Mastodon
Fediverse
ActivityPub
Mastodon Troubleshooting — Complete Solutions Database
Federation timeline empty. Migration not transferring followers. Instance went down.
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Account & Instances 47
Account Setup 22
- How to Change the Email Address on a Mastodon Account
- How to Deactivate a Mastodon Account Without Deleting It
- How to Make a Mastodon Account Discoverable in Search
- How to Permanently Delete a Mastodon Account
- How to Recover a Mastodon Account Without Email Access
- How to Reset a Forgotten Mastodon Password
- How to Set a Default Post Privacy on a Mastodon Account
- How to Set Up Application Access Tokens on Mastodon
- How to Sign Up for a Mastodon Account on a New Instance
- How to Switch Between Multiple Mastodon Accounts on the App
- How to Verify a Mastodon Account Using a Personal Website
- Mastodon ‘Account Suspended’ Notice: Causes and Appeal Steps
- Mastodon ‘Approval Required’ Sign Up: How Long to Wait
- Mastodon ‘Username Already Taken’ on Sign Up: Workaround
- Mastodon Account Header Image Wrong Aspect Ratio: Fix
- Mastodon Account Locked by Moderator: Appeal Process
- Mastodon Email Confirmation Link Not Arriving: Fix Steps
- Mastodon Login Loop on iPhone Web View: Fix
- Mastodon Profile Bio Custom Fields: How to Add and Verify Them
- Mastodon Profile Picture Not Updating Across Instances: Fix
- Mastodon Sign Up Closed on Most Instances: Where to Register
- Mastodon Two-Factor Authentication Setup Walkthrough
Choosing & Switching Instances 25
- How to Apply Custom CSS Themes to a Mastodon Instance
- How to Audit Mastodon Instance Performance With Health Checks
- How to Block Spam Sign Ups on a Public Mastodon Instance
- How to Choose a Mastodon Instance That Matches Your Interests
- How to Compare Mastodon Instances by Federation Reach
- How to Configure Postgres Tuning for a Busy Mastodon Instance
- How to Enable Full-Text Search on a Mastodon Instance With Elasticsearch
- How to Migrate a Self-Hosted Mastodon Instance to a New Server
- How to Move From mastodon.social to a Smaller Instance
- How to Self-Host a Mastodon Instance on a VPS
- How to Set Up a Single-User Mastodon Instance for Yourself
- How to Set Up Sidekiq Queues for a Self-Hosted Mastodon
- How to Upgrade a Self-Hosted Mastodon Instance Safely
- Mastodon Instance Backups: What an Admin Should Run Daily
- Mastodon Instance Closed Registrations: How to Find Open Ones
- Mastodon Instance Defederation: How Admins Decide Block Lists
- Mastodon Instance Disk Full From Media Cache: Cleanup Steps
- Mastodon Instance Going Offline: How to Detect and React
- Mastodon Instance Mail Delivery Not Working: SMTP Troubleshooting
- Mastodon Instance Object Storage on S3 vs Local Disk: Tradeoffs
- Mastodon Instance Rules: How to Read Before Signing Up
- Mastodon Instance Sign Up Approval Workflow for Admins
- Mastodon Instance Slow to Load Federated Timeline: Causes
- Mastodon Instance With Docker Compose: Production Notes
- Mastodon Self-Hosted Instance Storage Costs: Real-World Numbers
Federation & Relays 40
Federation Behavior 22
- How Mastodon Federation Works: ActivityPub Explained Simply
- How to Detect Federation Breakage Between Two Instances
- How to Federate Custom Emoji Across Mastodon Instances
- How to Federate With a Pleroma or Misskey Server From Mastodon
- How to Follow a User on a Different Mastodon Instance
- How to Manually Federate a Specific Mastodon Post
- How to Refresh a Remote Mastodon Profile Manually
- How to See Which Instances Federate With Your Mastodon Instance
- How to Stop Federating With a Specific Instance From Yours
- How to Use Authorized Fetch With a Single-User Instance
- How to Verify a Federated Post Reached All Your Followers
- Mastodon Authorized Fetch Mode: When to Enable It
- Mastodon Cross-Instance Boost Visibility: How It Differs From Replies
- Mastodon Cross-Instance Reply Visibility: Why Some Replies Are Missing
- Mastodon Defederation: What Happens to Your Followers
- Mastodon Federated Search Limitations: What You Cannot Find
