bluemacs.el

A (WIP) Bluesky client for Emacs.

Features

• Secure authentication with Bluesky
• View your timeline with UTF-8 support (including emojis)
• Create posts and quote posts
• Reply to posts with proper threading
• Like and unlike posts
• Repost and unrepost posts
• Follow and unfollow users
• View notifications (likes, reposts, follows, mentions, replies, quotes)
• View user profiles with avatar, bio, stats, and follow status
• Clickable links in posts
• Auto-refresh timeline at configurable intervals
• Simple keybindings

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/annapawlicka/bluemacs.el.git

2. Add to your Emacs configuration:

   (add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/bluemacs.el")
   (require 'bluemacs)

Using use-package

(use-package bluemacs
  :load-path "/path/to/bluemacs.el"
  :config
  (setq bluemacs-auto-refresh-interval 60)) ; Optional: auto-refresh every 60 seconds

Usage

Authentication

Before using bluemacs, you need to create an App Password (not your main Bluesky password):

1. Go to https://bsky.app/settings/app-passwords
2. Create a new app password
3. Save it securely

First Login

M-x bluemacs-login

You'll be prompted for:

• Your Bluesky handle (e.g., username.bsky.social), you can also use your email
• Your app password

Note: Credentials are only stored in memory by default. See Saving Credentials to persist them.

Viewing Timeline

M-x bluemacs-timeline

This opens a buffer displaying your Bluesky timeline.

Keybindings

In the timeline buffer:

Key	Action
g	Refresh timeline
c	Compose new post
r	Reply to post at point
Q	Quote post at point
l	Like/unlike post at point
R	Repost/unrepost post at point
f	Follow/unfollow user
t	View thread/replies
N	View notifications
P	View user profile
b	Back to previous view
a	Toggle auto-refresh
i	Set refresh interval
I	Toggle image display
q	Quit window
n	Next line
p	Previous line
?	Describe mode (show help)
SPC	Scroll up
DEL	Scroll down
<	Beginning of buffer
>	End of buffer

Navigation

bluemacs maintains a navigation history stack, allowing you to browse through different views and return to where you came from:

• Press b to go back to the previous view (timeline, thread, profile, or notifications)
• The navigation stack remembers your scroll position in each buffer
• If the navigation stack is empty, b returns to the timeline
• You can navigate through multiple levels: timeline → thread → profile → back to thread → back to timeline

Example navigation flow:

1. View timeline
2. Press t on a post to view its thread (timeline is saved to history)
3. Press P on a reply to view that user's profile (thread is saved to history)
4. Press b to return to the thread view
5. Press b again to return to the timeline

Auto-Refresh

bluemacs supports automatic timeline refreshing:

Configure via Emacs settings

;; Set auto-refresh interval (in seconds)
(setq bluemacs-auto-refresh-interval 60)  ; Refresh every 60 seconds

Configure interactively

From the timeline buffer:

• Press i to set the refresh interval
• Press a to toggle auto-refresh on/off

Or use commands:

M-x bluemacs-set-refresh-interval
M-x bluemacs-toggle-auto-refresh

Note: Auto-refresh only works when the timeline buffer is visible, so it won't waste resources in the background.

Posting

bluemacs allows you to compose and post text updates to Bluesky.

Compose in Buffer (Recommended)

1. Press c in the timeline (or run M-x bluemacs-compose)
2. A compose buffer opens with instructions
3. Write your post (max 300 characters)
4. Press C-c C-c to send or C-c C-k to cancel

Quick Post from Minibuffer

M-x bluemacs-post RET
Post text: Your message here RET

Note: Posts are limited to 300 characters. The package will validate length before posting.

Replying to Posts

Reply to any post in your timeline or in thread view:

1. Navigate to the post you want to reply to
2. Press r (or run M-x bluemacs-reply)
3. A compose buffer opens showing which post you're replying to
4. Write your reply (max 300 characters)
5. Press C-c C-c to send or C-c C-k to cancel

Viewing Threads

View conversation threads with all replies:

1. Navigate to any post in the timeline
2. Press t to view the full thread
3. Replies are indented to show conversation hierarchy
4. Press b to go back to the timeline

Liking Posts

Like or unlike any post with a single keypress:

1. Navigate to the post you want to like
2. Press l (or run M-x bluemacs-toggle-like)
3. The timeline refreshes to show the updated like status

Reposting

Repost (boost/retweet) any post to share it with your followers:

1. Navigate to the post you want to repost
2. Press R (shift+r, or run M-x bluemacs-toggle-repost)
3. The timeline refreshes to show the updated repost status

Display format for reposts in timeline:

♻ Reposted by Alice Smith (@alice.bsky.social)
Bob Jones (@bob.bsky.social) - 2025-01-15 10:30
Post content here...

Images

bluemacs can display embedded images inline when running in graphical Emacs.

Usage

Toggle images on/off:

• Press I (capital i) in the timeline buffer
• Or run M-x bluemacs-toggle-images

Customize image size:

(setq bluemacs-image-max-width 600)   ;; Default: 400
(setq bluemacs-image-max-height 400)  ;; Default: 300

Disable images by default:

(setq bluemacs-display-images nil)

Note: Images only display in graphical Emacs. In terminal mode, alt text is shown instead.

Quote Posts

bluemacs supports both viewing and creating quote posts.

Viewing Quote Posts

Quote posts are automatically displayed in your timeline with a bordered box around the quoted content.

