All the Bluesky Search Operators, With Syntax and Examples

What are the Bluesky search operators?

The complete set of Bluesky search operators published by Bluesky itself is from:, to:, mentions:, since:, until:, lang: and domain:, plus quotation marks for an exact phrase and the hash sign for a tag. Bluesky documented the list in its own post on search tips dated 31 May 2024, which is the source for every syntax detail below. Type them into the search bar alongside your terms, with no space after the colon.

Two shorthands come with the list. Pasting a full URL into search finds posts sharing that exact link, and @jay.bsky.team works as a mention shorthand.

How do from, to and mentions differ?

The from: operator selects by author, while to: and mentions: select by who the post points at. Bluesky's search post gives from: its own example and presents to: and mentions: together as ways to find posts addressed to an account, so treat those two as the same job rather than as two precise, separate filters. Use from: when you want one account's output and mentions: when you want what other people say about that account.

Both take a full handle, including the domain part, so mentions:jay.bsky.team works and mentions:jay does not. Handles change, and the account underneath keeps the same permanent identifier, which is why a saved query can quietly stop matching. AT Protocol DIDs explains that split and what to store instead.

How do you filter Bluesky search by date?

Date filtering uses since: and until:, and both accept either a plain date as YYYY-MM-DD or a full UTC timestamp as YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. The timestamp form is what you want for a launch day or an incident, where the interesting window is hours rather than days. Pair the two operators to bound a range from both ends.

"pricing change" since:2026-03-01 until:2026-03-08

Search a narrower window than feels necessary the first time. A seven day window on a busy term returns a set you can actually read, and widening it is one edit.

What do lang and domain do?

The lang: operator restricts results to one language using a two character ISO 639 code, and domain: restricts results to posts that link to a given site. Bluesky's example pairs lang:en "science" against lang:ja "science" to show the same term returning two separate conversations. A word that means different things in different languages is the case where lang: earns its place.

The domain: operator is the one that turns Bluesky search into a link tracker. Point it at your own domain to find every post sharing your site, and point it at a competitor's domain to find who is sharing theirs and why.

domain:yourcompany.com

That one query is a running list of people already citing you, which is the cheapest source of conversations worth joining. Brand monitoring covers what to do with the results.

What does Bluesky search not support that X does?

Bluesky's documented operator list contains no boolean operators, no engagement thresholds and no location filters, so a Bluesky query is one filtered phrase rather than a nested expression. Every term you add narrows the result set, and there is no published syntax for OR groups, parenthetical grouping or exclusions. Build the query around one strong phrase instead of trying to express the whole topic at once.

The gap against X is specific. Our page on X advanced search operators documents min_faves, min_retweets and min_replies for engagement thresholds, near: and geocode for location, filter: for media and link types, and list: for scoping to a curated list. Bluesky's own documentation names none of these.

How do you turn Bluesky search into a listening setup?

Turn the searches into a standing feed by running them on a schedule instead of by hand, because a query you have to remember to type is a query you stop typing. Bluesky's operators run one query at a time, so covering four phrasings across two competitors means eight repeated searches a day. The operators tell you what is findable, and a tool decides whether you find it.

RedReplier monitors Bluesky alongside Reddit, X, Facebook and Hacker News in one place, ranks mentions by buying intent and explains with AI why each one was flagged, then emails you on your plan's interval. See Bluesky monitoring for that setup. For the query logic that platforms with fuller syntax allow, boolean search operators covers AND, OR, NOT and precedence in full.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Bluesky search support AND, OR and NOT?

Bluesky's own documentation on search lists no boolean operators. Terms you add sit next to each other and narrow the result, with no published way to express an OR group or an exclusion. Run alternate phrasings as separate searches.

What date format do since and until take?

Both take YYYY-MM-DD, and both also accept a full UTC timestamp in the form YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. Use the timestamp form when the window you care about is measured in hours, such as a launch or an outage.

Can I search Bluesky for posts linking to my website?

Yes. Use domain:yourcompany.com to find posts that link to your site. Pasting a full URL into search instead finds posts sharing that exact link rather than anything on the domain.

Do Bluesky search operators need a full handle?

Yes. Account operators take the handle including its domain part, as in from:jay.bsky.team. A bare first segment does not resolve. While signed in, from:me and mentions:me stand in for your own account.

Does quoted phrase search cover image alt text?

Yes. Bluesky's search post notes that an exact phrase in quotation marks also matches text in image alt descriptions. That makes quoted search useful for finding screenshots and charts that mention your term.

Do any Bluesky search operators require being signed in?

Two of them do. Bluesky documents from:me and mentions:me as shorthands that resolve to your own account while you are logged in. Every other operator on the list takes an explicit handle, a date, a language code or a domain, so none of them depends on who is running the search.

Is there a shortcut for searching a link on Bluesky?

Paste a full URL into the search bar and Bluesky returns posts sharing that exact link. Typing @jay.bsky.team works too, as a shorthand for a mention, alongside the seven documented operators.

Why would a saved Bluesky search stop matching?

Handles can change while the account underneath keeps the same permanent identifier, and from: and mentions: match on the handle you typed. A search built around someone's old handle quietly stops matching once they rename, even though it is still the same account.

Does Bluesky search let you filter by engagement, like likes or replies?

Bluesky's documented operator list has no engagement thresholds, so there is no equivalent to X's min_faves, min_retweets or min_replies. A Bluesky query can narrow by author, date, language or domain, but not by how many people liked or replied to a post.

How narrow should a Bluesky date window be?

Start narrower than feels necessary. A seven-day window on a busy term returns a set you can actually read, and pairing since: with until: bounds the range from both ends. Widening the window afterward is one edit, so there is little cost to starting small.