Mastodon lets you download an archive of all the posts and media attachments you’ve ever published on your account. Here’s how to do it:
- Log in through your server’s website or web app
- Click on ⚙️ Preferences (if you’re using the mobile website click ☰ in the bottom right corner and then ⚙️ Preferences)
- If you’re using the desktop website, click on Import and export on the left of the screen. If you’re using the mobile website click ☰ in the top right corner and then Import and export.
- Click on the Request your archive button. This will begin the archive creation process which may take a while, you will receive an email from your server when it is ready. You DO NOT need to stay logged in while this happens, it will happen automatically.
- When your archive is ready, you will receive an email from your server notifying you about it. Go back to the Import and Export page using the steps above. (If you have remained on the page since requesting the archive, refresh the page when you receive the email.)
- Click on the Download your archive link and select where you want to save the file.
Does it include images etc that I’ve posted?
Yes, it includes your posts’ media attachments such as images, video, audio.
Does it include other people’s posts that I’ve boosted?
No. It’s just an archive of your own posts.
How often can I ask for an archive?
By default you can request an archive every seven days. Server admins can adjust this setting though, so some servers may have a different minimum time between archive requests.
If I ask for another archive, does that have all the posts or just the ones since the last download?
Every archive has all the posts you’ve ever created.
This doesn’t include deleted posts though, these are actually deleted from the server, so if you’ve deleted posts since your last archive download they will not show up on newer archives.
How long is the archive available to download?
By default the archive is available to download for seven days, but different servers may have different download periods. Generally it’s a good idea to download it the same day that it is ready.
If the archive disappears before you downloaded it, you can request that the server creates the archive again.
How often should I download an archive?
It’s totally up to you, some people never download them while others do it regularly.
Is this the same thing as transferring your account?
No. Account archives are totally separate from the account transfer system. They use different files and do different things. The only connection between the two is that they’re both done through the Import and export page.
How do I view the archive?
This is a very good question! The Mastodon developers have provided no official way to view post archives. There are unofficial third party archive viewers, but these usually require a lot of technical knowledge to install and use. Here are some links to third party archive viewers:
- Mastodon Archive Viewer (Zero’s fork) ⧉
- Mastodon Archive Viewer (modified by Slashyn) ⧉
- Mastodon Archive Viewer (Python script) ⧉
Can I upload my post archive to my new account on another server?
Not on Mastodon. The archive system is totally separate from the account transfer system, and the archive is NOT used in transferring accounts. The archive is mainly intended for your own personal records, so that you have a private offline copy of your posts and attachments. There are no Mastodon servers which allow uploads of archives. If you attempt to upload it during an account transfer, it will just give you an error message.
HOWEVER… there is work being done on allowing people to upload their Mastodon post archives to other types of Fediverse server including GoToSocial. These uploads use a tool called Slurp ⧉ which also allows transfers of Pixelfed and Bluesky post archives. At the moment Slurp requires quite a lot of technical knowledge and isn’t practical for most people to use, but it shows that it is technically possible and could perhaps power an official post transfer feature at some point.
Uploading archives to another server can take a lot of resources depending on how many posts are in the archive, and some people have archives with thousands of posts or more. Using lots of resources can really slow a server down, which is possibly why Mastodon doesn’t allow archive uploads at the moment.
So, if I transfer my account to another Mastodon server, what happens to my old posts?
As long as you don’t delete your old account, your old posts remain intact on your old account, and if you’ve done the transfer process your old account’s posts will redirect people to your new account. For example, if someone finds an old post of yours and clicks on the account name to see who wrote it, they will be directed to your new account.
Can I upload my post archive to my own server if it has technical problems and loses my posts?
Another really good question. As far as Fedi.Tips is aware this has never been done. Whether it’s possible or not is unclear.