- Mastodon Federated Timeline Not Updating: Diagnostic Steps
- Mastodon Federation Behind a Cloudflare Proxy: Setup Notes
- Mastodon Federation Queue Stuck on Sidekiq: Recovery Steps
- Mastodon Federation Webfinger Lookup Failing: Fix
- Mastodon Federation With Threads: Current Connection Status
- Mastodon Limited Server vs Suspended Server: Difference Explained
Relays & Discovery 18
- How to Audit Relay Traffic Volume on a Mastodon Instance
- How to Block a Specific Domain From Reaching You via a Relay
- How to Build a Filtered Mastodon Relay for a Topic Network
- How to Choose a Reliable Public Mastodon Relay
- How to Find Posts From Niche Communities Using Mastodon Relays
- How to Run a Self-Hosted Mastodon Relay With ActivityRelay
- How to Stop Subscribing to a Mastodon Relay
- How to Subscribe to a Mastodon Relay From the Admin Panel
- How to Verify a Mastodon Relay Is Actually Forwarding Posts
- Mastodon Local-Only Posts and Relays: Why They Are Not Forwarded
- Mastodon Relay Bandwidth Cost: What Admins Should Expect
- Mastodon Relay Causing Sidekiq Queue Backlog: Diagnosis
- Mastodon Relay Discovery Limits: How Far Posts Travel
- Mastodon Relay Inbox Authentication Errors: Fix
- Mastodon Relay Subscription Pending Forever: Fix Steps
- Mastodon Relay vs Direct Federation: Tradeoffs Compared
- Mastodon Trending Tags vs Relay Discovery: How They Differ
- What Is a Mastodon Relay and How Does It Work
Posts & Hashtags 43
Posting & Visibility 25
- How to Add a Content Warning to a Mastodon Post
- How to Add Alt Text to Images on Mastodon
- How to Build a Long Thread Across Multiple Mastodon Toots
- How to Cross-Post From Mastodon to Bluesky Automatically
- How to Delete a Post on Mastodon Permanently
- How to Disable Boost Counts on Your Mastodon Posts
- How to Embed a Mastodon Post on a Website
- How to Pin a Post to the Top of a Mastodon Profile
- How to Post on Mastodon From the Web Without the App
- How to Save a Draft Post on Mastodon for Later
- How to Schedule Posts on Mastodon From the Web Interface
- How to Tag a User in a Mastodon Post Across Instances
- How to Use Markdown Formatting in Mastodon Posts
- Mastodon ‘Local-Only’ Posts: How to Send Them on Compatible Instances
- Mastodon Boost vs Favorite vs Bookmark: Functional Differences
- Mastodon Character Limit per Toot: Configurable Maximum Explained
- Mastodon Edit History: How to View Previous Versions of a Post
- Mastodon GIF Posting: Supported Sources and Workarounds
- Mastodon Image Aspect Ratio: How Cropping Behaves on Profiles
- Mastodon Image Upload Failed: File Size and Format Limits
- Mastodon Link Preview Not Generating: Fix Steps
- Mastodon Polls: How to Create and Set Duration
- Mastodon Post Visibility Levels Explained: Public, Unlisted, Followers, Direct
- Mastodon Post Won’t Send: Common Causes and Fixes
- Mastodon Video Posts: Supported Formats and Length Limits
Hashtags & Tags 18
- How to Add Hashtags to a Mastodon Bio for Discoverability
- How to Build a Niche Community Around a Mastodon Hashtag
- How to Disable Trending Hashtags on a Mastodon Instance
- How to Find Trending Hashtags Across Mastodon Instances
- How to Follow a Hashtag on Mastodon
- How to Mute a Hashtag on Mastodon Without Blocking Authors
- How to Pin a Followed Hashtag to a Mastodon Column
- How to Report Spam in a Mastodon Hashtag Stream
- How to Use the Mastodon Tag Following API for Automation
- Mastodon Hashtag CamelCase Best Practice for Accessibility
- Mastodon Hashtag Federation: Why Some Tags Are Sparse
- Mastodon Hashtag Following Sync Across Devices: Why It Lags
- Mastodon Hashtag Formatting Rules: What Is Supported
- Mastodon Hashtag Not Counting Toward Trending: Causes
- Mastodon Hashtag Not Showing in Search: Fix Steps
- Mastodon Hashtag Page Layout: Top, Latest, and Subscribers Explained
- Mastodon Hashtag Search Operator: Combine With From and To
- Mastodon Trending Tags Approval Workflow for Admins
Migration & Export 40
Account Migration 22
- How to Audit Followers After a Mastodon Migration
- How to Create an Account Alias for Mastodon Migration
