How to Submit a Custom Feed to the Bluesky Discover Section

You have built a custom feed on Bluesky, but it only appears on your own profile. To reach a wider audience, you can submit it to the Bluesky Discover section, where the platform may feature it alongside official feeds. The Discover section is a curated area that recommends feeds to all users, and yours can be included if it meets certain quality and moderation guidelines. This article explains what the Discover section requires, the exact submission process through the Bluesky API, and what to do if your feed is not accepted.

What the Bluesky Discover Section Requires

The Discover section in Bluesky is not an automatic listing. It is a curated collection of feeds that the Bluesky moderation team selects based on community utility and safety. Before you submit a feed, it must meet these technical and content requirements.

Stable feed generator endpoint. Your custom feed must be hosted on a feed generator that returns valid AT Protocol JSON. The endpoint URL must not change after submission. If the feed goes offline or returns errors, Bluesky will remove it from Discover.

No spam or harmful content. Feeds that promote hate speech, harassment, illegal activity, or spam are rejected. The feed algorithm must not amplify toxicity. Bluesky moderators review the feed output before approval.

Clear description and avatar. The feed must have a human-readable display name and description. An avatar image is optional but strongly recommended. The description should accurately represent what the feed shows.

No duplicate or trivial feeds. Feeds that simply copy existing official feeds or show posts from only one user are unlikely to be accepted. The feed should offer unique value, such as a specific topic, language, or community.

Prerequisites Before Submitting

You need a Bluesky account with a verified handle. The feed generator must be running and accessible from the public internet. If you built your feed using a third-party service like Bluesky Feed Creator, confirm that service supports submission to Discover. Some services handle the submission automatically; others require manual API calls.

You also need the AT Protocol URI of your feed. This looks like at://did:plc:xxxxx/app.bsky.feed.generator/your-feed-name. You can find this URI by opening your feed in the Bluesky app and copying the URL from the browser address bar, then replacing the https://bsky.app/profile/ prefix with at://.

Steps to Submit a Custom Feed to the Bluesky Discover Section

You submit a feed using the Bluesky API. There is no graphical button in the app for this process. Follow these steps exactly.

1. Generate an API app password
   Open Bluesky Settings > App Passwords. Click Add App Password. Name it something like FeedSubmit. Copy the generated password. You will use this instead of your main account password for the API call.
2. Install a tool to make API requests
   You can use any HTTP client. The examples here use curl, which is built into macOS and Linux. Windows users can install curl from curl.se or use PowerShell with the Invoke-RestMethod cmdlet.
3. Authenticate with the Bluesky API
   Run the following curl command to get a session token. Replace your-handle.bsky.social with your handle and your-app-password with the password you generated.

   curl -X POST https://bsky.social/xrpc/com.atproto.server.createSession -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"identifier":"your-handle.bsky.social","password":"your-app-password"}'

   The response contains a JSON object with an accessJwt field. Copy that value.

4. Submit the feed using the API endpoint
   Run this curl command. Replace your-access-jwt with the token from step 3. Replace at://your-feed-uri with the AT Protocol URI of your feed.

   curl -X POST https://bsky.social/xrpc/app.bsky.feed.submitFeed -H "Authorization: Bearer your-access-jwt" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"feed":"at://your-feed-uri"}'

   If the request succeeds, you receive a 200 response with an empty JSON object {}. This means Bluesky has received your submission.

5. Wait for moderation review
   Bluesky moderators review submissions manually. The process typically takes one to two weeks. You will not receive an email notification. Check the Discover section periodically to see if your feed appears.

Alternative Submission Method Using a Third-Party Service

If you do not want to use the API directly, some feed hosting services offer a built-in submission button. For example, the Bluesky Feed Creator at blueskyfeedcreator.com has a Submit to Discover option in the feed management panel. Log in, select your feed, and click Submit. The service handles the API call for you.

If Your Feed Is Not Accepted or Has Issues

Feed Does Not Appear in Discover After Two Weeks

The moderation team may have rejected your feed. Common reasons include a broken feed generator, unclear description, or content that violates guidelines. Check that your feed generator is online and returning valid JSON. Use a tool like JSONLint to validate the output. If the feed is stable, resubmit using the same API endpoint. There is no penalty for resubmitting.

API Returns a 400 or 401 Error

A 401 error means your access token is invalid or expired. Generate a new session token by repeating step 3. A 400 error usually means the feed URI is malformed. Double-check that the URI starts with at:// and contains the correct DID and feed generator name.

Feed Generator Goes Offline After Approval

If your feed stops working, Bluesky will automatically remove it from Discover. Restore the feed generator and resubmit. There is no way to notify Bluesky about a temporary outage. You must go through the full submission process again.

Bluesky Discover Section vs Official Feeds

Item	Custom Feed in Discover	Official Bluesky Feed
Submission process	Manual API submission required	Created by Bluesky team directly
Content moderation	Reviewed by Bluesky moderators	Maintained by Bluesky staff
Removal criteria	Feed offline, spam, or policy violation	Only if Bluesky updates its algorithm
Update frequency	Depends on your feed generator	Updated in real time by Bluesky

Your custom feed appears in the same Discover tab as official feeds once approved. Users see no visual difference between official and community feeds.

You now know how to submit a custom feed to the Bluesky Discover section using the API or a third-party service. After submission, monitor your feed generator for uptime and errors. If you want to increase the chance of approval, ensure your feed has a unique algorithm and a clear description. Consider adding an avatar image to make the feed more recognizable in the Discover list.