diff --git a/augur/export_v2.py b/augur/export_v2.py
index dbfcb8607..32257eab5 100644
--- a/augur/export_v2.py
+++ b/augur/export_v2.py
@@ -149,23 +149,15 @@ def convert_tree_to_json_structure(node, metadata, div=0):
 
     return node_struct
 
-def are_mutations_defined(node_attrs):
-    for node, data in node_attrs.items():
-        if data.get("aa_muts") or data.get("muts"):
-            return True
-    return False
-
-
-def are_clades_defined(node_attrs):
-    for node, data in node_attrs.items():
-        if data.get("clade_membership") or data.get("clade_annotation"):
+def are_mutations_defined(branch_attrs):
+    for branch in branch_attrs.values():
+        if branch.get("mutations"):
             return True
     return False
 
-
-def are_dates_defined(node_attrs):
+def is_node_attr_defined(node_attrs, attr_name):
     for node, data in node_attrs.items():
-        if data.get("num_date"):
+        if data.get(attr_name):
             return True
     return False
 
@@ -221,7 +213,7 @@ def get_config_colorings_as_dict(config):
     return config_colorings
 
 
-def set_colorings(data_json, config, command_line_colorings, metadata_names, node_data_colorings, provided_colors, node_attrs):
+def set_colorings(data_json, config, command_line_colorings, metadata_names, node_data_colorings, provided_colors, node_attrs, branch_attrs):
 
     def _get_type(key, trait_values):
         # for some keys we know what the type must be
@@ -370,7 +362,7 @@ def _create_coloring(key):
     def _is_valid(coloring):
         key = coloring["key"]
         trait_values = get_values_across_nodes(node_attrs, key) # e.g. list of countries, regions etc
-        if key == "gt" and not are_mutations_defined(node_attrs):
+        if key == "gt" and not are_mutations_defined(branch_attrs):
             warn("[colorings] You asked for mutations (\"gt\"), but none are defined on the tree. They cannot be used as a coloring.")
             return False
         if key != "gt" and not trait_values:
@@ -409,11 +401,11 @@ def _get_colorings():
 
         explicitly_defined_colorings = [x["key"] for x in colorings]
         # add in genotype as a special case if (a) not already set and (b) the data supports it
-        if "gt" not in explicitly_defined_colorings and are_mutations_defined(node_attrs):
+        if "gt" not in explicitly_defined_colorings and are_mutations_defined(branch_attrs):
             colorings.insert(0,{'key':'gt'})
-        if "num_date" not in explicitly_defined_colorings and are_dates_defined(node_attrs):
+        if "num_date" not in explicitly_defined_colorings and is_node_attr_defined(node_attrs, "num_date"):
             colorings.insert(0,{'key':'num_date'})
-        if "clade_membership" not in explicitly_defined_colorings and are_clades_defined(node_attrs):
+        if "clade_membership" not in explicitly_defined_colorings and is_node_attr_defined(node_attrs, "clade_membership"):
             colorings.insert(0,{'key':'clade_membership'})
 
         return colorings
@@ -682,10 +674,23 @@ def node_to_author_tuple(data):
 
     return node_author_info
 
+def set_branch_attrs_on_tree(data_json, branch_attrs):
+    """
+    Shifts the provided `branch_attrs` onto the (auspice) `data_json`.
+    Currently all data is transferred, there is no way for (e.g.) the set of exported
+    labels to be restricted by the user in a config.
+    """
+    def _recursively_set_data(node):
+        if branch_attrs.get(node['name'], {}):
+            node['branch_attrs'] = branch_attrs[node['name']]
+        for child in node.get("children", []):
+            _recursively_set_data(child)
+    _recursively_set_data(data_json["tree"])
+
 
 def set_node_attrs_on_tree(data_json, node_attrs):
     '''
-    Assign desired colorings, metadata etc to the tree structure
+    Assign desired colorings, metadata etc to the `node_attrs` of nodes in the tree
 
     Parameters
     ----------
@@ -696,33 +701,10 @@ def set_node_attrs_on_tree(data_json, node_attrs):
 
     author_data = create_author_data(node_attrs)
 
