--- title: "How to Change Your Bluesky Handle to Your Custom Domain with Netlify" description: "Learn how to change your Bluesky handle to your custom domain name with Netlify to protect your website account and identity" source: "https://www.netlify.com/blog/change-bluesky-handle-to-custom-domain-with-netlify/" last_updated: "2026-07-14T17:27:47.000Z" --- Let’s face it. One of the biggest headaches about social media is finding out that someone decided to squat on your desired username. ![The dreaded “username has already been taken” error message](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/baf873bcf8cb13905c3c82c77df23c556ca13d80-606x67.jpg?w=450) And while it would be one thing if people were genuinely using the account, the frustrating part is that more often than not, people: - Squat popular usernames for profit or in bad faith (also known as [domain squatting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting)) - Had the best of intentions with using it, but lose interest after a few days and the account sits completely unused The issue of identity and verification has been a tricky one; but [Bluesky](https://blueskyweb.xyz/), an up and coming social media platform, implemented a simple and elegant solution to this problem: **use your custom domain as your username**. After all, as aptly paraphrased from this [tweet](https://twitter.com/olafurw/status/1650938584784838702): > Bluesky: “Hey Companies, do you have anything that uniquely identifies you online?” > > Companies: “We own our own domains.” > > Bluesky: “Let’s just use that.” So, in this blog post, I’ll be showing how you can update your Bluesky handle to leverage your custom domain with Netlify. ## Prerequisites Before we get started, here are the things you’ll need to have to follow along: - [Bluesky account](https://bsky.app/) - [Netlify account](https://app.netlify.com/login) - [Custom domain](https://docs.netlify.com/domains-https/custom-domains/) that’s connected to a site via [Netlify DNS](https://docs.netlify.com/domains-https/netlify-dns/) With that, let’s jump right in! ## Step 1. Get DNS record information from Bluesky The first thing we need to get is to inform Bluesky of our intent to use a custom domain and grab the necessary credentials. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to: 1. Visit the “Settings” section in Bluesky 2. Click on “Change my handle” ![Screenshot of Bluesky’s web app (beta) that shows how to access change my handle option.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/ea0315516b0b5a6bddc1d3edbb023f21efbadc19-2100x1311.jpg) 3. Click on “I have my own domain” at the bottom of the prompt. ![Screenshot of Bluesky’s web app (beta) that shows where the custom domain link is](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/55421fdd89b245771620ce57a8b4ec0c319e73d9-2100x1311.jpg) 4. Enter your desired custom domain in this text input. ![Screenshot of Bluesky’s web app (beta) that shows where users add the custom domain they want to use](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/30ce9af3335e7ae2dcd4fe4e795016b9e15a1172-2100x1311.jpg) Once you’ve added your custom domain (e.g., `bencodezen.io`), the `Domain` value will update to the correct relevant value (e.g., `_atproto.bencodezen.io`). ![Screenshot of Bluesky’s web app (beta) that shows an updated DNS record with your custom domain](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/6a568e87e9a12c11e3855a9e90e4545ac1b88408-2100x1311.jpg) Now that we have this information, it’s time to move on to next step! ## Step 2. Add Bluesky DNS record to Netlify Now that we have the necessary information from Bluesky, it’s time to login to Netlify so we can configure out domain to verify that we own it. Once you’ve navigated to your site on Netlify which uses your desired custom domain, you’ll want to follow the following steps: 5. Access the “Domain Settings” for the site that’s connected to the desired custom domain ![Screenshot of Netlify dashboard that shows an example of where “Domain Settings” is](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/c2687328ec55d5c905b42c009d915d0d825b88a4-2100x1311.jpg) 6. Open the dropdown next to your domain name and click on “DNS panel” ![Screenshot of Netlify dashboard that shows how to access the DNS panel for a custom domain ](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/eb385186f403b8c9ff829d3f2afd4134a49eb232-2100x1311.jpg) 7. Click on “Add a new record” ![Screenshot of Netlify dashboard that shows how to start the process of adding a new record ](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/f6e2b6fb0ef8086ecc63e07a299e8a916796fda4-2100x1311.jpg) Now that you see the new DNS record form, it’s time to grab that information we got from Bluesky in step 1! ![Screenshot of Netlify dashboard that shows the new DNS record form ](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/02f131e62bdb9bff98e24a99840bfeb4086fbf4e-2100x1311.jpg) ``` # Example data from Bluesky Domain: _atproto.bencodezen.io Type: TXT Value: did=did:plc:ebrgxjbu6rhgvigjlxlo3c4y ``` Unfortunately the information from Bluesky don’t completely match the form for Netlify DNS records, so here’s a quick reference on how the two correspond to one another: - `Domain` → `Name` - `Type` → `Record type` - `Value` → `Value` With that understanding, now you’re ready to: 8. Fill out the form using the information from Bluesky ![Screenshot of Netlify dashboard that shows a populated new DNS record form ](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/ac9963174a1e6b36febaf458545f4ee53355b494-2100x1311.jpg) 9. Verify that your new DNS record from Bluesky shows up in your dashboard. ![Screenshot of Netlify dashboard that shows the new text record in the dashboard](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/5e4015089d3ed5d13553770997567cad7614623b-2100x1311.jpg) Now that we see it in the dashboard, this will kick off a process to update the servers to have this new record. However, **please note that the time it’ll take for the change to propagate can vary**. My change happened within a few minutes, but it can take up to a day or so in some cases. ## Step 3. Verify the DNS record on Bluesky Once you’ve finished adding a record, it’s time to: 10. Verify the DNS record on Bluesky. ![Screenshot of Bluesky dashboard that shows how to verify the DNS record we just created](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/o0o2tn5x/production/016c3a40e117c7d0d0f2eb1efc4d3815c723dd4f-2100x1311.jpg) Assuming all the changes have propagated already, you will now see your shiny new handle that’s your custom domain! 🎉 ## Next steps Congratulations! You’re now empowered to create all the properly branded Bluesky accounts without the anxiety of someone squatting your desired handle for your side project. 🙌 If you’d like to learn more about managing custom domains with Netlify, be sure to check out these resources: - [Custom domains | Netlify Docs](https://docs.netlify.com/domains-https/custom-domains/) - [Netlify DNS | Netlify Docs](https://docs.netlify.com/domains-https/netlify-dns/) Thanks for reading and I’ll see you over on Bluesky! ### Share - [X (fka Twitter)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=How to Change Your Bluesky Handle to Your Custom Domain with Netlify&url=https://www.netlify.com/blog/change-bluesky-handle-to-custom-domain-with-netlify/) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.netlify.com%2Fblog%2Fchange-bluesky-handle-to-custom-domain-with-netlify%2F) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.netlify.com/blog/change-bluesky-handle-to-custom-domain-with-netlify/) - [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=How to Change Your Bluesky Handle to Your Custom Domain with Netlify+https://www.netlify.com/blog/change-bluesky-handle-to-custom-domain-with-netlify/) * * * ### Tags - [DNS](/blog/tags/dns/) - [Netlify DNS](/blog/tags/netlify-dns/) - [Domains](/blog/tags/domains/) - [custom domains](/blog/tags/custom-domains/) ## Keep reading ![](/_astro/3f45eb6eda4ea8814be310e3df4a7883a5bd9ba0-1200x675_ZcBDUS.webp) Guides & Tutorials May 15, 2026 [ ### How to build a real-time AI chatbot in minutes with Netlify Agent Runners (no backend) ](/blog/how-to-build-a-real-time-ai-chatbot-in-minutes-with-netlify-agent-runners-no-backend) - ![Profile picture of Nahrin Jalal](/_astro/f0e7c8f227a03fe58340c99ef5439d5a896c0733-272x272_Z23kDpD.webp) Nahrin Jalal ![](/_astro/8fe9e8a23f944c9912003233d99a2df7fee637cf-1600x900_Z1gMhmf.webp) Guides & Tutorials May 15, 2026 [ ### Tracking AI search traffic: how to use Netlify Log Drains to maximize AEO ](/blog/tracking-ai-search-traffic) - ![Profile picture of Nahrin Jalal](/_astro/f0e7c8f227a03fe58340c99ef5439d5a896c0733-272x272_Z23kDpD.webp) Nahrin Jalal ## Recent posts News & Announcements July 14, 2026 [ ### More headroom, a lower per-credit rate, and a bill you can predict: introducing new Pro plan tiers ](/blog/new-pro-plan-tiers) - ![Profile picture of Gehrig Kunz](/_astro/b4e9f58d914d1334ea70d53ea55a1f26b26f1445-512x512_17SwOI.webp) Gehrig Kunz News & Announcements July 13, 2026 [ ### Netlify inside of Claude Design ](/blog/netlify-inside-of-claude-design) - ![Profile picture of Sean Roberts](/_astro/bbf2243f8171dbddd80ab2103622106cef84d125-512x512_Z1d2LKE.webp) Sean Roberts News & Announcements June 25, 2026 [ ### Netlify Functions, designed for Agent Experience ](/blog/netlify-functions-designed-for-agent-experience) - ![Profile picture of Eduardo Bouças](/_astro/52958f21e8450baf6d8e60302341a984e220c0cd-512x512_13VDlu.webp) Eduardo Bouças ![](/_astro/3f255b372fa958df35802666ee33b4609b2d71bd-1200x1586_1VtE2D.webp) ### How do the best dev and marketing teams work together? 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