When you move your Mastodon account to a new instance, your followers do not automatically follow your new account. The migration process sends a request to each follower’s server asking it to update the follow target from your old account to your new one. Not all followers will transfer successfully because of server delays, federation issues, or manual rejections. This article explains exactly which data moves, which data stays behind, and what you must do to complete the migration smoothly.
Key Takeaways: What Transfers and What Stays During Mastodon Account Migration
- Preferences > Account > Move to a different account: Initiates the follower migration handshake to your new Mastodon account.
- Follower list: Transfers automatically but each remote server must approve the follow redirect request.
- Posts and direct messages: Do not transfer. Your old profile remains visible as a redirect notice.
- Blocked and muted users list: Does not transfer. You must re-block or re-mute on the new account.
How Mastodon Account Migration Works
Mastodon account migration is not a data export and import. It is a follower redirect mechanism. When you set your old account to point to your new account, the old profile displays a notice saying you moved. Each server that hosts one of your followers receives a Move activity. That server then checks the new account and updates the follow relationship if everything matches.
The migration relies on the ActivityPub protocol. Your old instance sends a Move object to every server that has a follower of yours. The receiving server verifies that your new account exists and that the old account has publicly confirmed the move. If the verification passes, the follower is re-pointed to the new account. If any step fails, the follower is lost.
Prerequisites for a Successful Migration
Before you start, you need a new account on a different Mastodon instance. That new account must have at least one post, a profile name, and a profile picture. The old account must have the same email address or be able to confirm ownership. Both accounts must be on instances that support the Move activity — almost all modern Mastodon versions do.
Steps to Migrate Followers Between Mastodon Instances
- Create your new Mastodon account
Sign up on the instance you want to move to. Set your display name, write a short bio, upload an avatar, and publish at least one public post. Without these, the migration may be rejected by remote servers. - Log into your old account
Open your old Mastodon instance in a browser. Go to Preferences > Account > Move to a different account. - Enter your new account handle
Type the full handle of your new account, for example@username@newinstance.social. Click the Create a migration shortcut button. Mastodon generates a one-time code. - Log into your new account and confirm the code
Go to Preferences > Account > Move from a different account. Paste the code from the old account. Click Confirm. - Wait for follower migration to complete
Your old instance sends the Move activities to all remote servers. This can take minutes to hours depending on server load and federation delays. Check your new account’s follower count after 24 hours. - Redirect your old profile
After confirmation, your old profile shows a notice that you moved. You can optionally set the old account to redirect all web visitors to your new profile.
What Does Not Transfer During Mastodon Migration
Posts, Boosts, and Favorites
Your old posts stay on the old instance. The new account starts with zero posts. Mastodon does not export or import post history during account migration. If you want to keep your posts, use the Preferences > Import and Export > Export feature on the old account to download an archive. Then upload that archive to the new account using the same menu.
Direct Messages
Direct messages are not part of the migration. They remain on the old instance. If you need to keep them, export your data archive before you start. The archive includes a CSV file of your direct messages. Mastodon does not have an import feature for direct messages, so you must save them as a local file.
Blocked and Muted Lists
Your block list and mute list do not transfer. On the new account, you must manually block or mute each account again. Export your block list from the old account under Preferences > Import and Export > Export as a CSV file. Then import that CSV into the new account under Preferences > Import and Export > Import using the Blocking list type.
Lists and Filters
Mastodon lists and content filters do not migrate. You must recreate them on the new account. Export your lists as CSV from the old account and import them on the new account using the same import tool. However, list membership may be incomplete if the followers have not yet migrated.
Common Issues After Mastodon Migration
Followers Lost After Account Migration Between Instances
Some followers will not transfer. The most common reason is that the remote server refused the Move activity because your new account did not have a post or profile picture. Another reason is that the remote server is temporarily offline or not fully federated. To recover lost followers, send a public post on your new account announcing the move and ask people to follow you again.
Old Account Still Active After Migration
The old account remains active but shows a redirect notice. You can still log into it and view messages. To fully disable the old account, delete it after the migration settles. Go to Preferences > Account > Delete account. Deleting the old account does not affect followers who already transferred.
Migration Code Expired or Invalid
The one-time migration code expires after a short period, usually a few minutes. If you get an invalid code error, generate a new code from the old account and try again immediately. Make sure you are logged into the correct accounts on the correct instances.
| Item | Transfers | Does Not Transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Followers | Yes, with per-server approval | Followers on servers that reject the Move |
| Posts | No | All posts stay on old instance |
| Direct messages | No | Only exportable as archive |
| Blocked users | No | Must re-import via CSV |
| Muted users | No | Must re-import via CSV |
| Lists | No | Must recreate manually |
| Content filters | No | Must recreate manually |
| Profile picture and header | No | Must re-upload on new account |
| Account settings | No | Must reconfigure on new account |
You now understand exactly which data moves with a Mastodon account migration and which data you must transfer manually. To avoid losing followers, make sure your new account has a post and a profile picture before you start. For full data preservation, export your archive and block lists before you migrate. After migration, post a public announcement on your new account to catch any followers that did not transfer automatically.