-    def _transfer_mutations(node, raw_data):
-        if "aa_muts" in raw_data or "muts" in raw_data:
-            node["branch_attrs"]["mutations"] = {}
-            if "muts" in raw_data and len(raw_data["muts"]):
-                node["branch_attrs"]["mutations"]["nuc"] = raw_data["muts"]
-            if "aa_muts" in raw_data:
-                aa = {gene:data for gene, data in raw_data["aa_muts"].items() if len(data)}
-                node["branch_attrs"]["mutations"].update(aa)
-                #convert mutations into a label
-                if aa:
-                    aa_lab = '; '.join("{!s}: {!s}".format(key,', '.join(val)) for (key,val) in aa.items())
-                    if 'labels' in node["branch_attrs"]:
-                        node["branch_attrs"]["labels"]["aa"] = aa_lab
-                    else:
-                        node["branch_attrs"]["labels"] = { "aa": aa_lab }
-
     def _transfer_vaccine_info(node, raw_data):
         if raw_data.get("vaccine"):
             node["node_attrs"]['vaccine'] = raw_data['vaccine']
 
-    def _transfer_labels(node, raw_data):
-        if "clade_annotation" in raw_data and is_valid(raw_data["clade_annotation"]):
-            if 'labels' in node["branch_attrs"]:
-                node["branch_attrs"]["labels"]['clade'] = raw_data["clade_annotation"]
-            else:
-                node["branch_attrs"]["labels"] = { "clade": raw_data["clade_annotation"] }
-
     def _transfer_hidden_flag(node, raw_data):
         hidden = raw_data.get("hidden", None)
         if hidden:
@@ -771,9 +753,7 @@ def _recursively_set_data(node):
         # get all the available information for this particular node
         raw_data = node_attrs[node["name"]]
         # transfer "special cases"
-        _transfer_mutations(node, raw_data)
         _transfer_vaccine_info(node, raw_data)
-        _transfer_labels(node, raw_data)
         _transfer_hidden_flag(node, raw_data)
         _transfer_num_date(node, raw_data)
         _transfer_url_accession(node, raw_data)
@@ -790,8 +770,6 @@ def node_data_prop_is_normal_trait(name):
     # those traits / keys / attrs which are not "special" and can be exported
     # as normal attributes on nodes
     excluded = [
-        "clade_annotation", # Clade annotation is label, not colorby!
-        "clade_membership", # will be auto-detected if it is available
         "authors",          # authors are set as a node property, not a trait property
         "author",           # see above
         "vaccine",          # vaccine info is stored as a "special" node prop
@@ -939,6 +917,51 @@ def set_description(data_json, cmd_line_description_file):
     except FileNotFoundError:
         fatal("Provided desciption file {} does not exist".format(cmd_line_description_file))
 
+def create_branch_mutations(branch_attrs, node_data):
+    for node_name, node_info in node_data['nodes'].items():
+        if node_name not in branch_attrs:
+            continue # strain name not in the tree
+        if "aa_muts" not in node_info and "muts" not in node_info:
+            continue
+        branch_attrs[node_name]['mutations'] = {}
+        if "muts" in node_info and len(node_info["muts"]):
+            branch_attrs[node_name]["mutations"]["nuc"] = node_info["muts"]
+        if "aa_muts" in node_info:
+            aa = {gene:data for gene, data in node_info["aa_muts"].items() if len(data)}
+            branch_attrs[node_name]["mutations"].update(aa)
+
+def create_branch_labels(branch_attrs, node_data, branch_data):
+    ## start by creating the 'aa' branch label, summarising any amino acid mutations.
+    ## (We have already set mutations on 'branch_attrs' if they exist, just not the label)
+    ## This is done first so that if the user defines their own 'aa' labels they will
+    ## overwrite the ones created here
+    for branch_info in branch_attrs.values():
+        genes = [gene for gene in branch_info.get('mutations', {}) if gene!='nuc']
+        if len(genes):
+            if 'labels' not in branch_info:
+                branch_info['labels'] = {} ## todo - can we just use defaultdict and avoid all these checks?
+            branch_info['labels']['aa'] = \
+                '; '.join("{!s}: {!s}".format(gene,', '.join(branch_info['mutations'][gene])) for gene in genes)
+
+    ## check for the special key 'clade_annotation' defined via node data.
+    ## For historical reasons, this is interpreted as a branch label 'clade'
+    for node_name, node_info in node_data.items():
+        if node_name in branch_attrs and "clade_annotation" in node_info and is_valid(node_info["clade_annotation"]):
+            if 'labels' not in branch_attrs[node_name]:
+                branch_attrs[node_name]['labels'] = {}
+            branch_attrs[node_name]['labels']['clade'] = node_info["clade_annotation"]
+
+    ## finally transfer any labels defined via <NODE DATA JSON> -> 'branches' -> labels
+    for node_name, branch_info in branch_data.items():
+        if node_name not in branch_attrs:
+            continue
+        for label_key, label_value in branch_info.get('labels', {}).items():
+            if not is_valid(label_value):
+                continue
+            if 'labels' not in branch_attrs[node_name]:
+                branch_attrs[node_name]["labels"] = {}
+            branch_attrs[node_name]["labels"][label_key] = label_value
+
 def parse_node_data_and_metadata(T, node_data, metadata):
     node_data_names = set()
     metadata_names = set()
@@ -955,14 +978,24 @@ def parse_node_data_and_metadata(T, node_data, metadata):
                 metadata_names.add(corrected_key)
 