Usage:

1. Navigate to a post that contains a quote (you'll see the bordered box)
2. Move your cursor anywhere within the quoted post section
3. Press RET (Enter) to open the quoted post's full thread
4. View all replies, likes, and reposts for that quoted post
5. Press b to return to your timeline

Display format:

┌─ Quoted Post ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
│ Author Name (@handle) - [press RET to view thread]
│ Text of the quoted post...
│ [Images if present]
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Creating Quote Posts

How to quote post:

1. Navigate to the post you want to quote
2. Press Q (shift+q, or run M-x bluemacs-quote)
3. A compose buffer opens showing which post you're quoting
4. Write your commentary (max 300 characters)
5. Press C-c C-c to send or C-c C-k to cancel

Notifications

View your Bluesky notifications to see who has interacted with your posts:

M-x bluemacs-notifications

Or press N from the timeline buffer.

Features:

• View all your Bluesky notifications in a dedicated buffer
• Different icons for each notification type:
  • ♥ Likes
  • ♻ Reposts
  • 👤 Follows
  • @ Mentions
  • ↩ Replies
  • 💬 Quote posts
• Unread notifications are shown in bold text
• Press t on any notification to view the full thread
• Fetches the 50 most recent notifications

Display format:

♥ Alice (@alice.bsky.social) liked your post
  Your post text here...
  [2025-10-22T10:30:00Z] - press 't' to view thread
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

User Profiles

View detailed user profiles including avatar, banner, bio, and statistics:

From timeline or thread:

1. Navigate to any post
2. Press P to view the author's profile

Or manually:

M-x bluemacs-view-profile RET username.bsky.social RET

Profile display includes:

• Banner image (if available, in graphical Emacs)
• Avatar image (if available, in graphical Emacs)
• Display name and handle
• Follow status (Following, Follows you, or both)
• Bio/description
• Stats: post count, follower count, following count
• DID (Decentralized Identifier)

Note: Profile images only display in graphical Emacs. The profile information is shown in a dedicated buffer.

Following Users

Follow or unfollow users to customize your timeline:

From a profile:

1. View a user's profile (press P on any of their posts)
2. Press f to follow or unfollow the user
3. The profile refreshes to show the updated follow status

From the timeline:

1. Navigate to any post
2. Press f to follow or unfollow the post's author

Saving Credentials

By default, your password is not saved and you'll need to log in each time you restart Emacs. To save credentials securely:

Option 1: Plain text (not recommended)

Create ~/.authinfo:

echo "machine bsky.social login your.handle.bsky.social password your-app-password" > ~/.authinfo
chmod 600 ~/.authinfo

Option 2: Encrypted (recommended)

Create ~/.authinfo.gpg (requires GPG):

echo "machine bsky.social login your.handle.bsky.social password your-app-password" | gpg -c -o ~/.authinfo.gpg

With credentials saved, bluemacs-login will automatically use them without prompting.

Customization

Available Options

;; Bluesky instance URL (default: "https://bsky.social")
(setq bluemacs-instance "https://bsky.social")

;; Number of posts to fetch (default: 50)
(setq bluemacs-timeline-limit 20)

;; Auto-refresh interval in seconds (default: nil, disabled)
(setq bluemacs-auto-refresh-interval 120)

;; Display embedded images (default: t)
(setq bluemacs-display-images t)

;; Maximum image dimensions in pixels
(setq bluemacs-image-max-width 400)
(setq bluemacs-image-max-height 300)

Example Configuration

(use-package bluemacs
  :load-path "/path/to/bluemacs.el"
  :custom
  (bluemacs-timeline-limit 15)
  (bluemacs-auto-refresh-interval 90)
  :config
  (message "bluemacs loaded!"))

Commands

Command	Description
bluemacs-login	Log in to Bluesky
bluemacs-logout	Log out from current session
bluemacs-timeline	Fetch and display timeline
bluemacs-refresh-timeline	Refresh the current timeline
bluemacs-notifications	View notifications
bluemacs-compose	Compose a new post in buffer
bluemacs-post	Post text from minibuffer
bluemacs-reply	Reply to post at point
bluemacs-quote	Quote post at point with commentary
bluemacs-toggle-like	Like or unlike post at point
bluemacs-toggle-repost	Repost or unrepost post at point
bluemacs-toggle-follow	Follow or unfollow user at point
bluemacs-view-thread	View thread/replies for post at point
bluemacs-view-quoted-post	View thread for quoted post at point
bluemacs-view-profile	View user profile
bluemacs-back-to-timeline	Return to previous view or timeline
bluemacs-toggle-auto-refresh	Toggle auto-refresh on/off
bluemacs-set-refresh-interval	Set auto-refresh interval
bluemacs-toggle-images	Toggle image display on/off

Requirements

• Emacs 27.1 or higher
• json (built-in)
• url (built-in)
• auth-source (built-in)

Security Notes

1. Always use App Passwords, never your main Bluesky password
2. Encrypt your authinfo file using .authinfo.gpg instead of plain .authinfo
3. Set proper file permissions: chmod 600 ~/.authinfo or ~/.authinfo.gpg
4. Access tokens are stored in memory and are cleared when you restart Emacs or run bluemacs-logout

Roadmap

Completed features:

• Compose and post new text skeets
• Thread view
• Reply to posts
• Like posts
• Repost posts
• Display quote posts
• Create quote posts
• Display repost attribution in timeline
• Follow and unfollow users
• Notifications
• View user profiles

Future features planned:

• View recent posts when viewing profile
• View user profile from follow notification

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

License

See LICENSE file for details.

Links

• Repository: https://github.com/annapawlicka/bluemacs.el
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app
• AT Protocol Documentation: https://atproto.com