Code · Browser extension
Post Peek
Read one post and leave. A Chrome and Firefox extension that opens X and Bluesky post links in a popup instead of sending you to the full site.
Add to Chrome → Add to Firefox → Source on GitHub → v1.4.0 · free · MIT
§ What it does
Someone links an X or Bluesky post in an article, and clicking it sends you to the full site and everything around the one post you wanted. Post Peek opens that post in a popup on the page you're already reading, so you can read it and close it.
It gets the post from the public services behind each site's own embedded posts: X's syndication endpoint and Bluesky's public API. It never sends your cookies or a referer, so neither site can tie the peek to your account or see which page you were on. You don't need an account on either.
§ Features
- Opens post links in a popup so you can read just that post and close it.
- Marks links it can open with a small blue dot.
- Shows text, photos, video, link cards, quoted posts, and reply context.
- Quoted posts and “Replying to” open in the same popup.
- Ctrl/Cmd-, Shift-, Alt- or middle-click still opens the link normally.
- A toolbar button toggles peeking, for both sites or for X and Bluesky separately, toggles the dot, and sets the popup theme.
- Follows Bluesky's rules for logged-out viewers: hidden posts stay hidden, and media labeled adult or graphic waits behind a click.
§ At a glance
| Works in | Chrome · Firefox 140+ |
| Works with | X · Bluesky |
| Version | 1.4.0 · Oct 4, 2026 |
| Chrome Web Store | 1.2.0, X only, until the update clears review |
| Price | Free |
| License | MIT |
| Data collected | None |
| Account needed | No |
§ Privacy
- Never sends cookies, a referer, or the address of the page you're on to X or Bluesky. The extension fetches posts and images itself, and video plays in a sandboxed frame.
- Never scans the page or touches its links. The dot is pure CSS, and only the link you click is inspected.
- Little for websites to probe: no web-accessible resources, no response to clicks a page fakes, and with dots turned off nothing is written to the page. A site that goes looking can still tell the extension is installed, because the dot stylesheet is always present.
- Settings stay on your device in local extension storage and are never synced.
- No data collection. See the privacy policy.
§ Credit
Post Peek exists because of Litterbox, a Safari extension for iPhone, iPad, and Mac by Zhenyi Tan (And a Dinosaur). Litterbox came first with the core ideas: open a linked post in a popup, mark the links it can handle, fetch through the same API X uses for its embeds, and leave a link out to X. Bluesky support is Post Peek's own addition. If you use Safari, use Litterbox.
Post Peek is a separate Chrome and Firefox version of that idea, written from scratch. It isn't affiliated with Zhenyi Tan, And a Dinosaur, X Corp., or Bluesky.
§ Elsewhere
Linked on Daring Fireball, September 12, 2026.
§ Questions
- Is Post Peek free?
- Yes. It's free on the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons, and the source is MIT-licensed on GitHub.
- Do I need an X or Bluesky account?
- No. Posts come from the public services behind each site's embedded posts, and no cookies are sent.
- Can I use it for only one of the two?
- Yes. The settings have a switch for X posts and one for Bluesky posts. With one off, that site's links get no dot and open normally.
- Does Bluesky video play?
- In Chrome, yes. Firefox has no built-in HLS playback, so there a Bluesky video shows its thumbnail with a link to watch it on Bluesky. X video plays in both.
- Does it work in Safari?
- No. For Safari, use Litterbox, the extension that inspired Post Peek.
- How do I open a link normally?
- Ctrl/Cmd-, Shift-, Alt- or middle-click the link, or use the Open on X or Open on Bluesky button in the popup.