# Publish a saved draft

> Markdown version of https://docs.postlake.dev/api/post-posts-by-id-publish . The canonical page for humans.
> PostLake is the social media API for AI agents: https://postlake.dev/llms.txt

`POST /v1/posts/{id}/publish`

Send a draft: publish it now, or schedule it. The draft's own text, media, overrides, first comment and destinations are used, so none of it is resent. The draft is consumed only if something actually published. If nothing did (out of credits, a caption over a limit, a disconnected channel) the draft is left exactly as it was, so the work survives a failed attempt. If some targets published and others failed, the draft is consumed: republishing would double-post where it worked.

## Request

Authenticate with a bearer API key. Agents calling over MCP authorise with OAuth instead and never handle the key.

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.postlake.dev/v1/posts/{id}/publish \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POSTLAKE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"scheduledAt":"…","timezone":"…","accounts":["…"],"profile":"…"}'
```

### Parameters

| Field | Type | Required | What it is |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | string | Yes | In the URL. |

### Body

| Field | Type | Required | What it is |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `scheduledAt` | string or null | No | Publish at this time instead. Omit to keep whatever time the draft was carrying (or send now if it had none). Send null to clear the draft's time and publish immediately. |
| `timezone` | string | No | IANA timezone (e.g. Europe/London) for a naive scheduledAt. |
| `accounts` | array of string | No | Publish to these accounts instead of the draft's own destinations. |
| `profile` | string | No | Publish to every account under this profile instead of the draft's own destinations. |
| `platforms` | array | No | Optional filter applied to the resolved destinations. |


## Response

Published or scheduled (`201`).



### Example

```json
"…"
```


## Calling this from an agent

Agents do not call REST. They call tools. Over the hosted MCP server this operation is `create_post`, and the agent authorises with OAuth so your API key is never pasted into a chat or seen by the model. You control what any one agent may do: which brands it may act for, which networks it may reach, how much a day, and whether it may spend credits bought up front.

## Errors

Every failure uses one shape: a stable `type`, a granular `code`, the field at fault in `param`, and a plain-language `fix`. See https://docs.postlake.dev/errors.md .

Retries are safe: send the same `Idempotency-Key` and a call that already succeeded returns its original result rather than repeating it.

## Common questions

**Can an AI agent do this without the REST API?**

Yes. Over MCP the same job is the create_post tool. The agent authorises with OAuth, so no API key is pasted into a chat or seen by the model, and the answer comes back in the same normalised shape.

**Is it safe to retry this call?**

Yes. Send the same Idempotency-Key and a call that already succeeded returns its original result instead of repeating the work. That is what makes it safe to hand to an agent that retries on its own.

**What happens when it fails?**

You get one error shape: a stable type, a granular code you can branch on, the offending field in param, and a fix written so an agent can correct itself rather than stop. Full list on Errors and retries.

## Related

- [Cancel a scheduled post, discard a draft, or retract a live one](https://docs.postlake.dev/api/delete-posts-by-id.md) `DELETE /v1/posts/{id}`
- [List posts](https://docs.postlake.dev/api/get-posts.md) `GET /v1/posts`
- [Get post](https://docs.postlake.dev/api/get-posts-by-id.md) `GET /v1/posts/{id}`
- [Edit a scheduled post or a draft](https://docs.postlake.dev/api/patch-posts-by-id.md) `PATCH /v1/posts/{id}`