The short version
- The Bluesky banner size is 3000×1000 pixels, a 3:1 header across the top of your profile.
- Your round profile picture overlaps the lower left of the banner, so keep words and logos out of that corner.
- The banner is cropped slightly differently on phones and desktop, so important detail belongs in the centre.
- The recommended Bluesky post image size is 1600×900 pixels, a 16:9 landscape frame.
- Bluesky lets you add alt text to every image, and a clear description makes every image post more useful.
On this page
The Bluesky banner size is 3000×1000 pixels, a wide 3:1 header that runs across the top of your profile. Your round avatar sits over its lower left corner, and the visible crop shifts a little between the phone app and the website, so keep words and logos in the centre and right of the frame, away from the avatar. For images inside posts, use 1600×900 pixels, a 16:9 landscape frame, or a portrait image when the content is tall.
Bluesky banner dimensions
Size
Ratio
Size
Ratio
Size
Ratio
Size
Ratio
Bluesky banner 3:1
3000 × 1000
X header 3:1
1500 × 500
LinkedIn banner 4:1
1584 × 396
Because the Bluesky banner and the X header share a 3:1 ratio, design once at 3000×1000 and export a 1500×500 copy for X. The extra resolution keeps fine type and gradients crisp on large, high density screens. Export PNG for graphics and text, JPEG for photographs.
Where the avatar overlaps the banner
On your profile, the avatar circle sits on the bottom edge of the banner, near the left. Anything designed into that corner is covered, partly or wholly, depending on the screen. The rest of the banner is open, though the right side can be trimmed on narrow phones. Social media safe zones maps the same problem across every platform.
Approximate area
Put here
Put here
Put here
Approximate area
Put here
Words centred, the lower left left to the avatar and the background running edge to edge.
Bluesky banner ideas
A banner doesn't need much. It sits behind your name and bio, so it works best as atmosphere with one idea: what you do, what you post, or simply a colour that becomes yours. Busy banners compete with the avatar and the bio text right beneath them.
- Pure atmosphere. A gradient or material in your colours with no words at all. Calm, and it never goes out of date.
- One line. What people get by following: "Daily notes on type", "Field recordings from the coast".
- Your work. A wide crop of a photo, illustration or product, with the subject in the centre third.
- A current thing. A book, launch or show, with a date. Remember to change it when it passes.
Notice the left side of each. The avatar needs contrast against the banner to stand out, so a darker or plainer left edge helps a light avatar, and a light left edge helps a dark one. This is the same reasoning as a logo on a gradient background.
Avoid
- A logo or name in the lower left, under the avatar
- Small text that shrinks to nothing on a phone
- A photo whose subject sits at the far edge
- A busy pattern behind the bio
- A 1500×500 file stretched up to fit
Do
- Key content in the centre third
- One line set large, or no words at all
- Subjects centred, edges as background
- A calm area along the bottom edge
- A full 3000×1000 export
Most banner problems come from designing on a laptop and never checking a phone. Upload, open your profile in the app, then on a desktop browser, and look at the corner under the avatar and the far right edge in both. If anything important is cut, slide it towards the centre and upload again; it takes a minute and saves the banner looking careless to every new visitor.
Bluesky post image size
For images in posts, 1600×900 is the dependable size: it shows in full in the feed on phones and desktop. Portrait images at 1080×1350 are allowed and take more vertical space, which suits posters and charts, though the feed may show them in a shorter preview until tapped. You can attach several images to one post, and they arrange into a grid, so keep a set at the same proportions.
A landscape post image at 1600×900, the safest Bluesky shape.
A portrait poster at 1080×1350, larger in the feed but sometimes previewed shorter.
Keep your Bluesky profile on brand
Banner, avatar and post images read as one profile, so give them one background family. The same colour or material behind your banner, your announcement images and your quote cards makes a scrolling visitor recognise you before reading your handle. Every other platform's sizes are in social media image sizes, and the habit of keeping a look across them is in brand consistency.
In Gradiently you pick a Mark, design the 3000×1000 banner once and, on Pro, resize it to the X header, LinkedIn banner and post sizes in one step, each rendered fresh for its shape rather than cropped. Words placed on the Mark stay readable because it calms itself behind them. If you want a look that is only yours, browse the Market.
Questions people ask
What size is a Bluesky banner?
3000×1000 pixels, a 3:1 ratio.
What size should images in Bluesky posts be?
1600×900 pixels, a 16:9 landscape frame, shows reliably in the feed. Portrait 1080×1350 and square 1080×1080 also work.
Can I use my X header on Bluesky?
Yes. Both are 3:1, so a 3000×1000 design scaled to 1500×500 serves X and the full size serves Bluesky. Check the avatar position on each.
Where does the avatar sit on a Bluesky banner?
Over the lower left of the banner, so keep words and logos out of that corner and in the centre.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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