Bluesky Scraper 🦋

Scrape Bluesky posts and DMs without the hassle. Scrapes posts, replies, and direct messages from Bluesky — fast, reliable, and no browser automation needed.

✨ Features

• 🔍 Search Mode – Search for posts by keyword across all of Bluesky
• 👤 User Feed Mode – Scrape posts from any public Bluesky profile
• 💬 Reply Threads – Extract full reply threads with configurable depth
• 📨 Direct Messages – Scrape your private DM conversations (requires auth)
• 🖼️ Rich Content – Extracts text, images, videos, external links, and quote posts
• ⚡ Fast & Lightweight – Uses the AT Protocol API directly (no browser needed)
• 🔐 Authenticated – Requires login with your credentials (app password)

🚀 Getting Started

📖 Three Modes: Search, User Feed, or Messages

Mode	When to Use	Required Fields
Search	Find posts by keyword across Bluesky	scrapeMode: posts, searchQuery, auth
User Feed	Scrape posts from a specific user	scrapeMode: posts, handle, auth
Messages	Scrape your direct messages	scrapeMode: messages, auth

⚠️ Note: All modes require authentication.

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📝 Posts Mode

🔍 Search for Posts

Search for posts by keyword across all of Bluesky.

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "searchQuery": "artificial intelligence",
    "searchSort": "top",
    "postCount": 20
}

Search Sort Options:

• top – Most relevant/popular results (default)
• latest – Most recent posts first

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👤 Scrape User Feed

Scrape posts from a specific Bluesky user's profile.

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "apify.com",
    "feedFilter": "posts_and_author_threads",
    "postCount": 25
}

Feed Filter Options:

Filter	Description
posts_and_author_threads	Posts + conversation threads (default)
posts_no_replies	Only original posts, no replies
posts_with_replies	Posts including replies to others
posts_with_media	Only posts with images/videos

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💬 Including Reply Threads

Enable includeReplies to fetch the full reply thread for each post:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "jay.bsky.team",
    "postCount": 10,
    "includeReplies": true,
    "repliesDepth": 3
}

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📨 Messages Mode (DMs)

Scrape your direct message conversations. Requires authentication.

{
    "scrapeMode": "messages",
    "conversationCount": 10,
    "messagesPerConversation": 50,
    "unreadOnly": false,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

Message Options:

Parameter	Description	Default
conversationCount	Number of conversations to fetch (0 = all)	10
messagesPerConversation	Messages per conversation (0 = all)	50
unreadOnly	Only fetch conversations with unread messages	false

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📋 JSON Examples for All Use Cases

1. Search Posts - Basic

Find posts about a topic (authentication required):

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "searchQuery": "web scraping",
    "postCount": 10,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

2. Search Posts - Latest

Get the latest posts:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "searchQuery": "breaking news",
    "searchSort": "latest",
    "postCount": 50,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

3. Search Posts - With Reply Threads

Search and get all reply threads:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "searchQuery": "controversial topic",
    "searchSort": "top",
    "postCount": 20,
    "includeReplies": true,
    "repliesDepth": 5,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

4. User Feed - All Post Types

Get all posts from a user (posts + threads):

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "apify.com",
    "feedFilter": "posts_and_author_threads",
    "postCount": 100
}

5. User Feed - Original Posts Only

Get only original posts (no replies to others):

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "jay.bsky.team",
    "feedFilter": "posts_no_replies",
    "postCount": 50
}

6. User Feed - Media Only

Get only posts with images/videos:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "photography.bsky.social",
    "feedFilter": "posts_with_media",
    "postCount": 30
}

7. User Feed - With All Replies

Get posts including all replies to other users:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "influencer.bsky.social",
    "feedFilter": "posts_with_replies",
    "postCount": 100,
    "includeReplies": true,
    "repliesDepth": 0
}

8. User Feed - Unlimited Posts

Get ALL posts from a user (0 = unlimited):

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "active-user.bsky.social",
    "feedFilter": "posts_and_author_threads",
    "postCount": 0,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

9. Direct Messages - Basic

Get your recent DM conversations:

{
    "scrapeMode": "messages",
    "conversationCount": 10,
    "messagesPerConversation": 50,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

10. Direct Messages - Unread Only

Get only conversations with unread messages:

{
    "scrapeMode": "messages",
    "conversationCount": 0,
    "messagesPerConversation": 20,
    "unreadOnly": true,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

11. Direct Messages - Full Backup

Export ALL conversations with ALL messages:

{
    "scrapeMode": "messages",
    "conversationCount": 0,
    "messagesPerConversation": 0,
    "unreadOnly": false,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

12. Brand Monitoring

Track mentions of your brand:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "searchQuery": "\"your brand name\"",
    "searchSort": "latest",
    "postCount": 100,
    "includeReplies": true,
    "repliesDepth": 2,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

13. Competitor Analysis

Monitor competitor's posts:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "handle": "competitor.bsky.social",
    "feedFilter": "posts_no_replies",
    "postCount": 50,
    "includeReplies": true,
    "repliesDepth": 3
}

14. Hashtag/Topic Research

Find posts about a specific hashtag or topic:

{
    "scrapeMode": "posts",
    "searchQuery": "#buildinpublic",
    "searchSort": "top",
    "postCount": 100,
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

---

🔑 Authentication

Authentication is required for all operations.

