Publishing errors and recovery

Inline publishing dropdowns save automatically. Choosing the already selected option does not send another update. YouTube settings save without a visible saving note; if saving fails, the previous selection is restored and a retry message appears.

Publishing can succeed on some destinations and fail on others. Open the post's Publishing needs attention section to read the destination-specific issue. A failed Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok or X authorization shows Reconnect and keeps Retry unavailable until that exact account is connected again. Reconnect opens Settings → Profiles at the affected account; after successful provider authorization, ShootFeed returns to the post and makes Retry available. A previously dismissed connection failure resurfaces once that account is reconnected so the retry action cannot be lost. Retry targets only that failed destination and replaces a waiting automatic retry without republishing successful destinations. An actively publishing cloud destination still prevents another retry, but Reddit's separate worker may remain pending without disabling Facebook, TikTok, or the other cloud recovery actions. On a mixed-platform post, that Reddit row remains eligible for the private worker even after the cloud destinations finish or fail; the publisher watchdog also counts a waiting Reddit row on an already-posted card so it cannot disappear silently.

X photo tagging checks each saved handle before looking it up. An invalid handle is skipped with a clear warning, while valid photo tags are still attempted. X handles use letters, numbers and underscores and can be at most 15 characters. ShootFeed never shortens a handle or substitutes a different identity. If X then explicitly rejects the create-post request with its generic invalid-parameters error, ShootFeed makes one immediate attempt with the same uploaded photos and caption but without optional photo tags. A successful result names the omitted tags. Other errors follow the existing recovery rules; caption mentions are unchanged.

An invalid X video-upload request stops automatic retries and keeps the saved post and connection. This needs an upload correction in ShootFeed, rather than another permission grant. Do not repeatedly retry that error or reconnect an otherwise working account. A corrected upload still needs review before another attempt.

The owner receives one progress alert when the first destinations go live while others are still pending, plus a separate alert for a TikTok inbox finish step. These use the existing notification dispatcher and deduplicate by publishing run and destination. An invitation or manual-finish state does not confirm a live post.

Automatic access renewal runs before asking you to reconnect, where the platform supports it. Temporary renewal failures remain eligible for automatic retry and do not create a reconnect warning. A confirmed rejected or missing refresh grant creates a durable notification for the affected workspace, with a link to the account that needs permission. Repeated checks do not duplicate the same notification.

Before TikTok receives a photo, ShootFeed creates and validates a TikTok-specific JPEG within its 1080p and 20 MB limits after applying the post's crop and effects. A large original does not need to be resized manually and does not reduce the resolution sent to other platforms. If TikTok still reports that it could not validate a prepared photo, Retry rebuilds a fresh compatible copy; contact support instead of repeatedly retrying if that fallback also fails.

For the ShootFeed owner only, TikTok's public-account review restriction uses Finish in TikTok instead of Reconnect. This is an expected handoff, not a publishing failure: the authorized owner opens the TikTok phone app → Inbox → System notifications → Your content from ShootFeed is ready, reviews and publishes there, then chooses I published it in ShootFeed to close the handoff. The TikTok website cannot complete this draft. The compact Finish in TikTok chip shows these steps on hover, keyboard focus, or tap. Check the app’s Inbox before using It didn't publish; resend only if the draft is missing. Completed attempts that need platform review appear under Needs Attention, with Review publishing instead of Post now and Pending. A genuinely uncertain provider response offers both Yes, it's live and Not live — retry, because retrying a live post could create a duplicate. These are not beta/public controls. A stored TikTok attempt, including a private_only restriction, does not prove that the viewer has owner access. When owner access is not established, explain that caption edits cannot remove provider restrictions and contact support; do not give owner-only handoff steps.

Reddit uses its signed-in browser session and can offer Post manually on Reddit rather than OAuth reconnection. Dismiss acknowledges a failed destination and removes its attention cue; it does not publish the destination or repair its cause. Reconnecting a dismissed provider failure brings the recovery row back until it is retried. Never retry an uncertain or timed-out publication blindly: check the actual provider result to avoid duplicates. Unexpected publishing, duplicate posts, or exposure of private content should go straight to support.

After Post now confirms the post is queued, it is saved on ShootFeed’s server. You can navigate to another page, close the tab, or shut your computer. Publishing continues in the background, and Publishing Results records each destination’s outcome. Keep the page open while media is still uploading, before the upload is confirmed complete.

