For one reason or another, you may need to migrate from one Masto instance to another. I've recently done it, so I thought I'd share my hints with the world.

There are a few things to bear in mind if you are going to move to a new server:

• You can't take your content with you. You can export it from the old server, but at this moment there is no import, so you can just keep it safe for later. Think of it as a fresh start.
• You will have to find your people again. Your followers are magically moved over to follow your new account, but the people you follow are not. Again, you can export this list but there's no bulk import. But it's probably time to drop some of them anyway right?

Step by step guide that can't possibly go wrong.

Step 0 - Create a new account

You can figure this one out for yourselves.

Step 1 - Backup

1. Go to your original Masto account, the one you are moving FROM
2. Go to Preferences > Import and Export
3. Download your follows, data, whatever you might think you want to keep

Step 2 - Redirect

1. Go to your original Masto account, the one you are moving FROM
2. At the bottom of the Preferences page, choose "Move to a different account"
3. Add the details of your new account and click "Move Followers"
4. Go to your new Masto account, the one you are moving TO
5. At the bottom of the Preferences page, choose "Moving from a different account"
6. Add your old account handle in here to create an alias to your new account

Step 3 - Optional Extras

• I didn't know if people would still ever land on my old profile, but just in case I changed my profile pic to say "INACTIVE" in big red letters.
• I had to search and follow all my people manually, which was a pain in the arse, but I did zero research and found no way to do it in bulk. YMMV.
• Follow me @[email protected]. I post very little so it's not really worth it, but on the positive that means I'm not super annoying