read-thread

A notification shows you a slice. Find the whole first, then decide how to read it.

A reply's record carries its thread's root at reply.root.uri; a top-level post is its own root. Read from the root:

query(nsid="app.bsky.feed.getPostThread",
      params={"uri": <root uri>, "depth": 10, "parentHeight": 0},
      select='def media: [.post.embed // {} | .. | objects | select(has("alt")) | "[image: \(.alt | gsub("\n"; " ") | .[0:300])]"] + [.post.embed // {} | .. | objects | select(.["$type"]? == "app.bsky.embed.record#viewRecord") | "[quotes @\(.author.handle): \(.value.text | gsub("\n"; " ") | .[0:200])]"] | join(" "); def w(d): (.post | "\("  " * d)@\(.author.handle) [\(.uri | split("/") | last)]: \(.record.text | gsub("\n"; " "))"), (media | select(. != "") | "\("  " * (d + 1))\(.)"), (if (.replies // []) == [] and (.post.replyCount // 0) > 0 then "\("  " * (d + 1))… \(.post.replyCount) more below, read from \(.post.uri)" else (.replies[]? | w(d + 1)) end); [.thread | .. | objects | select(has("post")) | .post] as $p | "\($p | length) posts from \($p | map("@" + .author.handle) | unique | join(", ")); root has \(.thread.post.quoteCount // 0) quotes", (.thread | w(0))')

The first line is the size: posts loaded, who wrote them, and how many quote posts sit outside the thread. Then each post with its author and rkey, indented under the post it answers, with image alt text and quoted posts under it. A media-only post with no alt text shows empty text; get_record it or read its URL when the picture matters.

Size decides the reading. A short thread you read whole. A long one you read the branch the question is about, plus the root and whatever the person asking wrote. Quotes carry their own conversations: app.bsky.feed.getQuotes with {"uri": <post uri>} lists them.

The service returns at most 10 levels below the post you pass. A line starting with "…" marks replies it left out; read again from the URI it names to continue down that branch. Responses over 30k characters are trimmed: pass the post you're joining with parentHeight 10 to read just its branch.

When you answer, the answer is about the thread you read. If you read part of it, say which part.