     # second pass: node data JSONs (overwrites keys of same name found in metadata)
+    node_attrs_which_are_actually_branch_attrs = ["clade_annotation", "aa_muts", "muts"]
     for name, info in node_data['nodes'].items():
         if name in node_attrs: # i.e. this node name is in the tree
             for key, value in info.items():
+                if key in node_attrs_which_are_actually_branch_attrs:
+                    continue # these will be handled below
                 corrected_key = update_deprecated_names(key)
                 node_attrs[name][corrected_key] = value
                 node_data_names.add(corrected_key)
 
-    return (node_data, node_attrs, node_data_names, metadata_names)
+    # third pass: create `branch_attrs`. The data comes from
+    # (a) some keys within `node_data['nodes']` (for legacy reasons)
+    # (b) the `node_data['branches']` dictionary, which currently only defines labels
+    branch_attrs = {clade.name: {} for clade in T.root.find_clades()}
+    create_branch_mutations(branch_attrs, node_data)
+    create_branch_labels(branch_attrs, node_data['nodes'], node_data.get('branches', {}))
+
+    return (node_data, node_attrs, node_data_names, metadata_names, branch_attrs)
 
 def get_config(args):
     if not args.auspice_config:
@@ -1010,7 +1043,8 @@ def run(args):
 
     # parse input files
     T = Phylo.read(args.tree, 'newick')
-    node_data, node_attrs, node_data_names, metadata_names = parse_node_data_and_metadata(T, node_data_file, metadata_file)
+    node_data, node_attrs, node_data_names, metadata_names, branch_attrs = \
+            parse_node_data_and_metadata(T, node_data_file, metadata_file)
     config = get_config(args)
 
     # set metadata data structures
@@ -1030,7 +1064,8 @@ def run(args):
             metadata_names=metadata_names,
             node_data_colorings=node_data_names,
             provided_colors=read_colors(args.colors),
-            node_attrs=node_attrs
+            node_attrs=node_attrs,
+            branch_attrs=branch_attrs
         )
     except FileNotFoundError as e:
         print(f"ERROR: required file could not be read: {e}")
@@ -1040,6 +1075,8 @@ def run(args):
     # set tree structure
     data_json["tree"] = convert_tree_to_json_structure(T.root, node_attrs)
     set_node_attrs_on_tree(data_json, node_attrs)
+    set_branch_attrs_on_tree(data_json, branch_attrs)
+
     set_geo_resolutions(data_json, config, args.geo_resolutions, read_lat_longs(args.lat_longs), node_attrs)
     set_panels(data_json, config, args.panels)
     set_data_provenance(data_json, config)
diff --git a/augur/util_support/node_data_file.py b/augur/util_support/node_data_file.py
index 472bf7b5a..1290f9edd 100644
--- a/augur/util_support/node_data_file.py
+++ b/augur/util_support/node_data_file.py
@@ -25,7 +25,12 @@ def annotations(self):
 
