How to Cross-Post from Threads to Mastodon Automatically

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

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Why cross-post from Threads to Mastodon

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

No algorithm, no ads, no central platform risk. Smaller than the giants, but high signal and durable. If you're already putting in the effort to write good posts on Threads, there's no reason that work shouldn't reach a Mastodon 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 Threads and Mastodon

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

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

Mastodon supports 4 images per post — 6 fewer than Threads. If you post more images than Mastodon allows, Ferryman includes the first 4 on Mastodon and notes the overflow in your dashboard.

Videos longer than 60 seconds exceed Mastodon's cap. Ferryman handles the length difference so the rest of your cross-post still goes through.

What gets synced

Original posts (replies and quote posts are off by default and can be enabled)
Images up to 4 per post, with alt text preserved
Videos up to 60-second length on Mastodon (Creator plan)
Links — Ferryman preserves URLs and link cards where Mastodon supports them
Hashtags and mentions are preserved as-is; platform-specific mention syntax is rewritten
Posts fit Mastodon's 500-character limit without splitting

Set up Threads → Mastodon cross-posting

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

Edge cases worth knowing

Skip a specific post: include #noferry anywhere in your Threads post and Ferryman won't sync it to Mastodon.
Replies and quote posts: off by default. You can enable them in Settings if you want your Threads conversations to appear on Mastodon too.
Threads on Threads: Threads threads are reconstructed as native Mastodon 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 Threads and Mastodon at the same time.

Manual cross-posting vs. Ferryman

Task	Manual	Ferryman
Cross-post a new Threads post	Copy text, re-upload images, rewrite mentions	Automatic, within minutes
Handle character-limit differences	Rewrite or split by hand	Posts fit Mastodon'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 Threads post to appear on Mastodon?

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

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

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

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

Yes. Images attached to your Threads post are uploaded to Mastodon automatically, up to Mastodon's limit of 4 per post. Alt text is carried over so your posts stay accessible on both platforms. Mastodon caps video length at 60 seconds, so longer videos may not be cross-posted to Mastodon.

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

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

Does Ferryman cross-post my Threads 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 Threads to Mastodon free?

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

Related cross-post guides

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