How to Migrate Mastodon Without Losing Pinned Posts

When you move your Mastodon account to a new instance, your pinned posts do not transfer automatically. The standard migration process moves your followers, profile, and blocked users, but it leaves behind your pinned toots on the old account. This article explains how to manually preserve and re-pin your most important posts before and after the migration. You will learn the exact steps to save pinned content and restore it on your new account without losing the original post URLs.

Why Pinned Posts Do Not Transfer During Mastodon Migration

Mastodon’s built-in account migration feature is designed to move your profile metadata, follower list, and block list. It does not move your actual posts, including pinned posts. Pinned posts are simply regular toots that have a special flag in the database indicating they should appear at the top of your profile. When you migrate, the old account remains as a redirect, but its posts stay on the original instance’s server. The new account starts with an empty timeline and no pinned content.

Because pinned posts are tied to the original account’s database entry, there is no automated tool to copy them to a new account. The only way to preserve pinned posts is to record their URLs before migration and then manually re-pin them after the new account is set up. This process works because Mastodon allows you to view and interact with posts from any instance, even after the author has moved.

What the Migration Tool Actually Transfers

The official migration tool in Mastodon moves the following items:

• Display name and bio
• Avatar and header image
• Follower list
• Blocked and muted users
• Domain blocks

It does not transfer:

• Any of your posts (including pinned posts)
• Bookmarked or favorited posts
• Lists you have created
• Direct messages

Steps to Save Pinned Posts Before Migration

Before you initiate the account migration, take a few minutes to capture the URLs of every pinned post. This step is critical because once the migration redirect is active, you can still view your old profile, but you will want the exact URLs ready for the new account.

1. Open your profile page
   Go to your Mastodon instance and click your profile picture or username in the top navigation bar. This loads your public profile.
2. Locate the pinned posts section
   Scroll down to the area labeled “Pinned posts.” These are the toots that appear at the very top of your timeline, often with a thumbtack icon next to the date.
3. Copy the URL of each pinned post
   Click the timestamp of a pinned toot to open its individual page. Copy the full URL from your browser’s address bar. Paste it into a text file or note-taking app. Repeat this for every pinned post.
4. Save the post content as a backup
   Optionally, copy the text and media links of each pinned toot into your notes. This ensures you can recreate the post if the original becomes inaccessible later.

Steps to Restore Pinned Posts After Migration

After you have completed the account migration and logged into your new account, you can re-pin the saved posts. Mastodon allows you to interact with posts from other instances, so you can pin a toot that was originally posted on your old account.

1. Log into your new Mastodon account
   Open your new instance and sign in with your new credentials.
2. Search for the original post URL
   In the search bar at the top of the page, paste the URL of the first pinned post from your notes. Press Enter. Mastodon will fetch the post from the original instance.
3. Open the post
   Click the post in the search results to open its detail view. You should see the full toot with its original timestamp and content.
4. Pin the post to your new profile
   Click the three-dot menu (More) icon on the post. Select “Pin to profile” from the dropdown menu. The post now appears at the top of your new profile page.
5. Repeat for all saved pinned posts
   Search, open, and pin each remaining URL from your notes. Your new profile will display them in the same order they were on your old account.

Common Issues When Re-Pinning Posts After Migration

Post URL returns a 404 error

If the original instance has deleted the post or the account has been fully removed, the URL may no longer work. In this case, you cannot pin the post because it no longer exists. To avoid this, save the text and media of each pinned post before migration. You can create a new toot on your new account with the same content and pin that instead. The new toot will have a different URL, but the content will be preserved.

Pin button is grayed out or missing

The pin option is only available for your own posts. If you accidentally saved a URL of a post that belongs to someone else, you cannot pin it to your profile. Verify that each URL in your notes points to your old account’s username. The URL format should include your old username, such as https://instance.social/@oldusername/123456. If the username is different, you have saved someone else’s post.

Pinned posts appear out of order

Mastodon displays pinned posts in reverse chronological order by default, based on the original post date. If you pin them in a different order, the timeline may not match your old profile. To mimic the old order, pin the posts in the exact sequence you saved them. The newest post will appear first, so if you want a specific older post to appear at the top, you must unpin and re-pin after setting the desired order.

Mastodon Migration: What Transfers vs. What You Must Do Manually

Item	Transfers Automatically	Requires Manual Action
Display name and bio	Yes	No
Avatar and header image	Yes	No
Follower list	Yes	No
Blocked and muted users	Yes	No
Pinned posts	No	Yes – save URLs and re-pin manually
Bookmarked posts	No	Yes – export bookmarks before migration
Direct messages	No	Yes – copy manually or use API export

This table shows exactly which parts of your Mastodon account move during a standard migration and which parts you need to handle yourself. Pinned posts fall into the manual category, but the process is straightforward if you follow the steps above.

Conclusion

You can migrate your Mastodon account without losing pinned posts by saving each post’s URL before starting the migration and re-pinning them on the new account. The key action is to copy the URL of each pinned toot from your old profile’s individual post view. After the migration, use the search bar on your new instance to locate each original post and click the pin option from the three-dot menu. For the best result, pin the posts in the same order they appeared on your old profile to maintain the visual layout. If a post URL becomes inaccessible, recreate the content as a new toot on the new account and pin that instead. This manual method ensures your most important content remains visible at the top of your profile after switching instances.