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Migrating from Micro.blog to Jottings

• 5 min read • Migration

Migrating from Micro.blog to Jottings

I get this question a lot: "How do I move my microblog from Micro.blog to Jottings?"

First, let me say this clearly: Micro.blog is an excellent platform. Manton has built something special for indie web enthusiasts—great community, solid infrastructure, and genuine commitment to open standards. If Micro.blog works for you, stick with it. But if you're considering a change, I'm here to help you make the move smoothly.

Why People Consider Switching

There are a few reasons I hear from folks exploring Jottings:

Cost: Micro.blog costs $5/month (or $50/year). Jottings is completely free. For hobbyists and side projects, that difference matters.

Simplicity: Micro.blog is powerful—maybe too powerful for what you need. Jottings strips everything down to the essentials: write, publish, done. No dashboard overload.

Customization: Want to tweak your site's colors? Run your own build process? Jottings lets you access the raw HTML/CSS or keep it simple. You get a say in how much complexity you want.

Markdown-first workflow: If you write in plain text markdown, Jottings feels native. No GUI editor, just your text.

These reasons might resonate with you, or they might not. The beauty of the indie web is that you have options.

What Translates Well (And What Doesn't)

Before you migrate, let's talk about what moves over cleanly and what needs adjustment.

What translates perfectly:

  • Text posts (your main content)
  • Metadata like timestamps and tags
  • Your site's URL structure (if you use a custom domain)

What needs rework:

  • Photos and media (you'll need to re-upload images)
  • Micro.blog's specific features (like conversations and mentions)
  • Custom Micro.blog themes (you'll redesign using Jottings' template system)
  • RSS feed subscribers (they'll need to resubscribe to your new feed URL)

The good news? Your words transfer perfectly. Everything else is just plumbing.

The Migration Process

Here's how I'd approach moving from Micro.blog to Jottings:

Step 1: Export Your Content from Micro.blog

Micro.blog makes this easy. Go to Account → Export and download your content as JSON. This gives you everything: posts, dates, tags, all of it. You'll have a backup regardless of what happens next.

Step 2: Convert to Markdown

Jottings stores content as markdown. If your Micro.blog posts are plain text, great—minimal conversion needed. If you have rich formatting, you might need to clean things up.

I'd suggest using a script to batch convert your JSON export to markdown files, one file per post. The structure should look like this:

# Post Title

Your content here in markdown format.

Tags: tag1, tag2, tag3
Date: 2025-12-06

This is straightforward enough that a quick Node.js script or Python one-liner does the job.

Step 3: Create Your Site on Jottings

Sign up, create your site, choose your custom domain or use your jottings.me subdomain. Takes about two minutes.

Step 4: Import Your Posts

Jottings doesn't have a built-in import tool yet (this is on the roadmap), so you have a few options:

Option A: Manual Entry For a small number of posts, I just paste them in through the web interface. Takes longer, but you can revise as you go.

Option B: API Import If you're comfortable with code, Jottings has an open API. You can script the creation of posts with your exported data. Drop me a line and I'll help with this.

Option C: Copy-Paste via Browser Bulk select and paste is faster than one-by-one. Less elegant, but it works.

Step 5: Redirect Your Old Feed

Update Micro.blog to redirect subscribers somewhere. If you're keeping your custom domain, set up a 301 redirect from your old feed URL to your new Jottings RSS feed. Feed readers respect these.

What You'll Notice Differently

Speed: Jottings serves sites through Cloudflare's global network. Your site will be fast. Like, embarrassingly fast.

Simplicity: The dashboard is intentionally minimal. Some people find this liberating; others miss Micro.blog's depth.

Community: Micro.blog has a thriving community. Jottings is younger and smaller. If that's important to you, that's worth considering.

Features: Jottings doesn't do conversations or likes—it's not that kind of platform. You're writing for readers who want to think, not react.

Custom Domains: Jottings supports them just like Micro.blog does. DNS setup is identical.

A Word on URLs

Your old Micro.blog URLs will break unless you set up redirects. Talk to Manton about a redirect strategy—he's good about helping with this. Better yet, use a custom domain. If your Micro.blog is at yourdomain.com, your Jottings site can be too. Your readers never notice you switched.

The Honest Take

Migration is a bit manual right now. I won't pretend it's as smooth as I'd like. But it's doable, and it's a one-time thing. Once you're here, you own your site and your content.

If you're on the fence, I'd say this: try Jottings alongside Micro.blog for a while. Post to both. See which feels right. There's no rush.

And if you decide to make the leap? I'm here to help. Hit reply if you get stuck.

Ready to try it out? Head over to jottings.me and create your free site. No credit card required, no paid tier to "upgrade" to later. Just a place to write.

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