Social Connections

Use this page to connect an account, compare provider support, and understand scheduling and delivery. For optional browser sign-in infrastructure, see Advanced OAuth broker setup.

Connect an account

In Websites & Social Accounts → Social Accounts, choose a provider, connect the intended remote account, then save the workspace account. The editor can prefill the account’s display name, handle, and profile URL from SocialKit; these remain editable profile metadata. The verified provider identity (platform, server, and remote ID) is stored separately and is the recipient key for API delivery. It contains no credentials. A saved workspace avatar is used in account and composer previews. View Account Activity lists the posts, comments, and actions that connection can access; author and reply context is shown only when the provider returns it, and actions depend on the account’s granted capabilities. Unlink from This Workspace Account removes the mapping when saved. Provider tokens are managed in the Mac’s Keychain. Unlinking a workspace record leaves the stored credential available to other workspace records using that account.

Schedule and delivery

In the composer, choose Scheduled on This Mac for local API delivery or Manually Scheduled for a date you plan to handle yourself. A manual schedule never sends. For API delivery, Indie Dev Buddy must be running and the Mac awake when a post is due. Before delivery, the app checks stored credentials and stops if it knows the connection needs authorization. It also checks Meta connections on launch, on wake, and periodically while the Mac is awake. Account settings and the schedule editor show known expiry and reconnect status.

Review missed or uncertain attempts in the composer’s API Delivery History. An API schedule keeps an immutable snapshot of its approved text, resolved mentions, recipient, media, and time. Draft edits do not alter it. Choose Reschedule with Current Draft to replace the scheduled intent with the current version and a new future time or media link. Delivery errors that could follow a provider write are marked uncertain; check the account before another attempt. The workspace’s saved delivery state and receipt appear in the content library when the app records the result. Workspace JSON and the CLI alone cannot authorize delivery; the app’s device-local journal is required.

For Instagram and Threads, the journal stores the staged container ID with the approved delivery. If the app closes before the publish request starts, it can resume polling that container after relaunch, while the Mac is awake, for up to 24 hours. Once a publish request may have reached Meta, the app only checks container status. A confirmed publication can appear in delivery history without a post ID or link.

Troubleshooting delivery

Connection needs authorization or has expired: Reconnect the account and check that the provider has granted the permissions needed for the action. See token storage and renewal for Meta connections.
A scheduled post was missed: Check API Delivery History and confirm the app was running and the Mac was awake at the scheduled time. Review the recorded result before deciding what to do next.
A delivery is uncertain: Check the destination account for the post before trying again. An uncertain attempt may have reached the provider, so another attempt could create a duplicate.
Your edits are missing from a scheduled post: An existing API schedule retains its approved snapshot. Choose Reschedule with Current Draft to approve the revised content and a new future time.

Provider support

Provider	Connect using	Local API schedule
Bluesky	Handle, app password, and trusted HTTPS server	Text
Facebook Pages	Facebook user access token and Page ID	Text or one hosted HTTPS photo on the authorized Page
Threads	Threads user access token for each Threads profile	Text or one explicit public HTTPS image/video
Instagram	Facebook user access token, linked Page, and Instagram professional account ID	One explicit public HTTPS image/video, with an optional caption
X	Public client ID and registered callback with OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow	Text
LinkedIn	Public client ID, registered HTTPS callback, trusted exchange service, and optional organization URN	Text
Mastodon	Trusted HTTPS server and callback. The connection dialog suggests the app’s custom callback.	Text
GitHub	Manual account metadata only; no provider API connection.	No API delivery; any date is a manual reminder only
Other accounts	Workspace account metadata	Manual

Provider account permissions determine what works in the signed app. The Facebook Pages, Threads, and Instagram composer accepts a public HTTPS media link without embedded credentials, query parameters, or fragments. Enter a single image for Facebook Pages. The provider fetches the file from its URL. Provider-held Facebook Page scheduling requires live validation of creation, status, and cancellation with the configured Meta app.

Bluesky @mentions can be resolved from the composer against the connected account’s PDS. The scheduled payload keeps each resolved DID and UTF-8 byte range, so a later handle change cannot redirect the mention. Other providers currently receive @names as plain text. An inbound mentions inbox is a separate feature and is not part of this Activity view. LinkedIn can optionally request Community Management feed scopes during connection; LinkedIn must approve the app and grant those scopes before comments and posts become available.

Bring your own image storage

Open Settings → Image Hosting and enter the Cloudflare account ID, R2 bucket name, and S3 access keys. Create an Object Read & Write token scoped to that bucket. Keep the bucket private and configure an R2 lifecycle rule to expire objects under indie-dev-buddy/ after one day. Storage usage is billed to the bucket owner. R2 lifecycle rules

Attach one image and choose Publish Now on Instagram or Threads. Indie Dev Buddy uploads a JPEG copy to your bucket and gives Meta a download URL that expires after one hour. Settings are stored in the Mac’s Keychain. Disconnect removes the saved credentials from the Mac. The bucket’s lifecycle rule removes uploaded objects. For API schedules, enter an existing HTTPS media URL in the composer.

