--- title: "Command Line (CLI)" description: "Post to X, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Mastodon and Threads from your terminal with the octopost command. One binary for macOS and Linux, browser sign-in or an API key." --- # Command Line (CLI) `octopost` posts from your terminal: publish now, schedule, add to your queue, check a post before it goes out, and see what happened. It's one self-contained binary for macOS and Linux, so there's nothing else to install. > **Network status (2026-11):** X is live. Threads opens after Meta approves the Octopost app. Bluesky, LinkedIn and Mastodon are in testing. ## Install ```bash curl -fsSL https://octopost.ink/cli/install.sh | sh ``` The script picks the build for your computer (macOS or Linux, Apple silicon/ARM or Intel/x64), checks its SHA-256 against [SHA256SUMS](https://octopost.ink/cli/SHA256SUMS), and puts `octopost` in `~/.local/bin`. It doesn't use sudo. Set `OCTOPOST_INSTALL_DIR` to install somewhere else. The macOS builds are signed with Great Work's Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Prefer to download by hand? The binaries are at `https://octopost.ink/cli//octopost`, where platform is `darwin-arm64`, `darwin-x64`, `linux-x64` or `linux-arm64`. ## Sign in ```bash octopost login ``` Your browser opens on Octopost. Sign in, check the account and click **Allow**. The CLI saves the sign-in to `~/.config/octopost/credentials.json` (readable only by you) and refreshes it on its own. It shows up as "Octopost CLI" under **Connected apps** on the [API keys page](https://octopost.ink/dashboard/api/keys), where **Disconnect** ends it. On a server, in CI, or anywhere without a browser, use an API key instead: ```bash octopost login --key op_... # or, without saving anything: OCTOPOST_API_KEY=op_... octopost accounts ``` `octopost whoami` shows how you're signed in. `octopost logout` forgets the saved sign-in. ## Post ```bash octopost post "Shipped the new export button today" ``` With no `--to`, the post goes to every network you have connected. Pick networks with `--to` (comma-separated or repeated; `x` means X/Twitter): ```bash octopost post "Hello from the terminal" --to x,bluesky ``` Attach images or a video with `--media`. Local files are uploaded for you; URLs are used as they are. `--alt` sets alt text for the `--media` in the same position: ```bash octopost post "The new dashboard" --to x \ --media ./screenshot.png --alt "Dashboard with a weekly chart" \ --media https://example.com/second.jpg ``` Make a thread with `--thread`, one per reply. Putting a link in a reply instead of the first post keeps X from showing the post to fewer people: ```bash octopost post "I wrote up how we cut our build time in half" --to x \ --thread "https://example.com/blog/faster-builds" ``` Read the text from a file or another command with `-`: ```bash cat announcement.txt | octopost post - --to x ``` Other options: `--account x=@handle` picks the account when a network has several connected, and `--allow-duplicate` posts the same text again (Octopost refuses the same text to the same network within 7 days without it). ## Check before posting ```bash octopost preview "Is this too long for X? ..." --to x,bluesky ``` Shows each network's character count against its limit, the X units it would use, media checks and anything that would stop it. Nothing is saved or posted. It exits with status 1 when the post wouldn't go out, so scripts can stop early. ## Schedule ```bash octopost schedule "Weekly update is live" --to x --at "2026-11-10 09:00" ``` `--at` takes: | You write | Means | |-----------|-------| | `+30m`, `+2h`, `+1d` | that long from now | | `17:30`, `9am`, `9:30pm` | today at that time, or tomorrow if it has passed | | `2026-11-10 09:00` | that date and time in your computer's time zone | | `2026-11-10T09:00:00-05:00` | an exact ISO 8601 time | Add `--approval` to hold it until someone approves it from the email Octopost sends. See [Scheduling Posts](https://octopost.ink/docs/scheduling.md). ## Queue ```bash octopost queue "An evergreen tip about keyboard shortcuts" --to x octopost queue "Draft from the release script" --to x --approval octopost queue # how many are queued, when the next one goes out ``` Queued posts go out one at a time during your active hours. See [Post Queue](https://octopost.ink/docs/queue.md). ## See your posts ```bash octopost list # newest first octopost list --status failed # published, scheduled, draft, queued, pending, partial, failed, retrying octopost list --limit 50 octopost get # text, networks, links, errors octopost retry # retry the networks that failed octopost retry --to x # retry only X ``` When there are more posts, `list` prints the `--cursor` for the next page. ## Accounts and usage ```bash octopost accounts # connected accounts, which one is the default per network octopost usage # plan, X units left this month, accounts used ``` ## Scripts and agents Every command takes `--json` and prints the raw answer, the same JSON the [MCP tools](https://octopost.ink/docs/mcp.md) return: ```bash octopost list --status scheduled --json | jq -r '.posts[].id' ``` Exit status is 0 on success, 1 when Octopost refused or the post failed (including a partly published post), and 2 for a mistake in the command itself. Error messages go to stderr. Coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) can run `octopost` like any other command once you've signed in. If your agent supports MCP, connecting `https://octopost.ink/mcp` directly gives it the same tools without a shell; see [Agent Integration](https://octopost.ink/docs/agents.md). ## Reference ```text octopost login [--key op_...] [--no-browser] octopost logout | whoami octopost post "text" [--to x,bluesky] [--media FILE|URL ...] [--alt "text" ...] [--thread "text" ...] octopost schedule "text" --at TIME [--approval] [post options] octopost queue ["text"] [--approval] [post options] octopost preview "text" [post options] octopost list [--status S] [--limit N] [--cursor C] octopost get octopost retry [--to x] octopost accounts | usage ``` Global options: `--json`, `--key op_...` (one command only), `--base URL` (another Octopost server; also `OCTOPOST_URL`), `--help`, `--version`. The CLI talks to `https://octopost.ink/mcp`, which accepts both browser sign-ins and API keys. Your sign-in lives in `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/octopost/credentials.json` (default `~/.config/octopost`).