diff --git a/internal/trans/exporter.go b/internal/trans/exporter.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ad7884d2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/exporter.go
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans
+
+import (
+	"context"
+
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/db"
+)
+
+type Exporter interface {
+	ExportMinimal(ctx context.Context, path string) error
+}
+
+type exporter struct {
+	db db.DB
+}
+
+func NewExporter(db db.DB) Exporter {
+	return &exporter{
+		db: db,
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/exportminimal.go b/internal/trans/exportminimal.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a000a48f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/exportminimal.go
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/db"
+	transmodel "github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/trans/model"
+)
+
+func (e *exporter) ExportMinimal(ctx context.Context, path string) error {
+	f, err := os.Create(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	w := bufio.NewWriter(f)
+	encoder := json.NewEncoder(w)
+
+	accounts := []*transmodel.Account{}
+	if err := e.db.GetWhere(ctx, []db.Where{{Key: "domain", Value: nil}}, &accounts); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error selecting accounts: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	for _, a := range accounts {
+		encoder.Encode(a)
+	}
+
+	return neatClose(w, f)
+}
+
+func neatClose(w *bufio.Writer, f *os.File) error {
+	if err := w.Flush(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error flushing writer: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if err := f.Close(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error closing file: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/exportminimal_test.go b/internal/trans/exportminimal_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0e686cde5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/exportminimal_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/trans"
+)
+
+type ExportMinimalTestSuite struct {
+	TransTestSuite
+}
+
+func (suite *ExportMinimalTestSuite) TestExportMinimalOK() {
+	// use a temporary file path that will be cleaned when the test is closed
+	tempFilePath := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", suite.T().TempDir(), uuid.NewString())
+
+	// export to the tempFilePath
+	exporter := trans.NewExporter(suite.db)
+	err := exporter.ExportMinimal(context.Background(), tempFilePath)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+
+	// we should have some bytes in that file now
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(tempFilePath)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+	suite.NotEmpty(b)
+	suite.T().Log(string(b))
+}
+
+func TestExportMinimalTestSuite(t *testing.T) {
+	suite.Run(t, &ExportMinimalTestSuite{})
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/model/account.go b/internal/trans/model/account.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..26a06e5e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/model/account.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans
+
+import (
+	"crypto/rsa"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// Account represents the minimum viable representation of an account for export/import.
+type Account struct {
+	ID                    string          `json:"id"`
+	CreatedAt             *time.Time      `json:"created_at"`
+	UpdatedAt             *time.Time      `json:"updated_at"`
+	Username              string          `json:"username"`
+	Domain                string          `json:"domain,omitempty"`
+	Locked                bool            `json:"locked"`
+	Language              string          `json:"language,omitempty"`
+	URI                   string          `json:"uri"`
+	URL                   string          `json:"url"`
+	InboxURI              string          `json:"inbox_uri"`
+	OutboxURI             string          `json:"outbox_uri"`
+	FollowingURI          string          `json:"following_uri"`
+	FollowersURI          string          `json:"followers_uri"`
+	FeaturedCollectionURI string          `json:"featured_collection_uri"`
+	ActorType             string          `json:"actor_type"`
+	PrivateKey            *rsa.PrivateKey `json:"private_key,omitempty"`
+	PublicKey             *rsa.PublicKey  `json:"public_key"`
+	PublicKeyURI          string          `json:"public_key_uri"`
+	SuspendedAt           *time.Time      `json:"suspended_at,omitempty"`
+	SuspensionOrigin      string          `json:"suspension_origin,omitempty"`
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/model/account_test.go b/internal/trans/model/account_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aa1f37f85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/model/account_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
+	trans "github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/trans/model"
+)
+
+type AccountTestSuite struct {
+	ModelTestSuite
+}
+
+func (suite *AccountTestSuite) TestAccountsIdempotent() {
+	// we should be able to get all accounts with the simple trans.Account struct
+	accounts := []*trans.Account{}
+	err := suite.db.GetAll(context.Background(), &accounts)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+	suite.NotEmpty(accounts)
+
+	// we should be able to marshal the accounts to json with no problems
+	b, err := json.Marshal(&accounts)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+	suite.NotNil(b)
+	suite.T().Log(string(b))
+
+	// the json should be idempotent
+	mAccounts := []*trans.Account{}
+	err = json.Unmarshal(b, &mAccounts)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+	suite.NotEmpty(mAccounts)
+	suite.EqualValues(accounts, mAccounts)
+}
+
+func TestAccountTestSuite(t *testing.T) {
+	suite.Run(t, &AccountTestSuite{})
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/model/block.go b/internal/trans/model/block.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3306dac15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/model/block.go
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans
+
+import "time"
+
+type Block struct {
+	ID              string    `json:"id"`
+	CreatedAt       time.Time `json:"created_at"`
+	UpdatedAt       time.Time `json:"updated_at"`
+	URI             string    `json:"uri"`
+	AccountID       string    `json:"account_id"`
+	TargetAccountID string    `json:"target_account_id"`
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/model/block_test.go b/internal/trans/model/block_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9a3b78e1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/model/block_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
+	trans "github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/trans/model"
+)
+
+type BlockTestSuite struct {
+	ModelTestSuite
+}
+
+func (suite *AccountTestSuite) TestBlocksIdempotent() {
+	// we should be able to get all blocks with the simple trans.Block struct
+	blocks := []*trans.Block{}
+	err := suite.db.GetAll(context.Background(), &blocks)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+	suite.NotEmpty(blocks)
+
+	// we should be able to marshal the blocks to json with no problems
+	b, err := json.Marshal(&blocks)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+	suite.NotNil(b)
+	suite.T().Log(string(b))
+
+	// the json should be idempotent
+	mBlocks := []*trans.Block{}
+	err = json.Unmarshal(b, &mBlocks)
+	suite.NoError(err)
+	suite.NotEmpty(mBlocks)
+	suite.EqualValues(blocks, mBlocks)
+}
+
+func TestBlockTestSuite(t *testing.T) {
+	suite.Run(t, &BlockTestSuite{})
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/model/domainblock.go b/internal/trans/model/domainblock.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cc3e8924b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/model/domainblock.go
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+package trans
+
+
diff --git a/internal/trans/model/model_test.go b/internal/trans/model/model_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..278ef4a9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/model/model_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans_test
+
+import (
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/db"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/testrig"
+)
+
+type ModelTestSuite struct {
+	suite.Suite
+	db db.DB
+}
+
+func (suite *ModelTestSuite) SetupTest() {
+	suite.db = testrig.NewTestDB()
+	testrig.StandardDBSetup(suite.db, nil)
+}
+
+func (suite *ModelTestSuite) TearDownTest() {
+	testrig.StandardDBTeardown(suite.db)
+}
diff --git a/internal/trans/trans_test.go b/internal/trans/trans_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5249fc6ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/trans/trans_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+   GoToSocial
+   Copyright (C) 2021 GoToSocial Authors admin@gotosocial.org
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package trans_test
+
+import (
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/internal/db"
+	"github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/testrig"
+)
+
+type TransTestSuite struct {
+	suite.Suite
+	db db.DB
+}
+
+func (suite *TransTestSuite) SetupTest() {
+	suite.db = testrig.NewTestDB()
+	testrig.StandardDBSetup(suite.db, nil)
+}
+
+func (suite *TransTestSuite) TearDownTest() {
+	testrig.StandardDBTeardown(suite.db)
+}
diff --git a/testrig/db.go b/testrig/db.go
index 7cb4f7645..5798af5ce 100644
--- a/testrig/db.go
+++ b/testrig/db.go
@@ -72,6 +72,16 @@ func NewTestDB() db.DB {
 	return testDB
 }
 
