Substack has Finally Embraced the Fediverse, Sort Of: How to Change Your BlueSky Handle to Your Substack Account
Edu-tainment story featuring Ophelia with simple step-by-step instructions with detailed screenshots.
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Substack is on the Fediverse and Partnering with BlueSky
I was sipping my tea, enjoying a rare moment of quiet, when the door to my office slammed open. Ophelia burst in, wings flapping excitedly, a scroll clutched in her claws. “Cheryl! Cheryl! Did you hear the news? Substack is on the Fediverse now!”
I set my teacup down carefully—it wouldn’t survive a direct hit from a Doxie dragon mid-frenzy. “Yes, I heard,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “It’s about time they joined. What’s got you so worked up about it?”
Ophelia plopped herself onto the edge of my desk, sending a small stack of papers fluttering to the floor. “Worked up? Cheryl, this is groundbreaking! Revolutionary! A cosmic alignment of digital stars! I can finally claim my Substack as my BlueSky handle!” She wiggled her claws for dramatic effect. “It’s like linking my soul to my audience—an audience that now spans realms!”
“Right,” I said, keeping my tone neutral. “And let me guess—you want my help setting it up?”
Ophelia beamed. “Exactly! Substack's instructions, well, aren't and you’re so good at these things, and I might have… um… accidentally locked myself out of BlueSky last time I tried to change something.”
I stifled a sigh. “You do know I'm not on BlueSky right?"
Ophelia deflated. "So you don't know how to do this?"
"No clue."
"Can you at least try?" begged Ophelia.
"Okay, fine. Let's take a look.”
Her tail flicked with excitement. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Ophelia exlcaimed. "Lead on, oh wise and tech-savvy one!”
I pulled out my laptop and turned the second screen so she could see too. “First things first, let’s make sure you’re logged into your Substack account.”
She hopped up to reach my keyboard. “Done!” she said, pointing at her logged-in dashboard.
“Good. Now we’ll head to your BlueSky account. You’ll need to access your settings to change your handle.”
Ophelia leaned in, wide-eyed. “And this will really make my BlueSky handle something like ‘@ophelia.substack.com’?” she said as she logged into BlueSky.
“It should,” I said. “If it works, it’s certainly a way to make sure people can instantly recognize your brand and find you easily. Plus, it reinforces your credibility.”
“I love credibility,” Ophelia said, nodding solemnly.
I chuckled. “Let’s get started, then. Here’s how you claim your Substack domain as a BlueSky Handle…”
Step-By-Step Instructions with Screenshots: How to Claim your Substack Account as Your BlueSky Handle
You'll need to setup your Substack BlueSky Handle from a full web browser, not the apps. Open 2 browser tabs, one for your Substack Dashboard and one for your BlueSky profile.
Short Step-by-Step Instructions:
Open BlueSky > Settigns > Account > Handle > I have my own domain
Copy DNS Record “Value”
Open Substack and Navigate to Settings > Domain.
Paste the value and click submit
Wait 24-48 hours
Open Substack and Navigate to Settings > Domain
Copy Domain Handle (everything after the @ sign ‘[YourSubstackName].substack.com’)
Open BlueSky > Settigns > Account > Handle > I have my own domain
Paste handle in "Enter the domain you want to use" field
Click “Verify DNS Record”
For more assistance, continue reading below for full, detailed instructions with screenshots.
Open BlueSky and Copy the DNS Value
Navigate to Settings > Account
Then click on Handle
A pop-up box will appear. Click on "I have my own domain"
A new pop-up box will appear. Click the copy icon next to "Value"
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In Substack: Submit the BlueSky DNS Value
Open Substack
Navigate to Settings > Domain
Navigate back to your Substack tab. Place your cursor in the "Use Your Domain on Bluesky" and press CTRL+V on your keyboard (or right click and select paste with your mouse)
Click Submit
**NOTE: When you click submit the first part of your pasted code "did=" will be removed. This is ok.
**INTERMISSION**
"Wait! What? Why are we having an intermission??" Ophelia cried out. "We're not done yet. We barely did anything!"
I sighed. "I know. But now we wait. What we just did, in technical speak, is updated the DNS settings of our Substack site. Unfortunately, it can take 24-48 hours for DNS settings to propagate through the internet - no matter if we're on Substack, our own domain, or some other website, it doesn't matter. It's a slow process."
"24-48 hours!?!" exclaimed Ophelia aghast.
"I'm afraid so. Come back tomorrow and we'll finish setting you up."
"Fine," sighed Ophelia, "I guess I'll go check on my coloring book sales."
**BREAKS 4TH WALL**
I was a bit surprised that Ophelia didn't put up more of a fight about this unexpected delay.
10 mins later she was back in my office demanding we try to finish the process today.
It didn't work and we received this error from BlueSky: "Failed to verify handle. Please try again."
If you were also impatient, you might also receive this error from BlueSky "Failed to verify handle. Please try again."
DO NOT PANIC!!
Check back in later and click the Verify DNS Record button again. In truth, it took Ophelia and I about an hour and half for the verification to be a success. However, it can take up to 24-48 hours for the information you updated in Substack to propagate through systems. This is entirely normal, and true whether you're setting up a Substack handle or one attached to a domain name you own. This is an internet thing, not a Substack thing.
**AFTER 2 - 48 HOURS***
"Cheryl!!" Ophelia bellowed as she hurtled full speed down the hallway to my office. Panting she burst in and cried out, "It's time!! It's been 24 hours. We need to try again!"
"Ok. Take a breath. Let's get your Substack and BlueSky tabs open again."
In Substack: Copy Your Domain Handle
Navigate to Settings > Domain
Now copy your Substack domain by highlighting the text after the "@" sign and pressing CTRL+C on your keyboard (or right click and select copy with your mouse)
In Bluesky: Paste Your Domain Handle
Navigate to Settings > Account > Handle > I have my own domain
Put your cursor in the "Enter the domain you want to use" field and paste (CTRL+V or right click your mouse). *REMEMBER* You want the text after the @ sign. It should be [YourSubstackName].substack.com
Click "Verify DNS Record"
You should see a green check circle with the words “Domain Verified”.
Click the blue “Update” button at the bottom and you’re all done.
To verify, navigate to your BlueSky Profile and you’ll see your handle underneath your profile image.
Troubleshooting
I waited 24 hours and I'm still getting the error, "Failed to verify handle. Please try again." from BlueSky.
If you waited 24 hours and are still getting the error, "Failed to verify handle. Please try again." from BlueSky, double check all of the steps I walked you through and make sure you didn't miss a step or mis-type any information. If everything checks out, then just leave this tab open and go work on other things for another 24 hours and try clicking the verify button again. If after 48 hours you are still receiving an error, it's time to contact support to get some help.
What if I need to close that tab, close my browser, or turn off my computer?
Ophelia asked, staring at the screen with concern. "Or worse, I forget and close it all by accident!" she gasped.
It's ok. Still Don't Panic.
Just reopen your BlueSky and Substack tabs and pick up where you left off.
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Stay Magical,
Cheryl
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Great tutorial! This worked for me, I do wonder when we get our little blue check marks tho...
I feel like we deserve it after doing all that internet magic and waiting 10mins to 48hrs.