Starter packs are good for onboarding. Lists are better when I want a reusable feed.
I convert a Bluesky starter pack into a list when I want to keep reading the group without following everyone immediately.
Use TheBlue.social's Bluesky list and starter pack converter when a starter pack has the right accounts, but you want to read the group over time instead of following everyone immediately.
Start with the format difference
Bluesky's official starter packs post describes starter packs as personalized invites. They recommend users and custom feeds so someone can join a slice of Bluesky quickly.
Starter packs are useful when I am helping someone get started.
A custom list has a different job. The official user lists documentation says a curatelist is a list of users for feeds or thread gates.
That makes a list better for:
- reading a community without following every account
- checking a topic once a week
- monitoring conference speakers
- keeping a research set separate from my main timeline
- reviewing accounts before I follow or recommend them
The account set can be the same. The job is different.
Why I convert starter packs into lists
I convert a starter pack into a list when the pack is interesting, but I am not ready to follow the whole thing.
I run into this often.
A starter pack might include:
- core accounts I want in my timeline
- useful accounts that post too often
- inactive accounts
- broad-topic accounts that do not fit my narrower use
- people I want to read during a specific event, but not forever
Following everyone turns that judgment into my main timeline.
A list keeps the group available without making that commitment.
How it works
Open the converter, paste the Bluesky starter pack URL, and load it.
The tool reads the starter pack, finds the underlying Bluesky list, and shows the accounts. Then I review the members before creating my own custom list.
What I check before creating the list
My usual pass is simple:
- search for obvious off-topic words
- remove accounts I already know I do not want
- keep accounts I want to inspect later
- name the list after the job, not the source pack
- leave a source note in the description
For example:
Source: https://bsky.app/starter-pack/example.com/3abc123
Converted to a custom list for weekly reading.
The source note is small, but I like having it. If I come back a month later, I know whether I built the list myself, copied it from someone else's starter pack, or merged it from several places.
What I name the list
I avoid names like "Copy of Starter Pack."
The name tells me where the list came from, but not what I use it for. I name the list after the reading job instead:
- "Climate policy reading"
- "Singapore tech people"
- "Game dev audio"
- "Journalists to check weekly"
- "Conference speakers to review"
The description can keep the source URL. The title should help me choose the list later from Bluesky's list menu.
Why I do not auto-follow the pack
Following is noisier than saving.
If I follow 150 people from a starter pack, I have changed my main timeline before I understand the group. Sometimes that is fine. If a friend sends me a tight pack of people I already know, I may follow them directly.
Most of the time, I want one review pass first.
The converted list lets me read the group for a few days. After that, I can follow the accounts that keep showing up as useful, leave the rest in the list, or delete the list if the pack was not what I expected.
Do not treat the list as synced
The converted list is a snapshot.
If the starter pack creator adds or removes accounts next week, my list does not automatically follow those changes. I prefer that. Once I create the list, it is my version.
If the source pack is actively maintained, I can run the conversion again later and compare the new account set. But I do not want silent updates in a list I use for reading or research.
When the source pack is too broad
Some starter packs are useful, but too broad for one list.
Large community packs often have this problem. A broad "tech" starter pack might include founders, AI researchers, open-source maintainers, security people, designers, recruiters, investors, and conference accounts.
I do not want all of that in one reading list.
In that case I use the converter as a filter. I search and remove accounts until the list has one job. If I need more than one job, I make more than one list.
For example:
- "AI researchers" for technical papers and model discussions
- "Indie founders" for product and distribution posts
- "Security people" for vulnerability and incident reading
The extra review takes longer than copying the pack once, but the result is a list I will use.
What changes after conversion
The starter pack stays where it is. I am not editing the original pack, and I am not changing the creator's recommendations.
I am creating a new custom list under my own Bluesky account.
I can rename it, remove accounts later, add new accounts, or delete it without affecting the starter pack. Other people will not see the list as an official version of the original pack. It is my working copy.
The distinction matters when the source pack belongs to a company, event, journalist, or community organizer. I can use their curation as a starting point without making them responsible for my edits.
How I maintain the list later
I do not try to keep every converted list perfect.
For a short-term event list, I may keep it for a week and delete it. For a topic I follow every month, I clean it up when the feed gets noisy.
The maintenance pass is the same as the first review:
- remove accounts that stopped posting about the topic
- remove accounts that post too much for this list's job
- add accounts I found through replies or search
- keep the source note if the list still came from one pack
- update the description if the list has become my own thing
If I have changed half the list, I stop treating it as a converted starter pack. At that point it is just my list.
What I do with the original starter pack
I keep the original starter pack link in the description if the source still matters.
For a conference, that source link is useful because the pack may be the organizer's official recommendation. For a public community pack, the source link gives me a way to check whether the creator has updated the group.
If the converted list becomes my own curated set, I remove the source note or move it lower in the description. I do not want future me to assume the list still mirrors the original pack.
That small cleanup prevents a stale source note from misleading me later.
When I would not convert
I do not convert every starter pack I find.
If I only want a few accounts, I use the Bluesky list follower as a review queue and follow the selected accounts.
If I want to recommend the community to other people, I keep it as a starter pack or make my own starter pack after reviewing the accounts.
If I want to mute or block a group, I do not use a custom list. Bluesky has moderation lists for that. I keep reading lists and moderation decisions separate.
A simple rule
I use the starter pack when I want to help someone join a community.
I use the list when I want to keep reading the community myself.
Last updated: June 20, 2026