How to Import Mastodon Block and Mute Lists Into a New Account

Moving to a new Mastodon account often means rebuilding your block and mute lists from scratch. Without these lists, you risk seeing content from users you previously filtered out. Mastodon provides a built-in tool to export and import these moderation settings as CSV files. This article explains how to export your block and mute lists from your old account and import them into a new account.

The process involves generating a CSV file from your old account and uploading it in the new account’s import settings. No third-party tools are required. The entire migration can be completed in a few minutes through the Mastodon web interface.

This guide covers both export and import steps, the specific file formats Mastodon uses, and common issues that can occur during the transfer. Follow each step carefully to ensure your block and mute lists are fully restored.

Why Mastodon Block and Mute Lists Need to Be Reimported

Mastodon stores block and mute lists locally on each account. When you create a new account on the same or a different instance, the old lists do not transfer automatically. The Mastodon account migration feature only moves followers, follow requests, and lists. Block and mute data is excluded from the standard migration process because it is considered private moderation data tied to the specific account.

The export and import feature uses CSV files. CSV stands for comma-separated values. Mastodon generates a file where each row represents one blocked or muted account. The file includes the account’s full ActivityPub address and, for mute entries, a flag indicating whether notifications are hidden. This format allows you to review the list before importing it into the new account.

The import process matches each account address against the new account’s existing data. If the account does not exist on the new instance, the import still adds it to the block or mute list. The effect is server-side: the new account will not see posts or notifications from those accounts regardless of which instance they belong to.

Steps to Export Block and Mute Lists From Your Old Account

1. Log in to your old Mastodon account
   Open the Mastodon web interface in your browser. Enter your username and password for the account that currently has the block and mute lists you want to move.
2. Open the Export settings
   Click the Preferences icon in the right sidebar. The icon looks like a gear or three horizontal dots depending on your theme. Select Import and Export from the menu. Then click the Export tab at the top of the page.
3. Select the data type for export
   In the Export section, you see a dropdown menu labeled Data to export. Click the dropdown and choose Blocking list. Then click the Export button. Your browser downloads a CSV file named blocking.csv.
4. Repeat the export for the mute list
   Click the dropdown again and select Muting list. Click Export. Your browser downloads a CSV file named muting.csv. Save both files in a folder you can easily find later.

Steps to Import Block and Mute Lists Into Your New Account

1. Log in to your new Mastodon account
   Open the Mastodon web interface and sign in with the new account where you want the block and mute lists applied.
2. Open the Import settings
   Click the Preferences icon, then select Import and Export. Click the Import tab at the top of the page.
3. Choose the data type for import
   From the dropdown menu labeled Data to import, select Blocking list. This tells Mastodon that the CSV file you upload contains block entries.
4. Upload the CSV file
   Click the Choose File button and navigate to the blocking.csv file you downloaded earlier. Select the file. Mastodon displays the filename next to the button.
5. Select the merge mode
   Below the file selector, you see a Merge setting. Choose Merge to add the imported blocks to any existing blocks on the new account. Choose Overwrite to replace all existing blocks with the imported list. For a clean migration from an empty account, Merge is usually the correct option.
6. Start the import
   Click the Upload button. Mastodon processes the file and adds the blocked accounts. A confirmation message appears when the import completes. The number of imported entries is shown.
7. Repeat the import for the mute list
   Go back to the Import tab. From the Data to import dropdown, select Muting list. Upload the muting.csv file. Choose the same merge mode you used for blocks. Click Upload.

Common Issues When Importing Block and Mute Lists

CSV file format errors cause import failure

Mastodon expects the CSV file to have a specific header row. The blocking list must start with a header that includes the column AccountAddress. The muting list must include AccountAddress and HideNotifications. If you manually edited the file and removed the header row, the import fails silently. To fix this, re-export the file from the old account. Do not modify the header row.

Duplicate entries after importing multiple times

If you import the same CSV file more than once using Merge mode, Mastodon does not create duplicate entries. The system checks for existing entries before adding. No action is needed. If you use Overwrite mode, each import replaces the entire list with the new file, which can remove entries you added manually between imports.

Account addresses not recognized on the new instance

Mastodon stores account addresses in the format username@instance.domain. If the new instance cannot resolve the domain of a blocked account, the import still adds the address to the list. The block or mute takes effect when the remote account becomes reachable again. No error occurs during import.

Mastodon Export vs Import: Block and Mute List Comparison

Item	Export	Import
Purpose	Save block and mute lists from the current account	Apply block and mute lists to a new account
File format	CSV with header row	CSV with header row
Merge mode	Not applicable	Merge or Overwrite
Effect on existing data	None	Adds or replaces entries
Data types available	Blocking list, Muting list	Blocking list, Muting list

After importing your block and mute lists, verify the entries by visiting Preferences > Import and Export > Export and downloading the list again. Compare the row count with the original file. If the counts match, the transfer is complete.

You can now manage your new account with the same moderation settings as your old account. To further refine your experience, consider creating domain blocks for entire instances you want to avoid. Domain blocks are separate from account blocks and must be configured manually in Preferences > Moderation > Domain blocks.