     @property
     def nodes(self):
-        return self.attrs.get("nodes")
+        return self.attrs.get("nodes", {})
+
+    @property
+    def branches(self):
+        # these are optional, so we provide an empty dict as a default
+        return self.attrs.get("branches", {})
 
     @property
     def generated_by(self):
@@ -71,6 +76,15 @@ def validate(self):
                 f"`nodes` value in {self.fname} is not a dictionary. Please check the formatting of this JSON!"
             )
 
+        if not isinstance(self.branches, dict):
+            raise RuntimeError(
+                f"`branches` value in {self.fname} is not a dictionary. Please check the formatting of this JSON!"            )
+
+        if not self.nodes and not self.branches:
+            raise RuntimeError(
+                f"{self.fname} did not contain either `nodes` or `branches`. Please check the formatting of this JSON!"
+        )
+
         if not self.skip_validation and self.is_generated_by_incompatible_augur:
             raise AugurError(
                 f"Augur version incompatibility detected: the JSON {self.fname} was generated by "
diff --git a/tests/functional/export_v2.t b/tests/functional/export_v2.t
index bcecc8651..d6d24385d 100644
--- a/tests/functional/export_v2.t
+++ b/tests/functional/export_v2.t
@@ -137,4 +137,15 @@ Check the output from the above command against its expected contents
   >   --exclude-paths "root['meta']['updated']"
   {}
 
