Create and publish content

Text posts

Use post for short text and simple scheduled posts:

openpost post create \
  --content "The new import flow is live." \
  --accounts x,linkedin

Add --schedule "tomorrow 2pm", an RFC 3339 timestamp, or --schedule next-slot. The CLI shows the resolved time before it accepts a natural-language schedule.

Omit --accounts to create a draft without destinations.

Threads

Separate thread segments with a line containing ---:

We rebuilt the import flow.

---

It now checks every row before saving.

openpost thread create ./thread.md --accounts x --schedule next-slot

Selected mentions and structured threads

Look up a person or company through the destination account:

openpost account mentions acc_bluesky --query alice --json

Save ordered segment objects in segments.json, including each body and its settings.mentions. Use the HTTP mention contract for UTF-8 byte ranges and stable targets.

openpost post create --segments-file segments.json --accounts acc_bluesky
openpost post update pub_... --segments-file segments.json

Keep server segment IDs when replacing an existing thread. publication create and publication update accept the same flag. Use --segments-file - for standard input. Ordinary --content edits remain available; edits that would ambiguously change a selected identity require structured input.

Changing shared attachments with post update --media preserves the other thread parts and independent account versions.

Media and provider-specific formats

--media accepts an existing media ID or a local file path. Repeat it for multiple attachments:

openpost publication create \
  --content-profile image_post \
  --accounts linkedin \
  --content "The new import flow is live." \
  --media ./cover.png \
  --media-alt "Product import screen with the completed file list"

Use publication create for link shares, carousels, stories, short video, and long video. Provider-specific flags include --video-title, --video-description, --privacy, --tiktok-method, and --tiktok-privacy.

openpost publication create \
  --content-profile long_video \
  --accounts youtube \
  --video-title "Import walkthrough" \
  --video-description "A complete walkthrough of the new flow." \
  --privacy private \
  --media ./walkthrough.mp4

Run openpost provider readiness --json before a new provider workflow. Use openpost provider capabilities --provider <key> --json before choosing a content profile or provider setting.

Validate and run the lifecycle

openpost publication validate <publication-id> --json
openpost publication schedule <publication-id> --at "Friday 10am"
openpost publication publish-now <publication-id>

Creating a Publication never publishes it as a hidden side effect. A --schedule on the create command creates the draft, then schedules that saved Publication.