Bluesky is quick rising as one of many main contenders within the race for the highest Twitter (X) alternative — and with good cause.

The brand new platform is straightforward to make use of, it gives a excessive diploma of management over your timeline, and — fortunately, given X recently axed the feature — headlines nonetheless pull by means of with hyperlinks. 

Bluesky, which was created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, is a decentralized, invite-only social community constructed on an open-source protocol. Persons are flooding to the platform — it hit 1 million users in September 2023. And what with Pebble/T2, one other Twitter different, closing shop, Bluesky could quickly see one other spike in reputation.

It is smart that customers want to add it to their social media management system — and that having Bluesky as a channel in Buffer is a extremely requested characteristic! Relaxation assured, we’re engaged on it. You may hold updated with our progress on that entrance in our clear characteristic request system, Buffer Suggestions.

Within the meantime, Buffer CEO Joel Gascoigne and Employees Product Supervisor Brandon Green have been enjoying round with a reasonably nifty iOS app, Shortcuts, and got here up with a very easy workaround. 

Not solely does it cross-post content material from one other platform to Bluesky (actually helpful should you’re sustaining a presence on X), however you too can schedule that content material with Buffer. We thought it could be useful to share it right here. 

Wait, what are Shortcuts? 

Shortcuts is an app by Apple that you just’ll discover preinstalled in your iPhone. In a nutshell, Shortcuts creates a easy method so that you can assist your apps discuss to one another, so you possibly can hyperlink varied actions collectively to create shortcuts and automation.

The previous are manually triggered within the Shortcuts app, and the latter will occur routinely. Lots of them can be utilized with Siri voice instructions, so that you don’t even have to the touch your cellphone to set off a series of occasions. 

Listed below are some helpful, albeit fundamental, examples:

• Take a Break lets you set an alarm and activate Do Not Disturb till that alarm goes off. 
• Text Running Late sends a textual content to all of the attendees of an upcoming occasion that you’re working late.
• Make GIF lets you flip your favourite movies into GIFs.

It’s a reasonably highly effective device and comparatively simple to make use of, even when you have no coding expertise. 

Among the finest issues about Shortcuts is that they’re shareable with iCloud, so creators like Brandon and Joel could make theirs accessible to others. 

For instance, Joel created a Shortcut that routinely posted something he shared on Mastodon to Bluesky, too, due to Bluesky’s API. (For the uninitiated, API stands for utility programming interface and is code that allows two software program applications, instruments, or apps to speak with one another).  

Brandon was then in a position to take that shortcut and remix it into one which lets you select any channel in Buffer (together with Mastodon and X) to cross-post to Bluesky. 

He was even in a position to verify it checks your character rely, so you recognize you’re not going over Bluesky’s 300-character restrict. 

Right here’s easy methods to arrange and use the ‘Multipost to Buffer’ shortcut: 

Methods to arrange the Multipost With Buffer shortcut

To ensure that this Shortcut to work, you’ll want:

It’s value noting that, whereas I’ve damaged these steps into every separate motion for readability, the setup is quite a bit faster and simpler than it seems! And — the very best half — you’ll solely need to do all this as soon as. In relation to posting, there are solely three steps to finish!

First, let’s get the shortcut up and working:

Step 1. Open the shortcut in your iPhone

Brandon’s Multipost to Buffer shortcut is offered through this link. You’ll want to open it in your cellphone. This is a button for the skim readers right here:

It will open the Shortcuts app and take you to a web page that appears just like the one beneath. Faucet on Arrange Shortcut.

Step 2. Join the Buffer Channel you wish to submit to

Beneath ‘Configure This Shortcut’, select the Buffer channel you wish to cross-post to Bluesky with. 

I’d advocate Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Mastodon. (Whereas Buffer helps Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, and different visible platforms, select a platform that helps text-only posts for this shortcut — proper now, this shortcut doesn’t enable for video or picture sharing.)

Once you’re carried out, faucet Subsequent.

Step 3. Enter your Bluesky deal with 

Head over to the Bluesky app or bsky.app in your laptop and navigate to your profile. Copy the deal with beneath your title on the high of your profile (with out the ‘@’ signal). 

Head again to the Shortcuts app, and paste your Bluesky deal with into the textual content field on the subsequent ‘Configure This Shortcut’ display screen. I’ve included mine for example within the screenshot beneath. When you’ve carried out that, faucet Subsequent.

Step 4: Enter your Bluesky-generated password

To not be confused together with your login password, Bluesky’s app passwords enable different instruments to entry your account in a restricted method with out giving them your full login credentials.

To generate a password, head again to the Bluesky app or web site, after which go to App passwords (or simply navigate to bsky.app/settings/app-passwords).

Click on on Add app password. Bluesky will generate a reputation for the password first — the easy phrase/s you see received’t be the precise password you want.

Pay attention to this title (or enter your personal) and click on Create a password. The app will then generate a 16-character password, a mixture of numbers and letters separated by dashes. Copy that.

Now, head again over to Shortcuts and paste that 16-character password into the textual content field within the subsequent ‘Configure This Shortcut’ window. Once you’re carried out, faucet Add Shortcut. 

Step 5. Create a submit in Shortcuts

Nearly there! Your shortcut is able to use. You’ll now see the Multipost With Buffer shortcut in your app. To share your first submit, faucet on the shortcut.

A dialogue field will seem on the high of your display screen will seem, asking for the textual content you’d wish to share. Kind in your submit then hit Completed. 

Step 6. Approve entry to Buffer

The primary time you utilize this shortcut, you’ll be prompted to grant Multipost With Buffer entry to Buffer. Faucet Permit. You need to solely have to do that as soon as. 

Step 6. Select while you need the replace to exit

Within the subsequent immediate, you’ll have three decisions on the subject of sending your submit: 

• Share now sends the submit out instantly to your Buffer channel of selection and to Bluesky
• Share Subsequent schedules the submit to the subsequent spot in your queue. If there may be different content material in that spot, it bumps that content material to the subsequent accessible slot.
• Add to Queue schedules the submit for the subsequent accessible spot, leaving all different content material in place.

If you wish to schedule your posts relatively than have them go reside instantly, remember to select Share Subsequent or Add to Queue. (Here is more about Buffer’s queue and easy methods to set up your own posting schedule). 

Don’t fear — you possibly can edit the submit or change the publish time in Buffer, and the submit will nonetheless be shared to Bluesky on the up to date time!

Step 6. Permit Multipost with Buffer to hook up with Bluesky

One other step you’ll solely have to finish as soon as — merely faucet Permit on this immediate to provide the shortcut permission to ship your submit to Bluesky. 

And with that — you’re carried out! Test in your X/LinkedIn/Mastodon and Bluesky accounts. The identical content material ought to go reside there at your predetermined time.

Methods to schedule and cross-post to Bluesky with Shortcuts

From right here on out, the posting course of can be actually easy!

• Step 1: Head over to Shortcuts in your cellphone and faucet Multipost With Buffer.
• Step 2: Enter your submit into the textual content field.
• Step 3: Select when to share your submit. 

And voila! You’re carried out. Your submit will seem on the Buffer social channel you chose in your shortcut set-up and on Bluesky.

Here’s a tweet and Bluesky post I scheduled to my queue proper earlier than ending up this text:

I hope you discovered this explainer useful and the method easy! This was an incredible Shortcuts studying expertise for me, and I’ve little doubt I’ll be enjoying round with this highly effective device some extra. 

Do you could have a workaround for scheduling and cross-posting to Bluesky? I’d love to listen to about it. Remark beneath, or find me on Bluesky.