{
    "blueskyIdentifier": "your-handle.bsky.social",
    "blueskyPassword": "your-app-password"
}

⚠️ Important: Use an App Password, not your main account password!

Create one at: Settings → App Passwords → Add App Password

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Input Parameters

Mode Selection

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
scrapeMode	String	What to scrape: posts or messages	posts

Posts Mode Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
searchQuery	String	Search term (enables search mode)	—
searchSort	String	Sort: top, latest	top
handle	String	User handle without "@"	—
feedFilter	String	Feed filter type	posts_and_author_threads
postCount	Integer	Posts to scrape (0 = all)	10
includeReplies	Boolean	Fetch reply threads	false
repliesDepth	Integer	Reply thread depth (0 = all)	2

Messages Mode Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
conversationCount	Integer	Conversations to fetch (0 = all)	10
messagesPerConversation	Integer	Messages per convo (0 = all)	50
unreadOnly	Boolean	Only unread conversations	false

Authentication

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
blueskyIdentifier	String	Your handle or email	—
blueskyPassword	String	Your app password	—

Protocol Settings

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
service	String	AT Protocol service URL (for alternative PDS servers)	https://bsky.social

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📊 Output Examples

Post Output

{
    "uri": "at://did:plc:xxx/app.bsky.feed.post/yyy",
    "cid": "bafyrei...",
    "text": "Just launched our new web scraping platform! 🚀",
    "author": "Apify",
    "authorHandle": "apify.com",
    "authorDid": "did:plc:vu5ic5ygdeyunpefgmlamsmw",
    "authorAvatar": "https://cdn.bsky.app/img/avatar/...",
    "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
    "likeCount": 142,
    "repostCount": 28,
    "replyCount": 15,
    "quoteCount": 5,
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/apify.com/post/yyy",
    "embed": {
        "type": "images",
        "images": [
            {
                "url": "https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/...",
                "alt": "Screenshot of the new platform"
            }
        ]
    },
    "replies": [
        {
            "uri": "at://did:plc:abc/app.bsky.feed.post/zzz",
            "text": "This looks amazing!",
            "author": "TechEnthusiast",
            "authorHandle": "techlover.bsky.social",
            "likeCount": 8,
            "depth": 1
        }
    ]
}

DM Output

{
    "conversation": {
        "id": "3abc123...",
        "members": [
            {
                "did": "did:plc:xxx",
                "handle": "friend.bsky.social",
                "displayName": "Friend Name",
                "avatar": "https://cdn.bsky.app/..."
            }
        ],
        "lastMessage": {
            "id": "msg123",
            "text": "Hey, how's it going?",
            "sender": "did:plc:xxx",
            "sentAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
        },
        "unreadCount": 0,
        "muted": false
    },
    "messages": [
        {
            "id": "msg123",
            "text": "Hey, how's it going?",
            "sender": {
                "did": "did:plc:xxx",
                "handle": "friend.bsky.social",
                "displayName": "Friend Name"
            },
            "sentAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
            "conversationId": "3abc123..."
        }
    ]
}

Embed Types

Type	Description	Fields
images	One or more images	images[].url, images[].alt
video	Video content	video.url, video.thumbnail
external	Link preview	external.uri, external.title, external.description
quote	Quote post	record.uri, record.cid, record.text

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🎯 Use Cases

Posts

• Brand Monitoring – Track mentions of your company or product
• Market Research – Analyze trends and sentiment
• Content Curation – Find popular posts for content ideas
• Competitor Analysis – Monitor competitor activity

Direct Messages

• Backup DMs – Export your conversation history
• Message Analytics – Analyze your communication patterns
• Data Migration – Move conversations to another platform
• Research – Study DM patterns (with consent)

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⚙️ How It Works

1. Initialize – Creates a connection to Bluesky's API
2. Authenticate (if provided) – Logs in for DM access or higher rate limits
3. Fetch – Retrieves posts via search/feed or DMs via chat API
4. Process – Extracts replies or messages as configured
5. Output – Saves structured data to the dataset

🛡️ Rate Limits

Status	Approximate Limits
Authenticated	~3000 requests/minute

💡 Tips

• App passwords – Always use app passwords, never your main password
• Start small – Test with small counts before scaling
• Feed filters – Use posts_no_replies for cleaner original content
• Search tips – Use quotes for exact phrases: "machine learning"
• Alternative PDS – If your account is on a self-hosted PDS, set the service parameter

📜 Legal & Ethical Use

This Actor scrapes Bluesky's. Please:

• Respect Bluesky's Terms of Service
• Don't share or expose private messages
• Use reasonable rate limits
• Comply with data protection laws

🤝 Support

Having issues? Found a bug? Want a feature?

• Open an issue on the Actor's page
• Contact the developer through Apify

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