When you move your Mastodon account from one instance to another, you must decide whether to import your followers list first or your posts archive first. The order you choose affects whether your followers receive notifications about your new account and whether your old posts appear under your new identity. This article explains the technical difference between importing followers and importing posts, the correct sequence to avoid data loss, and the specific settings you need to toggle in your old and new Mastodon accounts.
Key Takeaways: Mastodon Import Order for Account Migration
- Preferences > Account > Move from a different account: Initiates the follower migration handshake that redirects all followers to your new Mastodon account automatically.
- Preferences > Import and Export > Import > Followers list CSV: Manually uploads a CSV file containing your old followers but does not send them a move notification.
- Preferences > Import and Export > Import > Posts archive JSON: Uploads your old toots into your new account but does not preserve original post dates or engagement counts.
Why the Import Order Between Followers and Posts Matters
Mastodon stores two separate data sets when you export your account archive: a followers list in CSV format and a posts archive in JSON format. The followers CSV contains the account IDs of everyone who followed your old account. The posts JSON contains the full text, media attachments, and timestamps of every public toot you wrote on your old instance.
When you import the followers CSV into your new account, Mastodon sends a follow request to each user in the list. If those users have not disabled follow requests, they receive a notification that your new account wants to follow them. This is a manual process — it does not automatically transfer followers. The import simply asks each user to follow you back.
In contrast, the official account migration feature in Mastodon uses a cryptographic handshake between your old and new accounts. This handshake redirects all existing followers automatically without requiring them to approve anything. The migration feature is separate from the import feature. You can use both together, but the order matters because importing followers after migration can create duplicate follow requests.
The Technical Root Cause of Import Order Conflicts
Mastodon treats followers imported via CSV as new follow relationships. When you run the account migration feature, your old instance sends a Move activity to every federated server that hosts your followers. Those servers update their local database to replace your old account ID with your new account ID. If you then import the followers CSV, your new account sends a standard follow request to users who are already following you. Those users see a duplicate follow notification and may unfollow your account out of confusion.
Posts imported from a JSON archive appear as new toots on your new account with the original timestamps. However, Mastodon does not import engagement data such as boosts, favorites, or replies. Your old posts lose their original context and interaction counts. Importing posts before followers does not affect the migration handshake, but it does mean your followers see your old posts in their timeline as new content, which can appear spammy.
Correct Sequence for Importing Followers and Posts
The recommended order is to run the account migration first, then import your posts archive, and finally import your followers CSV only if the migration did not transfer all followers. Follow these exact steps to avoid duplicate notifications and lost followers.
Step 1: Initiate Account Migration from Your Old Instance
- Log into your old Mastodon account
Open the instance that hosts your original account. Navigate to Preferences > Account. - Enter your new account handle
In the section labeled Move from a different account, type your new account handle in the format username@newinstance.social. This handle must be the full ActivityPub identifier. - Confirm the migration
Click the Move button. Your old instance sends a Move activity to all federated servers. This process can take several minutes to propagate across the network. - Wait for confirmation email
Mastodon sends a confirmation email to the address associated with your old account. Click the link in that email to finalize the migration.
Step 2: Export Your Data from the Old Instance
- Go to Preferences > Import and Export > Export
On your old instance, scroll to the Export section. Download the followers.csv file and the posts.json file. Store these files on your local computer. - Verify the exported files
Open followers.csv in a text editor. It should contain one column labeled Account Address with a list of full ActivityPub handles. Open posts.json in a text editor. It should contain an array of objects, each with id, content, and created_at fields.
Step 3: Import Posts Archive into Your New Account
- Log into your new Mastodon account
Navigate to Preferences > Import and Export > Import. - Select the posts archive type
From the Import type dropdown, choose Mastodon posts archive. This option expects a JSON file. - Upload the posts.json file
Click the Browse button and select the posts.json file you exported earlier. Click Upload. Mastodon processes the file and creates new toots on your timeline with the original timestamps. - Wait for processing to complete
For accounts with hundreds of posts, processing can take up to 30 minutes. You can close the browser tab and return later.
Step 4: Import Followers CSV Only If Necessary
- Check your follower count after migration
Wait 24 hours after completing the account migration. Compare your new follower count to your old follower count. If they match, skip the CSV import. - Upload the followers.csv file
If your follower count is lower, go to Preferences > Import and Export > Import. Choose Followers list from the Import type dropdown. Upload the followers.csv file. - Monitor for duplicate notifications
After the CSV import, check your new account notifications. If you see approval requests from users who already follow you, those are duplicates. You can ignore them or manually approve them.
Common Mistakes When Importing Followers and Posts
Importing Followers CSV Before Running Account Migration
If you import the followers CSV before initiating the account migration, your new account sends follow requests to all users in the CSV. When you later run the migration, Mastodon detects that those users already follow your new account and skips the migration handshake. The result is that followers see a follow request notification followed by a separate move notification, which can cause confusion and lead to unfollows.
Fix this by canceling any pending follow requests on your new account before running the migration. Go to Preferences > Follow requests and withdraw all pending requests. Then run the account migration as described in Step 1.
Importing Posts Before Migration Creates Duplicate Content
When you import posts into your new account before the migration completes, your old posts appear as new toots. Your followers who have already migrated see those posts in their timeline twice — once from the import and once from the original instance. This happens because the migration does not delete or redirect your old posts. The old posts remain on your old instance with their original URLs.
To avoid duplicate content, wait until the migration is fully confirmed before importing posts. The migration confirmation email is your signal that the handshake has propagated. After that, import the posts archive.
Using the Wrong File Format for Import
Mastodon expects followers in CSV format with a specific column header: Account Address. If you export followers from a third-party tool or a different fediverse platform, the column name may differ. An incorrect column header causes the import to fail silently — Mastodon reports success but imports zero followers.
Open the CSV file in a text editor and verify the first line reads Account Address. If it does not, rename the column to match. For posts, the import expects a JSON file that matches the Mastodon API response structure. Third-party exports often omit the id field, which causes the import to reject every post.
| Item | Import Followers First | Import Posts First |
|---|---|---|
| Notification sent to followers | Manual follow request sent to each user | No notification sent until migration |
| Duplicate follow risk | High — migration sends duplicate Move activity | Low — migration handles followers first |
| Post visibility after migration | Posts imported later appear as new content | Posts appear before migration completes |
| Recommended order | Not recommended | Run migration first, then import posts |
The correct sequence for moving your Mastodon account is to run the account migration first, then import your posts archive, and finally import the followers CSV only if the migration missed some followers. This order prevents duplicate notifications, avoids confusing your followers, and preserves the integrity of your old posts. Test the process with a small test account on the same instance before migrating your main account to ensure the import files are formatted correctly.