+Export using a node-data file defining branch attrs (mutations, labels)
+  $ ${AUGUR} export v2 \
+  >   --tree export_v2/tree.nwk \
+  >   --node-data export_v2/div_node-data.json export_v2/nt_muts_1.json export_v2/aa_muts_1.json export_v2/branch-labels.json \
+  >   --maintainers "Nextstrain Team" \
+  >   --output "$TMP/dataset-with-branch-labels.json" > /dev/null
+
+  $ python3 "$TESTDIR/../../scripts/diff_jsons.py"  export_v2/dataset-with-branch-labels.json "$TMP/dataset-with-branch-labels.json" \
+  >   --exclude-paths "root['meta']['updated']"
+  {}
+
   $ popd > /dev/null
diff --git a/tests/functional/export_v2/aa_muts_1.json b/tests/functional/export_v2/aa_muts_1.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fe9dc9fa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/export_v2/aa_muts_1.json
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+{
+  "annotations": {
+    "gene1": {
+      "end": 150,
+      "start": 50,
+      "strand": "+"
+    },
+    "gene2": {
+      "end": 300,
+      "start": 200,
+      "strand": "+"
+    },
+    "nuc": {
+      "end": 500,
+      "start": 1,
+      "strand": "+"
+    }
+  },
+  "nodes": {
+    "internalBC": {
+      "aa_muts": {
+        "gene1": ["S10G", "P20S"],
+        "gene2": []
+      }
+    },
+    "internalDEF": {
+      "aa_muts": {
+        "gene1": ["P20S"],
+        "gene2": []
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/functional/export_v2/branch-labels.json b/tests/functional/export_v2/branch-labels.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..88afd58ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/export_v2/branch-labels.json
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+{
+  "nodes": {
+    "tipD": {
+      "clade_membership": "membership D",
+      "clade_annotation": "set via nodes→clade_annotation"
+    },
+    "tipC": {
+      "clade_membership": "membership C",
+      "clade_annotation": "this should be overwritten by custom clade label"
+    }
+  },
+  "branches": {
+    "ROOT": {
+      "labels": {
+        "fruit": "apple"
+      }
+    },
+    "tipA": {
+      "labels": {
+        "fruit": "orange"
+      }
+    },
+    "tipC": {
+      "labels": {
+        "clade": "clade C"
+      }
+    },
+    "internalBC": {
+      "labels": {
+        "fruit": "pomegranate",
+        "vegetable": "pumpkin",
+        "aa": "custom aa label"
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/functional/export_v2/dataset-with-branch-labels.json b/tests/functional/export_v2/dataset-with-branch-labels.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d09dfb61a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/export_v2/dataset-with-branch-labels.json
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+{
+  "version": "v2",
+  "meta": {
+    "maintainers": [
+      {
+        "name": "Nextstrain Team"
+      }
+    ],
+    "genome_annotations": {
+      "nuc": {
+        "end": 500,
+        "start": 1,
+        "strand": "+"
+      },
+      "gene1": {
+        "end": 150,
+        "start": 50,
+        "strand": "+"
+      },
+      "gene2": {
+        "end": 300,
+        "start": 200,
+        "strand": "+"
+      }
+    },
+    "colorings": [
+      {
+        "key": "gt",
+        "title": "Genotype",
+        "type": "categorical"
+      },
+      {
+        "key": "clade_membership",
+        "title": "Clade",
+        "type": "categorical"
+      }
+    ],
+    "filters": [
+      "clade_membership"
+    ],
+    "panels": [
+      "tree",
+      "entropy"
+    ],
+    "updated": "2022-09-09"
+  },
+  "tree": {
+    "name": "ROOT",
+    "node_attrs": {
+      "div": 0
+    },
+    "branch_attrs": {
+      "labels": {
+        "fruit": "apple"
+      }
+    },
+    "children": [
+      {
+        "name": "tipA",
+        "branch_attrs": {
+          "labels": {
+            "fruit": "orange"
+          }
+        },
+        "node_attrs": {
+          "div": 1
+        }
+      },
+      {
+        "name": "internalBC",
+        "node_attrs": {
+          "div": 2
+        },
+        "branch_attrs": {
+          "mutations": {
+            "gene1": [
+              "S10G",
+              "P20S"
+            ]
+          },
+          "labels": {
+            "aa": "custom aa label",
+            "fruit": "pomegranate",
+            "vegetable": "pumpkin"
+          }
+        },
+        "children": [
+          {
+            "name": "tipB",
+            "node_attrs": {
+              "div": 3
+            },
+            "branch_attrs": {}
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "tipC",
+            "node_attrs": {
+              "div": 3,
+              "clade_membership": {
+                "value": "membership C"
+              }
+            },
+            "branch_attrs": {
+              "labels": {
+                "clade": "clade C"
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        ]
+      },
+      {
+        "name": "internalDEF",
+        "node_attrs": {
+          "div": 5
+        },
+        "branch_attrs": {
+          "mutations": {
+            "nuc": [
+              "A400T"
+            ],
+            "gene1": [
+              "P20S"
+            ]
+          },
+          "labels": {
+            "aa": "gene1: P20S"
+          }
+        },
+        "children": [
+          {
+            "name": "tipD",
+            "node_attrs": {
+              "div": 8,
+              "clade_membership": {
+                "value": "membership D"
+              }
+            },
+            "branch_attrs": {
+              "labels": {
+                "clade": "set via nodes\u2192clade_annotation"
+              }
+            }
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "tipE",
+            "node_attrs": {
+              "div": 9
+            },
+            "branch_attrs": {}
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "tipF",
+            "node_attrs": {
+              "div": 6
+            },
+            "branch_attrs": {}
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/functional/export_v2/nt_muts_1.json b/tests/functional/export_v2/nt_muts_1.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9f0662309
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/export_v2/nt_muts_1.json
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+{
+  "annotations": {
+    "nuc": {
+      "end": 500,
+      "start": 1,
+      "strand": "+"
+    }
+  },
+  "nodes": {
+    "internalDEF": {
+      "muts": [
+        "A400T"
+      ]
+    },
+    "not_in_tree": {
+      "muts": [
+        "A100T"
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/util_support/test_node_data_reader.py b/tests/util_support/test_node_data_reader.py
index 889a862b8..837a8d695 100644
--- a/tests/util_support/test_node_data_reader.py
+++ b/tests/util_support/test_node_data_reader.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def test_read_dict_nonuniformity(self, tmpdir, prepare_file):
             "file1.json",
             """
             {
-                "nodes": {},
+                "nodes": {"node_name": "some_value"},
                 "a": {}
             }
             """,
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ def test_read_dict_nonuniformity(self, tmpdir, prepare_file):
             "file2.json",
             """
             {
-                "nodes": {},
+                "nodes": {"node_name": "some_other_value"},
                 "a": "nah"
             }
             """,