diff --git a/common.py b/common.py
index 95bb2700a922ebe8f735ecb2f67a93163738bdc0..dea5d9ddb3b99b706fe37e5722b724bda144dd30 100644
--- a/common.py
+++ b/common.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+import json
 import sys
+import urllib.request
 
 if not sys.platform.startswith("win"):
     from getpass import getpass
@@ -21,3 +23,23 @@ def get_sessionid(service_name, cookie_key):
     if sid.startswith("s%3A"):
         return sid
     raise SystemExit(f"error: the supplied session id seems to be malformed")
+
+
+def print_block_heading(message):
+    separator = "======================================================================================================"
+    print(separator)
+    print(message)
+    print(separator)
+
+
+def check_accessibility(instance_url, session_id):
+    request_url = instance_url + '/me/'
+    headers = {"Cookie": f"connect.hedgeDoc.sid={session_id}"}
+
+    req = urllib.request.Request(request_url, headers=headers)
+    with urllib.request.urlopen(req) as response:
+        response_json = json.load(response)
+        if response_json["status"] != "ok":
+            raise SystemExit(f"Could not access protected resources at {request_url}. Make sure that the specified "
+                             f"cookie is correct. Aborting...")
+    print(f"Could access protected resources at {instance_url}. Proceeding...")
diff --git a/export_md/codimd_export.py b/export_md/codimd_export.py
index 6f8b158daa61ccd009363f7b34c1043b32003759..562ee452bcc5c13653a6696d5f454cd8fe9bd5ba 100755
--- a/export_md/codimd_export.py
+++ b/export_md/codimd_export.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ from urllib.parse import quote
 from urllib.request import Request, urlopen
 import sys
 
-from common import get_sessionid
+from common import get_sessionid, check_accessibility, print_block_heading
 
 
 def slurp(url, session_id):
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ def prepare_target_dir(pathname):
 
 
 def export_from_codimd(instance_url, session_id, export_to):
+    check_accessibility(instance_url, session_id)
     """Retrieve CodiMD document history and try to download each document."""
     try:
         data = json.loads(slurp(f"{instance_url}/history", session_id))
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ def export_from_codimd(instance_url, session_id, export_to):
         raise SystemExit(f"error: couldn't access the /history endpoint: {error}")
     except json.JSONDecodeError as error:
         raise SystemExit(f"error: received malformed JSON: {error}")
+    print_block_heading(f"Preparing target directory ({export_to})")
     target_dir = prepare_target_dir(export_to)
     num_ok = num_fail = 0
     for row in data["history"]:
diff --git a/md-import-export.py b/md-import-export.py
index 1e1423e30dff0f7227ceec3783edcd07c0fc72dc..ec6b7770f27eb7890dc950dc5d135c926b6f7f27 100644
--- a/md-import-export.py
+++ b/md-import-export.py
@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
 from export_md.codimd_export import export_from_codimd
 from import_md.hedgedoc_import import import_into_hedgedoc
-from common import get_sessionid
+from common import get_sessionid, print_block_heading
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     export_folder = "codimd-documents"
     export_archive = "archive.zip"
+
+    print_block_heading("Beginning export from CodiMD...")
     export_from_codimd("http://localhost:3001", get_sessionid("CodiMD", "connect.sid"), export_folder)
+
+    print_block_heading("Beginning import to HedgeDoc...")
     import_into_hedgedoc("http://hedgedoc:3000", get_sessionid("HedgeDoc", "connect.hedgeDoc.sid"),
                          export_folder, export_archive)