+// CreateTestTables creates prerequisite test tables in the database, but doesn't populate them.
+func CreateTestTables(db db.DB) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	for _, m := range testModels {
+		if err := db.CreateTable(ctx, m); err != nil {
+			logrus.Panicf("error creating table for %+v: %s", m, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // StandardDBSetup populates a given db with all the necessary tables/models for perfoming tests.
 //
 // The accounts parameter is provided in case the db should be populated with a certain set of accounts.
@@ -85,13 +95,9 @@ func StandardDBSetup(db db.DB, accounts map[string]*gtsmodel.Account) {
 		logrus.Panic("db setup: db was nil")
 	}
 
-	ctx := context.Background()
+	CreateTestTables(db)
 
-	for _, m := range testModels {
-		if err := db.CreateTable(ctx, m); err != nil {
-			logrus.Panicf("error creating table for %+v: %s", m, err)
-		}
-	}
+	ctx := context.Background()
 
 	for _, v := range NewTestTokens() {
 		if err := db.Put(ctx, v); err != nil {
@@ -111,6 +117,12 @@ func StandardDBSetup(db db.DB, accounts map[string]*gtsmodel.Account) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	for _, v := range NewTestBlocks() {
+		if err := db.Put(ctx, v); err != nil {
+			logrus.Panic(err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	for _, v := range NewTestUsers() {
 		if err := db.Put(ctx, v); err != nil {
 			logrus.Panic(err)
diff --git a/testrig/testmodels.go b/testrig/testmodels.go
index e4daed12c..45f47f46a 100644
--- a/testrig/testmodels.go
+++ b/testrig/testmodels.go
@@ -1215,6 +1215,19 @@ func NewTestFollows() map[string]*gtsmodel.Follow {
 	}
 }
 
+func NewTestBlocks() map[string]*gtsmodel.Block {
+	return map[string]*gtsmodel.Block{
+		"local_account_2_block_remote_account_1": {
+			ID:              "01FEXXET6XXMF7G2V3ASZP3YQW",
+			CreatedAt:       time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Hour),
+			UpdatedAt:       time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Hour),
+			URI:             "http://localhost:8080/users/1happyturtle/blocks/01FEXXET6XXMF7G2V3ASZP3YQW",
+			AccountID:       "01F8MH5NBDF2MV7CTC4Q5128HF",
+			TargetAccountID: "01F8MH5ZK5VRH73AKHQM6Y9VNX",
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 // ActivityWithSignature wraps a pub.Activity along with its signature headers, for testing.
 type ActivityWithSignature struct {
 	Activity        pub.Activity