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Eugen Rochko

How to migrate from one Mastodon server to another without losing followers:

1. Sign up on new server
2. On NEW server: Go to Account -> Moving FROM another account
3. Enter old account's handle
4. On OLD server: Go to Account -> Moving TO another account
5. Enter new account's handle and submit

#YoMigroaMastodon

142 comments
Claire [deprecated account]

@Gargron the migration worker still has several show-stopping bugs in the last release

Eugen Rochko

@Nynaeve The old account won't disappear (although you can delete it if you want)

:nyancat_body:]colemankane[:nyancat_face:

@Gargron @Nynaeve Will it link your old account to your new one, so that people reading your old posts are sent to your new account when they click your profile?

Mᴀʏᴀ :verified:

@Gargron @Nynaeve But are they deleted or they just continue to live on the old server?

Adrián Andrés

@Gargron how long dotes the migrate procesos, aprox? Thanks!

Adrián Andrés

@Gargron how long does the migrate process, aprox? Thanks!

Vaaxler

@Gargron eee pls dont ban me. But I need to express myself through bad words sometimes

Eva13 ✅

@Gargron cucha, @Juanmi_News , aquí hay algo que puede interesar, algo de luz a este potaje 😂😂😂

Lynne

@Gargron remember to log out of new server between 3 and 4, I didn't stumped me for hours

Frost [moved]

Note that this does NOT migrate posts! Which I would argue are more important than followers - you can do followers manually. Posts, you're out of luck.

#YoMigroaMastodon

Sven

@Gargron As addition for people trying this: Sometimes, the old server happens to have old data fetched. This means, it doesn't have the newest account data of the new account. This might result in the error that the new account doesn't properly refer back to the old one.

In this case, do a simple search for your user URL(!) (e.g. https://chaos.social/@esureL) to update the data and then try again. :)

Fabulous Nairobian

@Gargron It's only possible to move from another account which is on Mastodon 3.0.1 😢

Garfield

@Gargron Logged on to my mastodon.social account on a web browser.

Went to Account Settings -> Account Migration -> Move to a different Account

Garfield

@Gargron Damn! Hit Toot! Too soon!

Ok, logged into my mastodon.social account

Went to Account Settings -> Account Migration -> Move to a different account.

Entered Handle of the new Account

Entered the Password if the Current (mastodon.social) account

Tells me my mastodon.scot Account is not back referencing this account.

radikalgrafitio :ancom:

@Gargron of cause this only works when both servers are on mastodon 3+ and all the followers are too, unfortunately there are still a lot on earlier versions

Bou

@Gargron am I right to assume that bothe servers must be updated to at least Mastodon 3.0?

alexbarra

@Gargron Can we connect accounts through servers?

Spinny

@Gargron uah hovv much of the hundred years i must get old to get any clue vvhat is going on here all )):

Tom Etty

@Gargron Is this still current? Or has the process changed in the past few years?

Eric Redegeld

@Gargron and if you want to keep both. I want to hop from server to server

t-lo

@Gargron Is there a tool available for migrating toots, too? So sad to lose one's history.

Maxim Loick

@Gargron und jetzt diese Funktion für Twitter-Accounts, das wär's!

Malcolm Bastien

@Gargron I love how you don’t even need to manually export or download any files as part of this process

Joran

@Gargron I've heard from several people for who this did not work and who's followers etc. didn't get transferred properly. Any idea what the reason for that could be? Or is it a temporary glitch because of how busy the servers are? 😊

Karl Schwartz, Artist advocate

@Gargron Thank you. Can you provide the rationale for having multiple servers or point me to that information?

Guessing that it allows you to have both private and public accounts?

Hans-Günter Brünker

@Gargron
Thx for the information. I guess the day will come I find the server that suits me best :)
#TwitterMigration #TwitterTakeover

YurkshireLad

@Gargron can you reuse the same handle on the new server?

Yarin

@Gargron I actually had to do this when the original instance I signed up on got too slow with all the new members

makjaveli

@Gargron
One also should add that:

6. it takes 1 or 2 days until all followers reapear in the new account

... at least that was the case when I did a move

messalina

Danke @Gargron das hab ich heute schon gesucht 😊

Holger Sturm

@Gargron ...ganz ehrlich, das ist alles viel zu kompliziert. Warum nicht einfach ein Account, das plattformübergreifend funktioniert, was spricht dagegen?

Rich Holmes

@Gargron I'm trying and failing to #migrate from mastodon.social to mastodon.sdf.org.

On the latter I have created an account alias: It says "Handle of the old account" is "doctroid@mastodon.social".

On mastodon.social I get the error "doctroid@mastodon.sdf.org is not an alias of this account."

What am I doing wrong?

Talya (she/her) 🏳️‍⚧️

@Gargron the only problem is that this migration doesn't move your follows so you have to re-follow everyone 💀💀💀

lord pthenq1

Si quieren migrar a otro server, mastodon.la está disponible. Una instancia en español generalista ligeramente moderada.

@Gargron

lord pthenq1

@Gargron

The real issue is that there are not too many instances offered to people joining mastodon. Just a list of happy few.

There are more than 3000+ instances that are invisible to newbies.

If the few instances listed in joinmastodon can support 20K+ new users each day, then all good.

If they cannot take it, you should consider adding more instances to the joinmastodon list offered to people.

