown, do the following
    1. Select the Import type you wish to import.
      I would recommend taking them in the order they appear in the dropdown
    2. Select the file you exported corresponding to the Import type you selected by clicking the file input (Choose file)
      1. Following list file is called something like follows.csv in your Downloads folder
      2. Blocking list file is called something like blocks.csv in your Downloads folder
      3. Muting list file is called something like mutes.csv in your Downloads folder
      4. Domain blocking list file is called something like domain_blocks.csv in your Downloads folder
      5. Bookmarks file is called something like bookmarks.csv in your Downloads folder
    3. Make sure to select Merge and not Overwrite
    4. Click Upload

Done!

All your data has now been imported to the new server, and things should really start to look and feel like home again.

In the next, and final, step, we'll set up your profile information on the new server.

6. Wrapping up

Now that you are all set up on your new server, check out these guides