The Fulcrum

Migration Expectations: Coming Home to Bonfire

Bonfire artwork of bird carrying a firebrand

This article originally appeared on The Fulcrum.

One of the foundational aspects of the Fediverse is that you are able to move your account to another home aka instance. And that you can take the majority of your data with you.

This interoperability capability shared between ActivityPub platforms is a fantastic benefit for you and open social in general.

There are many reasons for moving you account to a new home:

In any event, if you are looking to move, Bonfire opens new opportunities for community-driven, boundary-respecting social networking. I think it can be the everything app of the Fediverse. It's a great choice for a new home for your identity and data.

However, a move has the potential to be irreversible so you need to be sure about your decision. And Bonfire has unique features like Circles, Groups, and Boundaries that may not exist on you current platform. So read some of the linked articles here to get an idea of what your new experience will entail.

Note that while we are one of the few publications covering Bonfire, I am not an expert so most of this information is pulled (by handwritten notes) from the Bonfire documentation.

Like developing software for the Fediverse itself, migrating is not simple but it is possible with a little work and concentration.

Here are the processes we will go through:

  If you just want to create a new Bonfire account, read our notice Setting up your account on a Bonfire / Manade instance.

Note That Not Everything Migrates

Migratable:

Not migratable:

 

Export Your Current Data

Your current data has to be migrated.

The Bonfire docs cover moving from a variety of platforms including other Bonfire instances. But, we are going to look at the most common possibilities here.

The Fediverse's 800 pound Gorilla aka Mastodon

Moving from the extinct pachyderm would be the most common migration path.

From the user interface of your current home the steps are:

  1. Go to Settings > Import and Export Data > Data Export
  2. Download your follow, blocks, mutes, bookmarks, and lists to CSV files
  3. Request a full archive of your posts and media

Misskey and friends

With Misskey and its forks there is a similar process with these steps:

  1. Go to Setttings > Import / Export
  2. Export your following list, blocked users, muted users, bookmarks, lists
  3. Some lists may need to be manually created

Akkoma

For this innovative Misskey-influenced fork of Pleroma:

  1. Go to Settings > Data export
  2. Export follows, blocks, mutes, bookmarks
  3. Export your lists as they are available

  You should be able to migrate from any Fediverse platform with similar steps. Your current home's admin might even help you, especially if the instance is shutting down.

Start a Fire

The first step to creating a new Bonfire account is to choose an instance. And this is the most challenging step in my opinion.

Because, there aren't many pubic instances of Bonfire available. So be diligent in reviewing the communities and their rules for the few choices you have.

Note that this is why we are working on Manade. There needs to be an easier way to stand up a new Bonfire community.

Bonfire itself has an experimental instance so you can experience how it works. But it's not a permanent home for you on the Fediverse.

Also, make sure the Bonfire community you want to migrate to will federate with your current platform's instance.

Sign on the dotted line

You might want to read our article, Grab a seat at our Bonfire: the revolutionary community platform before continuing.

And you might want to choose an instance based on the flavor of Bonfire it uses.

On the signup page of your final choice:

Note that with Bonfire you can have up to four profiles on each account. This is assuming your new community permits them. You could have a personal and professional profiles. And maybe one for intimate friends and family or a group-based profile.

Fortunately, you don't have to do this a signup and have time to plan your profiles strategy. I would recommend waiting.

If you want to at this point, you can also create custom Circles for sharing and organizing your feeds. You can set up Boundaries and your privacy settings. And you can explore Bonfire's user interface.

Of course, you don't have to select all your settings immediately. You might want to read about Circles, Boundaries, and Groups first. Then customize your settings after the migration is finished.

Set up your Aliases

You need to create alias(es) on the instance you are leaving.

The same steps are required for leaving a Mastodon, Akkoma, or even Pixelfed instance:

With Misskey aliasing may not be supported so you will have to manually notify your followers ahead of executing the move. Publicize a moving date and time in your header and send multiple posts while preparing to move to Bonfire.

Now, in Bonfire go the Settings > Import and scroll down to the bottom. In the "Account Aliases" section add your previous Fediverse handle -> @youroldusername@youroldinstancename.social etc. Finally, save the alias.

Make Sure It Works

To make sure everything is good to go:

  You're all set Clark Kent.

Importing Your Current Data

The next process is importing your data.

Like everything else with Bonfire, it's import system is flexible and secure.

You will import these files:

OK, let's import them.

Here's how it works:

 

What You Can Import

As you might guess by now, you can import:

Preserving Data is Important during Imports

Bonfire carefully preserves your content's original identity when importing your posts and other content.

So:

This works by:

It benefits you by:

 

Importing More Data into Bonfire

You also need to import the accounts you are following.

So:

 

Move Your Followers

It's now time to move your followers. Note that this is irreversible. So make sure you 100% committed to the move.

You have to start the move on your old home by:

What Happens Now

Here's what should now occur:

  If your old instance does not support moves, what should you do?

Manually announce your move in a final post. Then pin that announcement post to the top of your old profile. Ask your existing followers to follow your new Bonfire profile.

Clean Up Your Old Account

You will need to clean up your old account. Note that you have the option to keep your old account and redirect it to Bonfire rather than closing and deleting it.

The other option is the deletion route. Maybe you're pissed off at your old instance and want to have nothing to do with legitimizing it's newly exposed technofascist admin who has gone all in on the AI Slop train. ;) Tech routinely gets enshittified and Fediverse instances are no different. But, fortunately you have moved to Bonfire.

So:

 

This did not work as advertised

You may need to do some troubleshooting (though probably not).

If your followers didn't transfer:

If you import failed on Bonfire:

If you can't set up aliases:

If a move option say it's not available:

 

Let's Rock Bonfire

It's time to rock and roll with Bonfire.

If you haven't already, read our Grab a seat at our Bonfire: the revolutionary community platform and Bonfire: A Social Platform Apart articles.

You will notice your lists have become Circles with new settings. Bonfire's privacy model and settings are different from those of your old home.

And new interaction options are now available to you as well. So get started and take advantage of them.

Wrapping it Up

As you have seen, migrating to Bonfire is doable but not simple. It's like Activity Pub software development itself. But, the important part is that it is possible. And it's not super difficult.

Interoperability, agency, and freedom are key tenants of the Fediverse. They are well worth any patience and effort required to benefit from them.

Your reward is upcoming hours of enjoying the most innovative and customizable Fediverse platform, Bonfire.

Grab your seat and revel in the warmth of ActivityPub's most secure, stable, and safe community tool.

Cheers!

 

 

CTAs

 

And please build something for a community! We're painfully nurturing the Bonfire-based Manade.

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#activitypub #bonfire #fediverse #manade