When you first join Bluesky, the hardest part isn't signing up — it's finding the right people to follow. An empty feed is a silent feed, and a silent feed drives new users away. Starter packs solve this elegantly: they're curated lists of accounts you can follow in one click, organised by topic, niche, or community.
For creators, getting included in the right starter pack can be more valuable than any single viral post. Here's everything you need to know about how they work — and how to build one.
What Is a Bluesky Starter Pack?
A starter pack is a shareable collection of Bluesky accounts (and optionally, custom feeds) that someone has curated around a theme. Think "Scientists on Bluesky," "Indie game developers," or "UK journalists." When a new user sees a starter pack during onboarding — or when any user clicks a shared starter pack link — they can tap "Follow All" to subscribe to every account in the pack at once.
Starter packs aren't paid promotions or official Bluesky features — they're user-generated lists built by community members who want to help others navigate their niche.
Key stat: Starter packs shown during Bluesky's onboarding flow get seen by every new user who completes sign-up. A well-placed pack in a popular category can generate hundreds of follows per day during active growth periods.
How to Find Starter Packs
The easiest way is to search Bluesky directly. On bsky.app, search for your niche + "starter pack" (e.g. "photography starter pack" or "crypto starter pack"). Starter pack results appear in search alongside regular posts.
You can also find starter packs shared by accounts in your niche — when someone creates or shares a pack, it appears in your feed just like a post. Many curators share their packs in their bio or pin them.
Third-party directories (like bluesky-starter-packs.com, though availability changes) aggregate popular packs by category and make browsing easier than Bluesky's own search.
How to Create a Starter Pack
Go to Starter Packs in your profile
On bsky.app, tap your profile, then scroll down to find the "Starter Packs" tab. Tap the + button to create a new one. On mobile, this is in the same area as your Lists and Feeds.
Name and describe your pack
Give your starter pack a clear, searchable name — something like "Bluesky Food Photographers" or "Climate Scientists to Follow." The description should explain in 1–2 sentences why someone would want to follow this group. Make it specific: "Bluesky accounts" is too generic; "marine biologists sharing research and field photos" is discoverable.
Add accounts
Search for and add accounts to the pack. You can add up to 150 accounts, but 20–50 is the sweet spot. More than 50 starts to feel undifferentiated — curators who are ruthlessly selective tend to build better reputations. You can include yourself in your own starter pack.
Add feeds (optional)
You can also include custom feeds in a starter pack. If there's a well-curated feed for your niche (e.g. a "Science news" feed), include it so new followers have both accounts and a curated feed to start from. This makes your pack much more useful than just a list of people.
Share it
Tap Share to get a link. Post it on Bluesky, share it in relevant communities, and include it in your bio. The more places it's shared, the more it gets used — and the more traction all the accounts in it receive.
Tips for Making Your Starter Pack Succeed
- Be ruthlessly selective. A pack of 25 active, high-quality accounts in a specific niche beats a pack of 150 mixed accounts in the same space. Quality over quantity.
- Update it. Remove accounts that go inactive or change niche. An active, maintained pack is worth sharing repeatedly. A stale one reflects poorly.
- Name it for search. Include the niche keyword in the title so it appears when people search. "Astrophysics on Bluesky" is more discoverable than "My Space Friends."
- Include yourself. If the pack is genuinely relevant to your niche, include your own account. It's not self-promotional — it's what makes the pack complete.
- Cross-post the announcement. When you launch a starter pack, post about it and ask the accounts you've included to share it with their followers. One signal boost from 20 accounts can drive significant discovery.
How to Get Added to Others' Starter Packs
There's no application system. Curators add accounts they already follow and value. The best way to get included is to:
- Post consistently in your niche
- Engage genuinely with other accounts in the same space
- Have a clear profile bio that signals your focus area
- Reach out politely — "I notice you curate a great [niche] starter pack; I post about [topic] regularly — would love to be considered" is a perfectly reasonable message
Track your growth after getting added to starter packs
Use BskySuite Analytics to see how your follower count and engagement changes when you're included in a new pack.
View Profile Analytics →