When you try to move your followers from an old Mastodon account to a new one, the new instance may reject the alias you set on the old account. This error prevents the migration handshake from completing and leaves followers stranded on the old profile. The issue typically occurs because the alias record on the … Read more
When you click a remote follow button on a Mastodon profile, the browser sometimes opens the wrong instance for signing in. Instead of your home instance, the button redirects you to a different server where you have no account. This happens because the follow button uses a hardcoded URL that points to a specific instance … Read more
You followed a hashtag in Mastodon expecting to see all new public posts with that tag in your home feed, but the timeline remains empty or shows only sporadic entries. This issue occurs because Mastodon’s hashtag follow feature relies on the instance’s full-text search index and federation timing, not on real-time streaming. This article explains … Read more
When you try to attach an image or video to a Mastodon post and see the error “File too large,” your upload is being rejected by the server. Mastodon instances enforce a maximum file size limit to control storage costs and bandwidth usage. This limit is set by your instance administrator and cannot be changed … Read more
You have downloaded your Mastodon data export archive but the bookmarks file is not included inside the zip. This happens because the standard export tool in Mastodon only includes a limited set of data types by default. Bookmarks are stored separately in the database and are not part of the basic archive package. This article … Read more
When you move your Mastodon account to a new instance, your followers should automatically follow the new account. But sometimes the move process fails silently, leaving your old followers stuck on the old profile. This problem happens when the handshake between the two instances is incomplete or when the old account is not properly configured. … Read more
When you try to move your followers from an old Mastodon account to a new one, the required Alias setup option sometimes does not appear in the old account’s settings. This missing option prevents the follower migration handshake from starting. The cause is usually a difference in Mastodon software versions or a disabled migration feature … Read more
After moving your account to a new Mastodon instance, the remote timeline may stop showing new posts. This often happens because the new instance has not fully connected to the same federated servers as your old instance. The remote timeline relies on active subscriptions to other servers, and these subscriptions do not transfer automatically during … Read more
You boost a post from another Mastodon instance, but the boosted post never shows up in your home timeline or your profile. This can happen even though the original post is still visible and the boost action appeared to succeed. The problem is almost always caused by a server-side mute or block rule applied by … Read more
You type a remote user’s full handle into the Mastodon search box, but the profile does not appear in the results. This happens because Mastodon’s search engine indexes local content by default and relies on federation events to discover remote accounts. Without a prior interaction or a complete federated handshake, the search box returns nothing. … Read more