After the first successful Post now queue confirmation, You can leave the page explains background publishing. Close dismisses the explanation for the browser session. Do not show again saves the choice to your account across devices; failed preference saves leave the message open with a retry explanation. Retries do not trigger this tip.

TikTok controls and platform choices are hidden from beta users and the public until approval; private TikTok setup and publishing remain available only to the ShootFeed owner. Do not suggest those owner-only controls to ordinary users. The detail and inline editors use the same Finish in TikTok / Auto publish toggle. In the detail editor, choosing Auto publish reveals privacy and interaction options; changing this setting does not publish the post.

Post format and Instagram Reel publishing options are grouped below the publishing account buttons. Where a post contains one video and photos, Post format chooses Video or Carousel. Video publishes an Instagram Reel and a video on other selected platforms. Carousel uses a carousel where supported, including the photos and video on Instagram and Threads; other platforms use the compatible media described in Media delivery. This is a whole-post format choice, not an Instagram-only setting. Trial Reel and profile-feed placement remain together in the collapsible Instagram publishing card and appear only in video mode with Instagram selected. The Accounts header shows Trial Reel while trial publishing is selected, even when the section is collapsed. For an editable Reel, open Accounts → Instagram publishing and enable Publish as Trial Reel. It starts off for new and existing posts. Only when I share it in Instagram keeps it a trial until you choose Share to everyone in Instagram. Automatically if it performs well lets Instagram decide when to share it with followers. During the trial it is distributed to non-followers first and stays off the public profile grid. This setting only changes Instagram; other selected destinations publish normally. Save Changes before approving or publishing. Normal feed placement is hidden while Trial Reel is on and restored when it is turned off. Duplicating a Reel keeps its saved trial choice; changing it to a photo/carousel clears the choice. Eligibility is determined by Instagram. If Meta rejects a trial, read the failure and correct the issue or explicitly disable Trial Reel; ShootFeed does not silently publish it as a regular Reel. Sharing an existing trial with followers is done in Instagram, not by changing this saved setting.

On the regular grid, open a post’s account chips to show compact inline publishing controls. Post format offers Video / Carousel for one video with cover photos. The change saves automatically and retains selected destinations. A selected Reddit account becomes incompatible in Video and stays removable; an unselected incompatible account cannot be added. Choose Carousel or remove Reddit before approving. Instagram publishing offers Trial Reel and, while trial publishing is on, Auto-share with followers; otherwise it offers Share to profile feed. TikTok publishing offers Finish in TikTok / Auto publish only for users with TikTok access and TikTok selected. These options save automatically, show failures in the inline editor, and do not publish the post. The centered Close button at the bottom dismisses the accounts editor without undoing its automatically saved choices. Posted or trashed posts cannot be changed.

Meta's [Content Publishing guide](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/instagram-platform/content-publishing#trial-reels-posts) and [media endpoint reference](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/instagram-platform/instagram-graph-api/reference/ig-user/media) document trial_params and MANUAL / SS_PERFORMANCE. Verified October 11, 2026. This release verifies saved configuration and publisher request behavior; it does not claim a live Trial Reel was published or establish an account-specific follower threshold.

For a Reel, select its still cover and use the regular editing toolbar below the preview. Crop → 9:16 matches the Instagram Reel cover output. Original and previously saved photo ratios remain readable, but Instagram’s cover copy is center-cropped to 9:16; choose 9:16 to control the full delivered framing. A cover cannot be split into carousel panels, and its crop is not applied to the companion video. Cover edits, including edits to a captured frame, update the still image and Instagram cover only. The video preview offers Use current frame and Upload cover instead of the image editing toolbar. Feed and profile previews can crop the cover further; ShootFeed does not control Instagram’s placement crop through the publishing API.

Instagram receives the Reel’s selected cover as a separate JPEG. Facebook, Threads, X, and private owner TikTok publishing receive the video without that cover image; those destinations choose their video thumbnail. Facebook currently publishes a Page video rather than using the Facebook Reels publishing endpoint. The stored video is shared through each destination’s own publishing path, and Instagram cover crops, Trial Reel options, and feed placement do not change another destination’s request. Media delivery explains this per account. If the post is changed back to Post, its saved still crops follow ordinary photo delivery rules, including Instagram’s automatic crop of an otherwise incompatible photo delivery copy.

