Bluesky has no scheduler of its own, and its protocol is open enough that a tool can do everything the app does. Preflight publishes text, pictures, video and threads to a Bluesky account through the AT Protocol, counts characters the way Bluesky counts them, and reads the replies. How to schedule Bluesky posts is the walkthrough; this page is the integration itself.
| Bluesky through Preflight | What the API allows |
|---|---|
| Text limit | 300 characters |
| Media | Pictures and video, up to 4 files |
| Pictures | Up to 2 MB each |
| Video | 100 MB, up to 3 min |
| Thread in one go | Yes |
| First comment | No |
| Alt text | Yes |
| Edit after publishing | No, the API has no edit |
| Delete from Preflight | Yes |
| Comments | Read and reply |
| Figures reported | likes, comments, shares |
| Retention and traffic sources | No |
What goes out
A post of up to 300 graphemes and 3,000 bytes; up to four pictures with alt text, or one MP4 video; a thread posted in one go as replies under the first post, each part measured against the same 300. Links are detected and turned into facets, so they are clickable in every Bluesky client. Links and mentions are turned into Bluesky's rich-text facets so they are clickable and resolve to the right account, including a custom domain handle. Pictures and a video together go out as the first video alone, and the composer says so.
Connecting an account
With an app password, not your account password. Bluesky creates one under Settings, Privacy and Security, App Passwords; you paste it once with your handle, and it can be revoked on its own without touching your login. There is no app to register and nothing to configure, so Bluesky is always available to connect. A handle on a custom domain works exactly like one on bsky.social.
What is checked before publishing
The text is counted in graphemes, what you see as characters, against 300, so a family emoji costs one and not eleven; it is also counted in bytes against 3,000, which long links can reach first. Each picture must be JPEG, PNG or WebP and under 2,000,000 bytes, Bluesky's hard limit for a blob, and a larger one is refused before the upload rather than failing after it. Video is MP4 only, up to 100 MB and three minutes. More than four pictures are warned about as dropped. Every part of a thread is measured.
What the API will not do
A Bluesky post is an immutable record, so it cannot be edited by anyone; it can be deleted from Preflight, and the only correction is to post again. Replies are read and answered; nothing on the network lets one account hide another's reply, and liking a reply is not offered yet. Figures come back for likes, replies and reposts. There is no first comment, but the second part of a thread serves.
Why a queue for Bluesky
The app posts now or not at all, so a morning post written the night before needs a tool. The more common reason is the one that applies to every small network here: the same post is going to Mastodon and Threads as well, each with its own count, and writing it once with three counters beside it is the whole point. A thread drafted for Bluesky is measured part by part, and the same parts go to Mastodon as a chain without being rewritten.
In the API
Threads, alt text and the counting rules are the same through the public API and the MCP server. Bluesky is on every plan at pricing, including the free one.
Questions people ask
- Does Preflight need my Bluesky password?
- No. It connects with an app password you create in Bluesky's settings, which can be revoked on its own and cannot change your login or email.
- How does Preflight count Bluesky characters?
- In graphemes, as Bluesky does: an emoji counts once, however many code points it has. The post is also held to 3,000 bytes, which a few long links can reach before 300 graphemes do.
- Can a Bluesky post be edited after publishing?
- No. A post is an immutable record on the network. Preflight can delete it, and you can post a corrected one; that is the same for every tool.