Meta token lifetime

Facebook Pages

Open Social Accounts, add Facebook Pages, and choose Meta access token. In Graph API Explorer, select the Indie Dev Buddy app, choose User Token, and request pages_show_list. Add pages_manage_posts to publish text. Add pages_read_engagement for reading Page posts; add pages_read_user_content and pages_manage_engagement only for the comment actions you need. Generate a fresh token and approve access to the Page.
Paste the Facebook user token and enter the Facebook Page ID. Choose Verify and Save Token. Indie Dev Buddy reads the authorized Pages, obtains the Page token for the selected ID, checks the Page identity, and saves the Page token and source user grant in Keychain. The Page must grant the user the CREATE_CONTENT task for publishing.

This is the route used by the current Indie Dev Buddy connection form. It accepts a Facebook User Token, discovers the linked Page, then uses that Page’s token for Instagram. Meta calls the route API setup with Facebook login; its dashboard marks it as legacy but still supported. The newer Unified Login configuration uses a system-user token and is not the token type this connection form accepts.

In Meta for Developers, open Use cases → Instagram API → Customize → API setup with Facebook login. Click Add required content permissions. This adds the Facebook Login Instagram scopes to the app.
Open Permissions and features for the Instagram API use case. If your Facebook Page role was granted through Meta Business Manager, click Add next to ads_read (preferred) or ads_management. If a permission is absent from Graph API Explorer, add it here first, then reload Explorer. Meta’s Page permission requirements explain when an ads permission is needed for Business Manager roles.
In Graph API Explorer, select the Indie Dev Buddy app and User Token. Request pages_show_list, pages_read_engagement, instagram_basic, and instagram_content_publish; add business_management if Meta’s setup requires it. Add instagram_manage_comments only if you need comment actions. Generate a new token after changing permissions and approve access with the Facebook user who can manage the linked Page.
To check the grants, select GET as the method and enter only /me/permissions in the path field. Do not type GET in the path. Confirm the required scopes show granted. To check the account/Page link, request /me/accounts?fields=id,name,tasks,instagram_business_account{id}. Confirm the returned Page has CREATE_CONTENT and that its instagram_business_account.id matches the Instagram professional account ID. The Facebook Page ID and Instagram account ID are different.
In Indie Dev Buddy, add Instagram, choose Meta access token → Facebook Login (Page token), enter the Instagram professional account ID, and paste the Facebook user token. Leave the optional permissions field blank; the app reads grants from Meta. Click Verify and Save Token. It retrieves the linked Page token itself; do not paste a Page token in the Facebook user token field.

For example, the Brave New Design account @bravenewdesignofficial has Instagram account ID 17841469532626741. Use the ID shown by the Page lookup for other accounts. A personal Instagram account cannot use this publishing route; use an Instagram Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook Page.

Meta documents both Facebook Login setup and the Unified Login setup. Keep the selected login method and token type aligned.

Threads

In Meta for Developers, open an app with Access the Threads API. For development access, add each Threads profile as a tester and accept the invite in Threads. Generate a Threads user token for that profile from Use cases → Access the Threads API → Customize → Settings → User Token Generator.
Request threads_basic to identify/read the profile. Add threads_content_publish to publish; add threads_read_replies, threads_manage_replies, and threads_delete only for those reply actions. Generate a fresh token after changing grants.
In Indie Dev Buddy, add Threads, choose Meta access token, paste that profile’s Threads user token, and click Verify and Save Token. Repeat for the other Threads profile. Threads does not use a Facebook Page ID or Instagram account ID.

Meta’s Threads app setup and Threads API docs describe the tester and token flows.

Token storage and renewal

The app stores the verified provider credential in the Mac’s Keychain. For Facebook Pages and Instagram Facebook Login, the Page token and source Facebook user grant are saved separately in the same credential record; the app can use the source grant to recover that same Page token while the grant is valid. For Threads and the separate Instagram Login option, mark a token long-lived only when Meta confirms that it is. The app waits at least 24 hours after import before using the provider’s renewal endpoint. A known expired token requires reconnection. Unknown expiry stays unknown unless the provider returns a lifetime. A short-lived token exchange that needs an app secret must happen outside Indie Dev Buddy or on a configured confidential broker. Never paste tokens into chat, source files, or logs.

Unlinking a workspace record leaves its Keychain credential available to other workspace records that may share that connection. To revoke provider access, revoke the app grant in Meta separately.

The default build uses direct token import. Browser sign-in is an optional deployment for developers who control the callback domain and operate a trusted exchange service. It requires signed app entitlements, an Apple App Site Association file, Meta app registrations, and a live broker. See the advanced OAuth broker setup for deployment and API requirements.

Social connections and local delivery

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