The current [Meta media endpoint reference](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/instagram-platform/instagram-graph-api/reference/ig-user/media) recommends a 9:16 JPEG Reel cover, in sRGB, no larger than 8 MB. Other ratios are center-cropped to 9:16. ShootFeed prepares the Instagram cover as a 1080 × 1920 JPEG using a crop, never padding. Cover framing, JPEG output, draft recovery, and cross-platform media selection were verified with local fixtures on October 11, 2026; this does not claim a new live publish or identical placement across Instagram surfaces.

In the detail editor, the info icons beside Post format, Publish as Trial Reel, and Share to profile feed show their explanations on hover or tap. The Trial Reel tip also explains the selected sharing strategy.

### Draft before connecting accounts

You can add media and prepare pending drafts before connecting a publishing account. A Connect accounts chip uses the usual image-preview pill with an amber action indicator. Click it to open Settings → Profiles for that draft’s profile, where you can connect an account. Dropbox by itself does not count as a publishing account. Once a publishing account is connected, a draft with nothing selected instead shows No platform; click that chip to choose its publishing accounts. Connecting an account does not publish or approve the draft.

Changing Video/Carousel keeps your selected accounts. YouTube Shorts requires Video; ShootFeed’s Reddit destination requires Carousel. A previously selected incompatible account keeps its accent highlight with a muted appearance and can be removed. Media delivery shows Format Needs Review and the affected platform. Choose a compatible format or remove that destination before approving or publishing; incomplete drafts remain saveable. Switching back restores the existing selection. Other platforms keep their existing video/carousel delivery rules, and Media delivery explains any omitted media or crop adjustments.

## Publishing defaults

Settings → Publishing keeps TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest defaults separate from caption-writing preferences, in compact platform accordions. The menu section and options are visible only for eligible connected accounts in active, nonarchived profiles. Existing provider feature gates remain in place; these controls do not enable TikTok or YouTube for otherwise-ineligible users.

A connected account card in Profiles shows an accent Set publishing defaults button until its setup has been reviewed. Select it to open the exact profile and platform, review the choices, then use the single Save Changes button at the bottom right. The button stays visible while the Publishing page scrolls. Saving unchanged safe defaults also counts as a review. The button disappears only after the server confirms that exact account's review. A second account has its own reminder. Reconnecting the same identity retains its review; replacing the account restores the reminder. Existing accounts without a review record receive this one-time prompt too.

Each platform has one accordion per profile. Account chips show individual setup status; All accounts selects every connected account on that platform for review, or choose one account chip. Defaults are shared by the platform within that profile, not separate per-account settings. Save Changes saves the page together and records reviews only for the selected accounts. A failed page save keeps the drafts and does not partially mark other accounts reviewed. Defaults apply to new posts for that platform within the selected profile, including its other accounts on the platform. Changing defaults does not change existing posts. Review acknowledgements are tracked separately per account and survive caption-settings changes. TikTok starts with Finish in TikTok, which sends a draft to the TikTok inbox to finish and publish there. Auto publish requires an eligible connected account; selecting it reveals audience, comments, Duet, Stitch, music and content-label defaults. In Finish in TikTok, choose these options in TikTok before publishing. YouTube starts Private, with audience and synthetic-content disclosures left to Choose for each video. Nullable disclosure defaults are intentional and do not replace each video's required choice.

The open detail editor follows active publishing progress automatically without replacing unsaved edits. When publishing settles, it shows the result and recovery action for each destination rather than leaving the queued message on screen.

While TikTok approval is pending, Auto publish stays visible but is unavailable. Clicking it explains the approval requirement without changing your selected method. Use Finish in TikTok; this sends a draft to your TikTok inbox for you to finish. Existing future preferences are preserved, but new drafts use the available inbox method and direct publishing is blocked until an approved activation.

A Finish in TikTok preview chip opens TikTok, where you use the inbox notification. A Review YouTube chip opens the private YouTube receipt. Other issues link to the post’s recovery section. A post with existing uploads awaiting review shows Awaiting platform review, rather than presenting the old request time as an upcoming schedule. Review publishing results opens the destination actions. Back to Pending remains an explicit return to draft review, not a sign that the video was never uploaded.

If disconnecting or losing access cleared a publication's saved platform data, its planner link and detail panel show Connection data removed. A cleared private YouTube receipt does not offer I made it public, Retry, or a private-video review link. Reconnecting restores account access for future work, not erased historical receipts or permission to resend an old upload. Your ShootFeed source media and captions remain; manage existing videos on YouTube.

