How to Cross-Post from Mastodon to Threads Automatically

Post natively on Mastodon and Ferryman automatically syncs every new post to Threads — no copy-paste, no workflow change. Set up in under two minutes.

Start cross-posting free

Why cross-post from Mastodon to Threads

Mastodon and Threads reach genuinely different audiences. Mastodon is federated, instance-driven communities — strong technical, academic, and open-source presence. Threads, by contrast, is meta-owned and bootstrapped from Instagram — strong on lifestyle, sports, pop-culture, and creator-economy conversation.

Hundreds of millions of monthly active users via the Instagram on-ramp. Algorithmic distribution rewards consistent posting. If you're already putting in the effort to write good posts on Mastodon, there's no reason that work shouldn't reach a Threads audience too — except that maintaining two presences manually is exhausting and easy to abandon. That's the problem Ferryman exists to solve.

Key differences between Mastodon and Threads

Cross-posting isn't just a copy-paste. The two platforms have different limits and conventions, and Ferryman handles each difference so you don't have to think about it.

Capability	Mastodon	Threads
Character limit	500	500
Images per post	4	10
Alt text on images	Yes	Yes
Video support	Up to 1:00	Up to 5:00
Native threading	Yes	Yes

Both Mastodon and Threads cap posts at 500 characters, so there's no length friction in either direction.

What gets synced

Original posts (replies and quote posts are off by default and can be enabled)
Images up to 10 per post, with alt text preserved
Videos up to 300-second length on Threads (Creator plan)
Links — Ferryman preserves URLs and link cards where Threads supports them
Hashtags and mentions are preserved as-is; platform-specific mention syntax is rewritten
Posts fit Threads's 500-character limit without splitting

Set up Mastodon → Threads cross-posting

Sign in to Ferryman with your X account. This is how Ferryman authenticates you — you can still set Mastodon as your origin platform afterwards.
Go to Settings and connect your Mastodon account. This is the platform you'll post on natively.
Connect your Threads account in Settings. See the Threads integration guide for the exact steps.
Set Mastodon as your origin platform and check Threads as a target. Toggle cross-posting on, and Ferryman will sync new Mastodon posts to Threads within a few minutes.

Edge cases worth knowing

Skip a specific post: include #noferry anywhere in your Mastodon post and Ferryman won't sync it to Threads.
Replies and quote posts: off by default. You can enable them in Settings if you want your Mastodon conversations to appear on Threads too.
Threads on Mastodon: Mastodon threads are reconstructed as native Threads threads.
Editing or deleting: Ferryman doesn't propagate edits or deletions automatically. Each platform keeps its own copy once posted.
Scheduling: Use Ferryman's planner to schedule a post and Ferryman publishes to Mastodon and Threads at the same time.

Manual cross-posting vs. Ferryman

Task	Manual	Ferryman
Cross-post a new Mastodon post	Copy text, re-upload images, rewrite mentions	Automatic, within minutes
Handle character-limit differences	Rewrite or split by hand	Posts fit Threads's 500-character limit without splitting
Preserve alt text on images	Retype every time	Carried over automatically
Skip specific posts	Remember to not cross-post	Add #noferry and you're done

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take for a Mastodon post to appear on Threads?

Ferryman checks for new Mastodon posts every few minutes and syncs them to Threads as they arrive. Most cross-posts go live on Threads within five minutes of the original Mastodon post.

What happens if my Mastodon post is too long for Threads?

Both Mastodon and Threads cap posts at 500 characters, so there's no length friction in either direction.

Are images and videos preserved when cross-posting from Mastodon to Threads?

Yes. Images attached to your Mastodon post are uploaded to Threads automatically, up to Threads's limit of 10 per post. Alt text is carried over so your posts stay accessible on both platforms. Videos are preserved when both platforms support them (Creator plan).

Can I cross-post one Mastodon post but skip another?

Yes. Include #noferry anywhere in a Mastodon post and Ferryman will skip syncing it to Threads (and any other connected platforms).

Does Ferryman cross-post my Mastodon replies and quote posts?

By default, only original posts are cross-posted. You can opt in to syncing replies, quote posts, or reposts from your Ferryman settings.

Is cross-posting from Mastodon to Threads free?

Ferryman has a free tier that covers cross-posting between Mastodon and Threads. Paid plans unlock higher post volume, video cross-posting, and additional features like scheduling.

Related cross-post guides

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