> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.postiz.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Schedule your first post

> From an empty account to a scheduled post, in five steps

This walks through the whole loop once: get into Postiz, connect a channel,
write a post, schedule it, and confirm it went out. It is the same in both
Postiz Cloud and a self-hosted install.

<Note>
  Looking for **installation** instructions? Those moved to
  [Installation options](/self-host/installation/overview).
</Note>

## Step 1: Get into Postiz

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Postiz Cloud">
    Sign up at [postiz.com](https://postiz.com) and pick a plan. There is no
    free tier on cloud: the app stays behind the plan picker until you
    subscribe, and new organisations are usually offered a
    [7 day trial](/cloud/trial).

    Once you are in, you land on the **Calendar**.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Self-hosted">
    Follow [Installation options](/self-host/installation/overview), then open your
    instance and register. The first account becomes the organisation owner.

    There are no plans or limits on a self-hosted install: every install
    behaves as the top tier.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Step 2: Connect a channel

A **channel** is one connected social account: one X profile, one Discord
server, one LinkedIn page. Everything else in Postiz hangs off channels.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the channel list">
    On the **Calendar**, the left sidebar lists your channels. Click
    **Add Channel**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a platform">
    You will get one of four connection flows depending on the platform: a
    normal OAuth redirect, a credentials form you fill in yourself, an
    instance URL prompt, or the browser extension. See
    [Connect a channel](/general/channels/connect) for what each one means.

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Postiz Cloud">
        Every platform is ready to connect. Click it, authorise on the
        platform's own screen, and you come back to Postiz.
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Self-hosted">
        Most platforms need you to register a developer app first and put the
        keys in your environment, see [Provider API keys](/self-host/providers/overview).

        Eight platforms need no setup at all because you supply your own
        credentials in the dialog: Bluesky, Lemmy, Nostr, Medium, Dev.to,
        Hashnode, WordPress and Listmonk. Those are the fastest way to see
        Postiz working.
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm it appears">
    The channel shows up in the sidebar with its avatar. A red marker means it
    needs attention, usually a reconnect.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Step 3: Write the post

Click **Create Post**, or click any empty slot on the calendar to start at that
time.

1. **Select the channels** you want to publish to at the top of the composer.
2. **Write once in the Global tab.** The same text goes to every selected
   channel. To tailor one of them, switch to that channel's tab and unlock it,
   see [Global vs per-channel content](/general/composer/global-vs-per-channel).
3. **Add media** by dragging a file into the editor, pasting an image, or
   picking from the media library.
4. **Fill in the per-channel settings** on the right. Some platforms require
   them: YouTube needs a title, Reddit needs a subreddit, Pinterest needs a
   board.

The preview column on the right renders the post as each platform will show
it, which is the fastest way to catch a bad line break or a truncated title.

## Step 4: Schedule it

Pick a date and time at the bottom of the composer, then choose how to publish:

| Button              | What it does                                                |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Save as Draft**   | Keeps it on the calendar, never publishes it                |
| **Add to calendar** | Schedules it for the time you picked                        |
| **Post Now**        | Publishes immediately, hover the schedule button to find it |

If a channel is missing something required, Postiz blocks the save and jumps
you to the offending channel with the error shown. See
[Validation errors](/general/composer/links-and-validation).

## Step 5: Confirm it published

Back on the calendar, the post appears in its slot. After the scheduled time it
switches to published, and the **Preview** action on the post card opens the
live version.

If it failed, the card gets a red ring and the error is in the tooltip. The
usual causes are a channel that needs reconnecting or a platform rule the post
broke, see [Posting rules by platform](/general/platforms/overview).

## Where to next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="How Postiz works" icon="book-open" href="/general/concepts">
    Channels, customers, sets, tags and time slots, defined once.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Finding your way around" icon="compass" href="/general/where-things-live">
    What every section of the app is for.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Posting rules by platform" icon="table-list" href="/general/platforms/overview">
    Character limits, media rules and settings for all 34 platforms.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automate it" icon="robot" href="/general/automations/auto-post-rss">
    RSS feeds, webhooks, auto-repost plugs and the API.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>