Select menus close when you click or tap outside, without changing the saved choice. Keyboard highlighting is only a preview until you choose an option; Escape dismisses the menu.

An orange dot beside Publishing in Settings means one or more connected accounts still need their defaults reviewed. It disappears after all exact account reviews are saved. The blue Notifications dot indicates unread notifications. Both stay compact without visible counts and get the same white glow on the selected light-theme tab. Publishing state is cached in the current authenticated profile session so reopening Settings does not start from an empty reminder.

On desktop schedule views, hovering a video starts a muted preview after a short pause. The cover remains until playback begins, then the video and its blurred moving backdrop appear together once the first video frame is ready. Leaving the card stops playback. On the phone's main card grid, a video near the screen center starts muted after about one second. It keeps playing while you scroll until the entire preview is off screen or another video starts; bringing it back near the center lets it play again. On iPad and other touch tablets, videos do not start merely because they are visible. Touch anywhere in the image preview on the main card grid to start a silent preview immediately, including the start of a drag. A normal tap on the cover still opens the editor; the center play control previews without opening it. On tablets, the preview plays once and returns to the cover; touch it again to replay. Scrolling keeps playback going until it finishes. Tapping empty space or using another control, such as Approve, Reject, a comment or a caption editor, stops it. Only one preview plays at a time. Compact Grid and Calendar remain still on touch devices. Reduced-motion preferences keep the still preview in every view.

Playing schedule previews hide the center play icon until the still preview returns. In the detail editor, click anywhere on a paused video or its cover to start playback; active image-editing tools keep their normal interactions. Back to Cover hides with the other desktop controls when the pointer leaves the preview.

In the detail editor, content becomes read-only while publishing is queued or running, after a destination has uploaded it, or after the post is Posted. This includes private uploads awaiting platform review and partially published posts. Accounts, publishing settings, tags, media and captions show their saved values without accepting changes. Caption Direction and Clear All are hidden. Section disclosures, playback, caption copying, engagement and the applicable publishing review or recovery actions remain available.

Pinterest supports one photo, one video with a cover photo, or two to five photos in one Pin. Turn Pinterest on with its named account buttons. Under Captions → Pinterest, choose an existing owned public board and review the title, caption and optional destination link together. Pinterest calls the caption a description. These fields appear only for selected accounts, in the order saved in the profile connections. Save Pinterest settings before approving or scheduling the post. Several Pinterest accounts can be selected independently; each keeps its own board, copy and publication result. Every selected account needs a board before approval. Successful Standard publication shows a posted Pinterest link and live-results control. Historical creator-only Trial receipts remain Trial results; they are not public-post proof and must not be replayed. Each profile uses its own authorized accounts. Pinterest is available to every ShootFeed workspace through its own account authorization.

After Pinterest returns a confirmed Pin receipt, open View Pin / reply on Pinterest to review it or respond to comments on Pinterest. ShootFeed cannot read or send Pinterest comments through its API.

Settings → Publishing → Pinterest provides an optional default destination link for each profile and an optional default owned public board for each connected Pinterest account. Use an HTTP or HTTPS website, or leave it blank for no link. New, unsaved Pinterest draft settings start with that link and the selected account’s saved board. Leave the board blank to choose it for each post. Each post can replace or remove it; saved post settings retain their own link, including a deliberately blank value. This is independent of caption and title defaults in Settings → Captions.

Publishing accordions follow the connected accounts' saved profile order, just like account buttons and platform caption sections in both editors. Pinterest’s per-post fields stay together under Captions. Reordering accounts in Profiles refreshes the saved order for Settings. Pinterest participates in the same per-account defaults-review reminders and page-level Save Changes workflow.

Posted pages keep their saved caption platforms visible even if an account is later disconnected. Expand a platform under Captions to read its saved title and caption; an empty or disabled caption says No caption. Empty Tags & credits sections are hidden on read-only posts. Viewing historical captions does not enable publishing or require reconnecting an account. Pinterest caption reads use saved settings without requesting live boards.

For opted-in X accounts used across multiple ShootFeed workspaces, automatic renewal updates one shared provider authorization. Each workspace must have its own explicit authorization for the verified X account, and its own posts and metrics remain separate. A temporary refresh failure stays eligible for retry. A confirmed rejection affects the linked X authorization and requires normal reconnect; a successful new consent restores only the workspaces that already hold their own binding.