Connecting to Bluesky

A Bluesky Connection lets reports read public information from Bluesky: an account's profile, its recent posts, and accounts that match a search. Bluesky macros only ever read, so nothing is ever posted to Bluesky.

Credentials are optional

Unlike most Connection types, a Bluesky Connection works with or without credentials.

User Name and Password	What happens
Left empty	The Connection reads public data without signing in. It must be read only, so the Read Only checkbox stays ticked and cannot be changed.
An account handle and an app password	The Connection signs in to Bluesky as that account.

Creating an app password

Note: never use your main Bluesky password. It gives complete control of the account, including deleting it. An app password can be revoked on its own at any time, without affecting anything else.

1. Sign in to Bluesky.
2. Go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then App Passwords.
3. Select Add App Password and give it a name you will recognise, such as Magic Suite.
4. Copy the password. It is shown only once, and looks like xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx.

Adding a Bluesky Connection

1. In the Admin app, go to Connections and select Create.
2. Choose Bluesky as the type.
3. Leave the URL as https://bsky.social. Change it only for an account hosted on its own Bluesky server.
4. To read without signing in, leave User Name and Password empty.
5. To sign in, enter the account handle as the User Name, for example example.bsky.social, and the app password as the Password.
6. Select Test Connection. With credentials it signs in; without them, it checks that Bluesky can be reached.
7. Save the Connection.

Macros

Macro	What it does
Bluesky.Connection	Sets the Bluesky Connection used by the Bluesky macros that follow it.
Bluesky.Profile	Obtains properties of an account's profile, such as its follower count.
Bluesky.PostList	Obtains an account's recent posts: 25 unless you set count, and at most 100.
Bluesky.ActorSearch	Searches for accounts by handle or display name: 25 unless you set count, and at most 100. It searches accounts, not posts.

A leading @ on a handle is ignored, so a handle can be pasted straight from Bluesky.

Example

[Bluesky.Connection: name=Default]
[Bluesky.Profile: handle=bsky.app, properties=FollowersCount, storeAs=Followers]

Tip: rather than starting every report with a Bluesky.Connection macro, create a Macro Parameter Default for Bluesky.Connection, with name set to the name of your usual Bluesky Connection.

Troubleshooting

Message	What to do
A Bluesky Connection without an app password must be read only	Enter the account handle and an app password, or keep the Connection read only.
A Bluesky app password was supplied without a handle	Enter the account handle as the User Name.
Could not authenticate to Bluesky	Check the handle is correct, and that the app password has not been revoked in Bluesky.
Unable to obtain ... from Bluesky	Check the handle is correct and the account still exists. The message ends with Bluesky's own reason.