Mastodon Migration With Server Admin Cooperation: Special Steps

When you move your Mastodon account to a new instance, the standard migration process transfers your followers and basic profile data. However, if your old server is shutting down, you have lost access to your account, or the instance admin has offered to help with a bulk export, you need steps beyond what the normal migration tool provides. This article explains the special procedures that require server admin cooperation on the old instance. You will learn how to request a full data archive export, how to import that archive into a new server, and how to handle follower migration when you cannot log into your old account.

Why Admin Cooperation Is Necessary for Some Migrations

The standard Mastodon account migration tool requires you to be logged into both the old and new accounts. You must initiate the move from the old account by entering a confirmation code from the new account. This process fails if you cannot log into the old account because the server is offline, your password is lost, or the admin has disabled user access. In those cases, the server admin on the old instance must perform actions on the server side to release your data and notify other instances of the move.

Mastodon stores each account’s data in a PostgreSQL database and on the file system. The admin can export your entire account as a JSON archive using the built-in tootctl command-line tool. This archive includes your public posts, media attachments, follower and following lists, lists, and bookmarks. Without this export, you lose all your content and your social graph. The admin can also manually trigger a redirect from your old profile to your new profile by setting an account alias in the database. This redirect tells other servers to update their cached follow relationships.

Steps to Complete an Admin-Assisted Migration

Follow these steps in order. You must coordinate with the old server admin for steps 1 and 2. Steps 3 and 4 are done on the new instance after you receive the exported data.

1. Request a full account archive from the old server admin
   Contact the admin of your old Mastodon instance. Ask them to run the following command in the server terminal while logged in as the Mastodon user:
   tootctl accounts archive USERNAME
   Replace USERNAME with your account username on that instance, for example @johndoe@oldsocial.example. The command creates a zip file containing a JSON archive of your account data. The admin must send you this zip file through a secure method such as encrypted email or a file transfer service.
2. Ask the admin to set an account alias and redirect
   Even if you cannot log into the old account, the admin can set an alias in the database that points to your new account. The admin runs this command on the old server:
   tootctl accounts alias USERNAME NEW_ACCOUNT_URI
   For example:
   tootctl accounts alias johndoe https://newsocial.example/@johndoe
   This alias causes the old profile to display a redirect notice when other servers query it. Those servers then update their follow records to point to your new account. This step is optional but strongly recommended to avoid losing followers.
3. Create your new account on the destination instance
   Sign up for an account on the new Mastodon server. Choose a username that matches your old username if possible. This matching is not required but makes it easier for people to find you. Complete the email verification and set up your profile with a display name, bio, and avatar.
4. Import the account archive into your new account
   Log into your new account. Go to Preferences > Import and export. Under Import, click the Choose file button and select the zip file you received from the old admin. Select the import type that matches the data you are importing. For a full archive export, choose Mastodon archive. Click Upload. The new server processes the archive and imports your public posts, media, follow lists, and other data. This import may take several minutes depending on the size of the archive.
5. Import your follower list from the old server
   If the admin exported your follower list as a separate CSV file, or if you extracted it from the archive, go to Preferences > Import and export > Import. Choose the CSV file for followers. Select the import type Follows. Click Upload. This adds all your old followers as follows on your new account. Note that this does not automatically make them follow you back. They will only follow you if they manually follow your new account or if the alias redirect was set in step 2.

Common Issues During Admin-Assisted Migration

Follower count is zero after migration

If the admin did not set the account alias in step 2, your old followers are not automatically redirected to your new account. They must manually search for your new profile and follow you again. To recover followers, post a toot from your new account announcing the move and include a link to your old profile. Ask your contacts to share the toot.

Archive import fails due to server size limits

The new instance may have a maximum upload size for import files. If your archive is larger than the limit, the import fails. Ask the new server admin to increase the limit temporarily or split the archive into smaller parts. Alternatively, import only the follow lists as CSV files and skip the media attachments. Media can be re-uploaded manually later.

Old server admin is unresponsive or refuses to help

If the admin does not respond to your request within a week, consider creating a new account without the archive. You will lose your old posts and follow lists. Notify your followers through other channels such as email or other social platforms. Some instances have a public contact email listed on their about page; use that as a backup.

Admin-Assisted Migration vs Standard Migration

Item	Admin-Assisted Migration	Standard Migration
Access requirement	No login to old account needed	Must be logged into old account
Data exported	Full archive including posts and media	Followers and follows only
Follower redirect	Manual alias set by admin	Automatic via migration tool
Post migration	Posts are imported to new account	Posts stay on old account
Time to complete	Days to weeks depending on admin response	Minutes

You can now migrate your Mastodon account even when you cannot access the old instance. Start by contacting the old server admin with the specific tootctl commands listed above. After you receive the archive and the alias is set, import the data into your new account. For future migrations, keep a backup of your account data every few months by using the built-in export feature in Preferences > Import and export > Export.