- How to Migrate a Mastodon Account to a New Instance
- How to Migrate a Mastodon Account Without Posting From the New One First
- How to Migrate Mastodon Followers Without Losing Your Old Toots
- How to Migrate to a Self-Hosted Mastodon Instance From mastodon.social
- How to Plan a Mastodon Migration With Minimal Downtime
- How to Re-Migrate a Mastodon Account Within the Cooldown Window
- How to Roll Back a Mastodon Migration
- How to Set Up Mastodon Account Aliases on Both Old and New
- How to Verify a Mastodon Account Migration Completed Correctly
- Mastodon ‘Move Account’ Stuck on Pending: Fix Steps
- Mastodon Account Migration With Custom Domain Handle: Setup
- Mastodon Migration ActivityPub Move Activity: How It Propagates
- Mastodon Migration Cooldown Period: How Long to Wait Between Moves
- Mastodon Migration Followers Not Transferring: Common Causes
- Mastodon Migration Lost Followers Due to Defederation: Recovery
- Mastodon Migration Notification Email Not Sent: Causes
- Mastodon Migration Verification Webfinger Issues: Fix
- Mastodon Migration vs Account Deletion: Which to Choose
- Mastodon Migration With Old Instance Going Offline: Recovery Path
- Mastodon Old Posts Not Carrying Over After Migration: Workaround
Data Export & Import 18
- How to Backup a Self-Hosted Mastodon Instance Database
- How to Export a Mastodon Data Archive for Backup
- How to Export Mastodon Lists and Re-Create Them on a New Instance
- How to Export Mastodon Toots Into a Static HTML Archive
- How to Import a Mastodon Following List Into a New Account
- How to Import Mastodon Block and Mute Lists Into a New Account
- How to Migrate Mastodon Lists With the API
- How to Restore Mastodon Followers From a Data Archive
- How to Validate a Mastodon Archive Before Importing
- Mastodon Archive CSV Format Explained: Columns and Use
- Mastodon Bookmarks Export and Re-Import Walkthrough
- Mastodon Data Archive File Size: What to Expect
- Mastodon Domain Block List Export: Step-by-Step
- Mastodon Export ‘Download Pending’ Forever: Fix Steps
- Mastodon Export Frequency Limit: How Often You Can Request One
- Mastodon Filter Export and Import: Walkthrough
- Mastodon Import Failed: ‘Invalid CSV’ Error and How to Fix
- Mastodon Import Order: Followers First or Posts First
Errors 30
- How to Fix Mastodon ‘Custom Emoji Failed to Load’ on Federated Posts
- How to Fix Mastodon ‘Failed to Resolve Handle’ Across Instances
- How to Fix Mastodon ‘Network Error’ on Login Screen
- How to Fix Mastodon ‘Rate Limit on Sign Up Endpoint’ Error
- How to Fix Mastodon ‘Sync Failed’ After App Update
- How to Fix Mastodon ‘TLS Handshake Failed’ Federation Errors
- How to Fix Mastodon App Crash on Android Startup
- How to Fix Mastodon Image Upload Stuck on ‘Processing’
- How to Fix Mastodon Two-Factor Login Loop
- How to Resolve Mastodon ‘CSRF Token Mismatch’ Error on Submit
- How to Resolve Mastodon ‘Invalid Token’ in a Third-Party Client
- How to Resolve Mastodon ‘Not Found’ on a Federated Post URL
- How to Resolve Mastodon ‘Object Storage Upload Failed’ on S3
- How to Resolve Mastodon ‘Profile Not Found’ After Migration
- How to Resolve Mastodon ‘Webfinger Lookup Failed’ Error
- Mastodon ‘Account Pending Approval’ Stuck for Days: What to Do
- Mastodon ‘Avatar Image Failed to Process’ Error: Causes
- Mastodon ‘Cloudflare 502 Bad Gateway’ on Web: Causes
- Mastodon ‘Could Not Find User’ on a Valid Handle: Fix
- Mastodon ‘Database Connection Timeout’ on Self-Hosted Instance: Fix
- Mastodon ‘Failed to Fetch’ on Federated Timeline: Fix Steps
- Mastodon ‘Internal Server Error’ When Posting: Diagnostic Steps
- Mastodon ‘Rate Limit Exceeded’ Message: How Long to Wait
- Mastodon ‘Service Temporarily Unavailable’ Error: How to Verify
- Mastodon ‘Sidekiq Queue Backlog’ Causing Delays: Recovery
- Mastodon ‘Status Already Deleted’ on Edit Attempt: Causes
- Mastodon ‘Streaming API Disconnected’ on Web Client: Fix
- Mastodon Notification Badge Stuck on a Number: Fix Steps
- Mastodon Push Notifications Stopped Working on iOS: Fix
- Mastodon Web Client White Screen on Load: Causes and Fix