Opera has been one of my favorite browsers for a very long time. One of the reasons for that is the developers actually listen to the user base. So when users called out for more sidebar service integration, you can believe Opera got busy.
To that end, Opera is adding Bluesky, Discord, and Slack integration to the browser, which means you’ll need to have fewer tabs open, and that goes a long way in improving the overall experience. Instead of having to dedicate tabs to Bluesky, Discord, and Slack, you can simply add them to the sidebar for quick access that doesn’t further clog up your tab bar.
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According to Joanna Czajka, product director at Opera, “We’re constantly looking at the feedback our users provide underneath our blog posts, on Opera forums, and through social media. Whether you’re working with your team on Slack, chatting with your friends on Discord, or keeping in touch with your community via Bluesky, we want you to be able to do that directly from Opera.”
You need to be using version 117.0.5408.39 or newer to access this addition, so make sure you’ve updated to the latest release of Opera.
How to add a service to Opera
Once you’re on the latest version, follow these steps to add any one of these services:
- Open Opera
- Right-click on the sidebar
- Select Sidebar Setup
- Expand the More section under Messengers
- Click to add the new services you want
- Click out of the Sidebar Setup to finish
If you’re already logged into those services, once you click a service icon in the sidebar, a panel will open where you can interact.
You can add as many services as you want to the sidebar. When I’m using Opera, I depend on the sidebar for many things, and now I can also use it to interact with the only social media service I trust — Bluesky.
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However, one thing to keep in mind is that if you’ve set up Slack via the desktop app on your computer, you’ll have to log in to your account when accessing it from the sidebar (even if you originally set up your Slack accounts from within Opera).
Once you’ve signed in, you shouldn’t have to repeat the process.
