- DarkSky is a new third-party app for Bluesky.
- The app is available on Windows 11 through the Microsoft Store.
- DarkSky is in preview but will gain exclusive features in the future.
Bluesky has a new app on Windows 11 that promises exclusive new features and an attractive layout. The new app, called DarkSky for BlueSky, has a modern design that fits in on Windows 11. While Bluesky works perfectly well on Windows 11 through a web browser, DarkSky provides an experience that looks more native on PCs. The app is in its early days, so the main focus is getting it to parity with Bluesky's web version, but in the future the app will have exclusive features.
Since DarkSky is so new, it receives updates quite often. The app just received an update that brings it to version 0.3.7. That version number shows how new this app is.
The main focus of development for DarkSky for BlueSky is reaching feature parity with the web. Here's what shipped with DarkSky version 0.3.7.
- Notifications
- Mentions, links, hashtags
- View other profiles
- Open quote posts, links
- Create text posts
- Bug fixes, error handling
At this point, I wouldn't recommend DarkSky as your main Bluesky client. It works, but it's very early in its development. The ability to open profiles only shipped five days ago, quickly followed by support for embeds in opened posts, image viewer, and seeing alt text.
The best Bluesky experience on Windows right now will come from installing Bluesky as a progressive web app (PWA) or using deck.blue, which is similar to TweetDeck.
While DarkSky is not a full Bluesky client right now, it is a petri dish for app development. It's incredibly interesting to see the order features are added, what bugs appear, and what developers can do to make a third-party client stand out from first-party apps and web experiences.
I spoke with FireCubeStudios, the developer of DarkSky, about what's on the way for the app. DarkSky will eventually support bookmarks, downloading videos, drafting posts, scheduling content, and other exclusive features.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a happenin' place where all the cool people hang out. Haven't you heard? It's like X (formerly Twitter), except it's not a dumpster fire. Even Microsoft is on Bluesky now, though I'm pretty sure the Microsofties copied us since we were on Bluesky first (see our Starter Pack). While Bluesky works perfectly well on Windows 11 through a web browser, DarkSky provides an experience that looks more native on PCs. The app is in its early days, so the main focus is getting it to parity with Bluesky's web version, but in the future the app will have exclusive features.
Bluesky has been around for a while, but it's a massive influx of users and influencers of late. That migration from X and wave of new users created a demand for Bluesky clients. Last month, we covered Beeskie, which is another Bluesky client. That app is also in beta and rather basic right now, though it's built by a Microsoft software engineer, so we should see some innovation within the app.
To give you a gauge of how quickly Bluesky is growing, when we covered Beeskie on Nov. 18, Bluesky had 19 million users. Bluesky now sits at around 25 million users. Back in September, the service only had 7 million users. With big-name companies like Microsoft joining Bluesky and prominent people joining, it appears interest in Bluesky will continue to snowball. As it does, third-party clients will mature to fill specific niches within Bluesky.
DarkSky for BlueSky is a third-party app for Bluesky, the social media platform that's skyrocketing in popularity right now. The app is in its early days and not yet at feature parity with Bluesky on the web, but it receives regular updates. Eventually, it will include exclusive features such as bookmarks, downloading videos, drafting posts, scheduling content, and more.