Vinnie (Any)

@Gargron @C_Dtro was looking for this information earlier. 💚🐳

kaiserkiwi :kiwibird:

@Gargron sadly it just doesn't work properly. I'm waiting for days for my old posts to come to the new instance. 😕

Seroude

@Gargron Does not work, followed those exact instructions and it always states that the account to be migrated does not exist. Tried both directions with the same problem. Only thing that worked: export from old account/import to new account...but account info and followers not available to export.

Alan Langford

@Gargron
6. Wait a long time for mastodon.social to catch up and recognize the alias.
7. Go to 5.

Trying to offload but your server is swamped. It'll get done.

Andrea Grandi 🦕

@Gargron @gossithedog how do you do point 4 in case the reason for migrating is that the old one is shut down?

Stephen K 🔑☢️⚛️🇺🇦 :donor:

@Gargron This is great, but again there should be a way to cross-federate users from server to server without doing this.

Feel like that would be a popular feature.

Keikioaina

@Gargron

Thanks. Why does it matter which server/instance you are on? I don't understand that.

Mark Henick

@Gargron I just signed up for this one bc it was at the top of the list. I’d like to move to mstdn.social, but I think my app is awaiting approval? How long does that usually take? Will my content on this one go over there?

BgMac

@Gargron was just looking research this very topic! Thank you.

Lucas Nivon

@Gargron great work! It seems the number one barrier to signup is confusion about servers. Any plans to have an automatic server selection (eg round robin or traffic balanced) for new signups? Experts still could choose server. #twittermigration

Realitätsabstandsoptimierer:in

@Gargron Can you migrate several accounts into a single one that way?

Tullio Viola

@Gargron thanks for this. Why can't I find the "moving from/to account" options?

Mermaid Headteacher

@Gargron ouch this is complicated. Will have to invest in learning but that’s ok.

claudialonow

@Gargron But how do you change servers? Can you follow people on different servers? (No, I don't know what a server is, I'm sorry).

liquidat

@Gargron So in that case, what happens if someone sends a toot to my old handle? Will I be notified on the new server? 🤔

Cameron Talley

@Gargron tried it a bunch of times. Didn’t work. Finally just started over and manually added the people I followed. Stuff like this is what will prevent Mastodon from catching on. People don’t understand the servers. Heck I don’t fully understand the servers.

iluXan 🤣

@Gargron thank you for posting this. I ran into a problem where apparently the status didn’t update to mastodon.social for a while due to caching (had to look that up, and it totally worked about 24 hours later). So I got “you’re not linked to that account” (or whatever is the message). Maybe worth adding to your notice?

Jon Henshaw :coywolf:

@Gargron the account migration from one server to another worked perfectly 💯

Lynda :verified_flashing:

@Gargron Thank you!
I’m saving this in case I ever have a need.

Evakatrina

@Gargron Thank you! This actually worked 💯🥳

Ellie

@Gargron Can you use the same handle on both Eg can I still be (at)norahmoo in both with just the difference in server name.

Andras Bacsai

@Gargron is there a way to do this programmatically through API? Like exporting all data from the old instance, and importing data to the new instance, especially the followers part.

Roh Halus 👻

@Gargron still don't understand why some ppl can't migrate. I can migrate easily yk

Seven Costanza

@Gargron What happens if the instance of the old account dies? (AFAIK this this a redirect; what is unclear to me is this: After the redirect is set up, do followers of the old account continue to follow the old account but get redirected on every request, or is the account info updated on the follower’s instance server after the first redirect?)

Aaron Hatfield II

@Gargron When entering the two handles, does one include the instance portion or JUST the handle?

Caro Kinkead

@Gargron What if your new server doesn't show you the option to move FROM another account?

Janice Braden

@Gargron Thanks - wondering if I need to. My search function shows “No Results” for friends I know who have signed up, even trending hashtags (a search for #art shows no results). Is that a limitation of my server or something else?

Kathy Gori

@Gargron my problem is i got a confirmation email for mastodon online, when i attempt to sign in I’m told the email or password is invalid, but they’re stored in my passwords. The email is my confirmed emaiI don’t know what to do!! I originally signed in on kith.kitchen which was just a random thing now i’m lost . I just want to get to mastodon online

Randi Mason

@Gargron Why can I Boost different people depending on which server I’m on? Have fewer options to boost when logged into l Glammr.us vs Mastodon.Social, plus I can only see a handful of Toots from people before being prompted to sign into their server to see more.
Is it something I can fix or is it just a feature of a federated system?
Thanks!

Chirpy

@Gargron I think this might be the issue that kills mastodon for me…

Dr. Erik Klemetti

@Gargron Huh. I seem to only get some followers over ... unless it takes some time.

Julie

@Gargron I’m lost on step 2. If I go to my account in settings there isn’t jack about migrating.

Chirpy

@Gargron I think one of the biggest hurdles at the moment, is not being able to see the followers of other accounts unless we’re on the same server. It’s due to this that my mastodon experience has plateaued…and I’m not signing up and merging accounts, one account should suffice and it should be able to swap servers…
I’m stuck in mastodon.online…it’s a bit boring…

thegrumpyenby

@gargron There really needs to be a trans-friendly way to change one's username. You can migrate to a different account on the same server (I tried the usual method and failed multiple times) and you can't just change your username either. That can be pretty upsetting for trans folks.

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