Using Bluesky with Buffer
Bluesky is one of the fastest-growing newer social networks and one of our customers' top-requested channels, which many users moved to as an alternative to X/Twitter. Learn more about Bluesky in our resources library, or, if you're already a user, connect your account to Buffer with the steps below.
:::info Bluesky is available on our new Buffer plans. On a Legacy plan? Get in touch with us at hello@buffer.com to discuss your options! :::
These features are available for Bluesky
- Publishing: Yes
- Analytics: Yes
- Engagement: Yes
Connecting and refreshing your Bluesky channel
Bluesky uses a different authorization process than most channels, and you'll need to generate an app password in your Bluesky account. The steps below will walk you through the process.
:::info Important notes:
- If you wish to connect multiple Bluesky accounts to Buffer, you will need to open Bluesky in another tab and make sure you're logged into the Bluesky account you wish to connect before going through the steps below in Buffer.
- We support both standard Bluesky accounts and custom-server / self-hosted PDS accounts. Both
did:plc(standard Bluesky) anddid:web(self-hosted PDS) identities are supported. Enter your handle as normal (e.g.you.example.com) and follow the same App Password steps below. - Seeing a “profile not found” error? When entering your handle, please make sure you do not add any symbols and that you match the upper/lower case of your handle on Bluesky. :::
Connecting a Bluesky channel
- Head to https://account.buffer.com/channels and select Bluesky.
- Enter your Bluesky handle, then click the link to Generate app password in Bluesky.
Add your Bluesky handle and click "Generate app password in Bluesky" link
- You’ll be taken to your Bluesky account. Click the Add App Password button
Click Add App Password to create a unique password to connect Bluesky to Buffer
- Add Buffer’s name or simply use the automatically generated name from Bluesky.
Type in Buffer or simply use the suggested name from the password generator
:::info Note*: You do not need to allow access to your direct messages when asked (simply uncheck the box). Buffer does not offer direct messaging, so your selection will have no impact on connecting your Bluesky account to Buffer.* :::
- When your password is generated, click the two overlapping boxes next to the password to copy the password.
Click the two overlapping boxes to the right of your new password to copy the password
- Head back to the Buffer tab and paste the copied password into the “password” field, then click Next. Your Bluesky channel is now connected!
Paste your new password into the password field in your Buffer tab and click Next to connect Bluesky
:::warning Getting an “invalid handle” error? In your Bluesky account, head to Settings, then Change Handle. Once that’s updated, go through the connection flow again and you should be able to connect your account. :::
Refreshing a Bluesky channel
Refreshing Bluesky works slightly differently than other channels in that you'll need to enter a Bluesky App Password.
- Click your profile icon avatar in the bottom left of your dashboard and choose Channels or click here.
- Click the three vertical dots next to your Bluesky channel.
- Select Refresh Connection.
- On the screen that appears, enter your Bluesky @ handle and your Bluesky App Password.
- Click Continue and follow the prompts to refresh the channel.
:::tip Note: If you've recently changed the name of your Bluesky handle, you can enter the new name in the "Refresh connection to Bluesky" screen above. Then, enter your Bluesky App Password and complete the process to refresh the channel in Buffer. That should also update your handle/channel name in Buffer. :::
Scheduling Bluesky posts
:::tip Good to knows:
- You can include up to 25 threaded sub-posts within one post.
- Creating Bluesky threads is currently available only on the web (and not mobile) versions of Buffer. Mobile functions are limited to rescheduling or deleting threads that have been created on the web.
- Bluesky threads are available on our Free, Essentials, and Team plans. If you are a legacy customer on our Pro, Premium, or Business plans and would like to switch to our updated pricing, please email us at hello@buffer.com and we’ll be happy to help! Learn more about why Bluesky threads isn't available on our legacy plans here.
- The Free plan allows for one Bluesky thread scheduled at a time in each queue. However, you can add as many unscheduled threads to your Drafts queue as you like. :::
Media specifications for Bluesky
:::info Media Good to Knows
- Images must be under 1MB to publish to Bluesky, as we are unable to resize larger images at this time.
- In order to post videos, you must have your email verified with Bluesky. Otherwise, your videos may be rejected.
- GIFs must be under 15MB and under 60 seconds. :::
Engaging with Bluesky posts
Engagement features are available for Bluesky accounts within Buffer's Community feature (available on the web version of Buffer and in Buffer's mobile app).
To use Community on the desktop version of Buffer:
- Select your Bluesky channel on the left side of Buffer
- Click Community in the menu that appears and start replying to your comments.
:::tip Tip: Prefer to reply to comments on the go? Check out our guide to Engaging with Community comments in Buffer's mobile app. :::
Bluesky analytics
We can post all day, but the real excitement comes when seeing how our posts land. Insights gives you a quick view of your Bluesky performance right inside Buffer, no need to leave your publishing dashboard.
There are two places to check your Bluesky stats:
- For a quick view of an individual post's basic stats, head to the Publish tab, then the Sent tab.
- For a full performance view, select your Bluesky channel in the left sidebar, then click Insights beneath the channel name.
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From your Bluesky Insights dashboard, you can:
- Get a Summary of your recent performance, including reactions, comments, shares, follows, and engagement rate, compared against a previous period.
- Sort your Performance per Post table by engagement rate, reactions, comments, reposts, or quotes to spot your best-performing content.
- Track trends with the Metrics chart, including Posts and Audience Growth views.
- Get AI-powered Takeaways based on what's been working. (Repost suggestions for older posts aren't available for Bluesky yet.)
:::info Notes
- Bluesky only shares a live follower count through its API, so Buffer can't backfill history from before you connected. Insights starts building your Bluesky history from your connection date forward, and Bluesky data is collected roughly every 10 days rather than daily.
- If your numbers look different from what you see natively on Bluesky, see Why your data in Buffer Insights might look different from native analytics. :::
Bluesky error library
We don't currently have an error library for Bluesky, but feel free to reach out to our Customer Advocates via hello@buffer.com if you're hitting any errors.
:::info Do you have a Bluesky feature suggestion? We’d love for you to submit or upvote it here on our feature suggestions board. :::
More resources from our blog
Bluesky is one of the fastest-growing newer social networks and one of our customers' top-requested channels, which many users moved to as an alternative to X/Twitter. Learn more about Bluesky in our resources library, or, if you're already a user, connect your account to Buffer with the steps below.
:::info Bluesky is available on our new Buffer plans. On a Legacy plan? Get in touch with us at hello@buffer.com to discuss your options! :::