Bluesky works differently from Instagram or TikTok under the hood. It runs on an open system called the AT Protocol, which was designed so that other apps and services could read public posts. In practice that makes Bluesky one of the more reliable platforms to save media from, as long as you start with the right link.
This guide covers copying a post link, what ReelsDownloader gives you back, and the few cases where it won't work.
How to download a Bluesky video
- Find the post with the video in the Bluesky app or on bsky.app.
- Tap the Share button under the post and choose Copy link to post.
- Open the Bluesky downloader and paste the link into the box.
- Tap Download. After a few seconds you'll see the video with its download options.
- Tap Download next to the version you want. It saves to your Downloads folder, or to the Files app on iPhone.
You don't need a Bluesky account for any of this, and the tool never asks you to sign in.
Getting the right link
A Bluesky post link looks like this:
https://bsky.app/profile/someone.bsky.social/post/3kxyz...
The two parts that matter are the account handle after /profile/ and the post ID after /post/. If your link stops after the handle, it's a profile link. That points at an account, not at a post, so there's nothing to download.
Some things to watch for:
- Custom domain handles are fine. Many people use their own website as their handle, such as
/profile/example.com/post/.... Those links work the same way. - Copy the post, not the quote. If someone quoted a video post, the video belongs to the original post. Tap through to the original and copy that link.
- On a computer, click the post's timestamp to open the post on its own page, then copy the address from the browser bar.
If you use a third-party Bluesky app, its share links may point to its own website. When a link from another app fails, open the post on bsky.app and copy the link from there.
What you get back
Bluesky posts can carry video or images, and the tool lists whichever the post has.
- Video posts come back as a video you can save. Bluesky added video after launch and limits its length and file size, so files tend to be short and modest in size, which is good news on mobile data.
- Image posts can hold up to four images. Each one appears as its own card. Tap a card to see it full size, then tap Download on the ones you want.
- Several files at once. When a post returns two or more files, a Download all button appears above them. It saves everything in one ZIP named
reelsdownloader-bsky.zip. Our carousel guide explains how to unzip on each device; the steps are identical.
One thing that doesn't come along: alt text. Bluesky users write image descriptions more often than on most platforms, and they're often useful. If you want the description, copy it from the post yourself before you leave.
Getting the file into your Gallery or Photos
On Android, the video lands in the Download folder and usually shows up in your Gallery under a Download album within a few seconds. If it doesn't, open Files by Google, find the file, and move it to Movies.
On iPhone, Safari saves to the Files app first. Open Files → Downloads, tap the video, tap Share, then Save Video. Images work the same way with Save Image. If you saved a ZIP of several images, tap it in Files to expand it, select the images, and share them to Photos in one go.
Public posts only
Almost everything posted on Bluesky is public by design, which is why it resolves so well. There are still a few cases that won't work:
- Deleted posts. Once the author deletes a post, the link stops working on Bluesky and the tool can't fetch it either.
- Accounts that limit logged-out viewing. Bluesky lets people ask apps not to show their account to visitors who aren't signed in. Posts from those accounts may not resolve.
- Direct messages. DMs are private and aren't reachable by any link.
- GIFs from the GIF picker. These are usually links to an outside GIF service rather than files stored on Bluesky, so there may be nothing to return.
If a post shows a content warning in your app, that's a label added on top of the post. It doesn't affect whether the media can be fetched.
Troubleshooting
- "No downloadable media found." Check the link has
/post/in it. If it does, the post may be deleted, or it may only contain text, a link preview, or a GIF from the picker. - The video plays in Bluesky but not after download. Try a different player. On Android, VLC plays almost anything; on iPhone, open the file from the Files app before moving it to Photos.
- You can't find the file. On iPhone it's in Files → Downloads, not Photos. Our guide on where downloaded videos go covers every device and how to get files into your Gallery or Photos.
- The link came from another app and failed. Open the post on bsky.app and copy the link from there.
The help center lists every error message and what it means. If you also save clips from similar text-first networks, see our guides for Threads and X / Twitter.
Open doesn't mean free to reuse
Bluesky's openness is technical, not legal. Photographers, artists and journalists post there under the same copyright as anywhere else. Save posts for yourself and credit the author if you share. Don't repost their work as your own.