Short answer: yes, you can move your Bluesky account to a different server (PDS) and keep your followers, posts and likes, because your DID stays the same. Today it takes a migration tool such as goat or a hosted service, plus an email confirmation. Back up first: a botched migration can lock you out.

Here's what a PDS is, exactly what moves, the tools people use, and the safety steps worth taking.

On this page:

The Direct Answer

Question Answer
Can I move off Bluesky's servers? Yes – to any PDS that accepts migrations, including your own
Do I keep my followers? Yes – they follow your DID, which doesn't change
Do my posts and media come with me? Yes – the tool copies your repository and blobs
Can I still use the Bluesky app? Yes – sign in with your new hosting provider
Is there a button in the app? No (as of October 2026) – use a migration tool
Can I come back to bsky.social? Yes – since September 2025

What a PDS Is, and Why You'd Move

Your PDS (Personal Data Server) is where your account actually lives: your posts, likes, follows, blocks, lists and uploaded media, stored as a signed repository. Most people are on Bluesky's PDS, under bsky.social, without ever thinking about it. The Bluesky app reads from an AppView that gathers everyone's data from every PDS, which is why accounts on other servers look and behave like any other account. Our ATProtocol federation guide explains the moving parts.

Reasons people move:

  • Independence. Your data lives with a host you choose, or on hardware you run.
  • Jurisdiction. Providers such as Eurosky host accounts in Europe.
  • Experimentation. Developers run their own PDS to build and test, often alongside the projects in our ATProtocol getting-started guide.
  • Insurance. If you ever fell out with Bluesky the company, you could leave without starting over.

What Moves and What Doesn't

Item Moves?
Posts, replies, reposts, likes Yes – part of your repository
Follows, blocks, lists, starter packs Yes – also records in your repository
Followers Yes – they point at your DID
Photos and videos Yes – copied as blobs (this can take a while)
Preferences (feeds, mutes, settings) Yes, with tools that migrate preferences
.bsky.social handle No – use your own domain or the new host's handle
App passwords and app sign-ins No – sign in again everywhere

Direct messages aren't stored in your repository, so check your provider's and tool's current notes on DMs before you rely on them carrying over. If a conversation matters, keep your own copy.

The handle point trips people up. yourname.bsky.social is a subdomain that only Bluesky's servers answer for, so on a new PDS it won't verify. The cleanest path is to switch to a domain handle before you migrate; it moves with you and never needs to change again.

The Risks, Plainly

Bluesky's own PDS documentation calls account migration potentially destructive. The key step changes your DID document – the public record that says which server hosts you and which keys may change your identity. Part of that step signs away your old PDS's ability to update your identity. If the new server is misconfigured, goes offline, or the process stops halfway, you can end up with an account nobody can update, and Bluesky can't recover it for you.

Bluesky's advice is not to migrate a primary account unless you understand how PLC operations work. Reasonable precautions:

  • Try it on a test account first. Make a throwaway account on bsky.social and migrate it.
  • Pick a host you trust to still be there in five years. Your identity depends on it.
  • Add your own rotation key (below) so you can recover without the host.
  • Don't delete the old account until you have confirmed everything on the new one.

Bluesky Migration Tools

  • goat – Bluesky's own command-line tool. It has an account migration command and is what Bluesky's migration guide describes. Best if you're comfortable in a terminal.
  • Hosted migration tools – web tools such as PDS MOOver, and providers' own tools like Eurosky's, walk you through the same steps in a browser. Convenient, but you are typing your password into them, so use ones with a track record and change your password afterwards.
  • Doing it by hand – the underlying API calls are documented, and developers who want to understand each step can script them. Not recommended for a first migration.

How to Migrate a Bluesky Account, Step by Step

  1. Back up everything. Download your repository from Bluesky's settings and take a readable backup. If the migration fails, these are your only copies.
  2. Pick the new PDS and check it accepts migrations. Choose a provider or your own server, and confirm it allows incoming migrations and whether it needs an invite code.
  3. Choose a handle that will work on the new server. A .bsky.social handle only works on Bluesky's servers. Use your own domain, or a handle the new provider offers.
  4. Run the migration with a tool. Use the goat command-line tool or a hosted migration tool. It creates an account on the new PDS with your same DID and copies your repository, media and preferences.
  5. Confirm the identity update by email. Your old PDS emails you a code to approve the change to your DID document that points your identity at the new server. This is the step that cannot be easily undone.
  6. Sign in again and check. Log in to the Bluesky app using the new hosting provider, confirm your posts, followers and media look right, and only then let the tool deactivate the old account.

For the backup, use both Bluesky's Export my data (a CAR file of your repository) and a readable copy from Skyscraper's free Account Backups. Our backup guide covers both. Large media libraries take longest to move; if a tool times out, rerun the blob step rather than starting over.

Add Your Own Recovery (Rotation) Key

A did:plc identity has rotation keys: the keys allowed to update it. Normally only your PDS holds one. Adding a rotation key that only you control means that if your host disappears, you can still point your identity at a new server. goat can generate a key and add it to your DID document. Store the private key offline, the way you would a password manager's recovery codes. Losing it costs nothing; leaking it hands someone your identity.

Can You Move Back to Bluesky's PDS?

Yes. Bluesky's documentation used to warn that leaving bsky.social was one-way, but since September 2025 Bluesky's PDS accepts returning accounts: you log in to your old bsky.social account, import your repository, and reactivate. It's still a migration with the same identity step, so the same precautions apply.

Considering leaving Bluesky entirely instead? Deleting or deactivating are the other options, and both are much simpler.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I move my Bluesky account to another server?

Yes. You can migrate to any PDS that accepts incoming accounts, including one you host. Your DID stays the same, so followers, posts and likes come with you.

Do I lose followers when I migrate my Bluesky account?

No. Followers follow your DID, not your server, so they keep following you after the migration.

Is there a button in the Bluesky app to change PDS?

Not as of October 2026. Migration is done with a tool such as Bluesky's goat command-line tool or a hosted migration service, then you sign in to the app with your new hosting provider.

What happens to my bsky.social handle when I migrate?

It stops working, because only Bluesky's servers answer for bsky.social handles. Switch to a custom domain handle, or use a handle your new provider offers.

Is migrating a Bluesky account risky?

It can be. Bluesky warns that a failed migration can leave you locked out of your account permanently. Back up first, test with a spare account, and add your own rotation key.

Can I move back to bsky.social after migrating away?

Yes. Since September 2025 Bluesky's PDS accepts returning accounts: you log in to your old account, import your repository and reactivate.

Other PDSes in Skyscraper

Skyscraper works with accounts on any PDS, not just bsky.social:

  • Alternate PDS support – sign in to accounts on other hosts, including Eurosky
  • OAuth with DPoP-bound tokens, or app passwords – sign in without handing over your main password
  • Account Data – browse your repository, in lexicon or plain English, to check what moved
  • Full HTML and JSON backup of your posts before you start

Download Skyscraper →