What connecting Buffer does#

PilotDeck writes the social copy for what you publish. Buffer holds your channel connections and does the posting. Once you connect Buffer, PilotDeck sends each approved post to the matching Buffer channel. The example below uses a PilotDeck site named pilotdeck-testwebsite.

One key, no OAuth

You paste a single Buffer API key. PilotDeck lists your channels with it, so there is no channel setup on the PilotDeck side.

Drafts first

Posts land in Buffer as drafts. Nothing is published until you release it in Buffer.

Reversible

You can disconnect from the same screen at any time. Your Buffer account and channels are not touched.

Before you start#

You need	Details
A Buffer account with at least one connected channel	The free plan works, but it has tight request limits (see Limits).
A PilotDeck login	Permission to change integrations for the site. Without it the connect form and the Test and Disconnect buttons are unavailable.
Channels PilotDeck can post to	LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, Mastodon, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest channels are recognised. See Supported channels.

Treat the key like a password. The Buffer API key acts on your whole Buffer account and can reach every organization you belong to. Never paste it into chat, tickets or screenshots. PilotDeck checks it, then stores it encrypted. Every credential in this guide is a placeholder.

Overview#

1Create a Buffer account and connect a channelYou
2Open Buffer's API settings and create an API keyYou
3Open Settings > Integrations in PilotDeck and click the Buffer tileYou
4Paste the key and click ConnectYou
5Check the key against Buffer by listing your channels, then save it encryptedPilotDeck
6Run Test and confirm your channels appear on the cardVerify
7Select the accounts this site posts to and saveYou

Create a Buffer account and connect a channel#

You

Sign up at buffer.com with your email and a password, then answer or skip the short onboarding questions. Buffer works on its free plan, which includes up to three channels.

Open Connect Channel and pick a network. Bluesky, for example, asks for your handle and an app password that you create in Bluesky under Settings > App Passwords. Untick Follow us on Bluesky if you do not want that side effect.

Buffer Connect to Bluesky dialog with handle and app password — Connecting a Bluesky channel takes a handle and an app password. The password is hidden.

Buffer queue page for the newly connected Bluesky channel — The channel appears in the sidebar and has its own queue.

Verify your email and create an API key#

You

Buffer asks you to verify your email before it creates API keys. Click the link in its email, then reload the API page.

Buffer API page asking to verify the email address first — Until the email is verified, the API page only shows this prompt.

Click New Key. Name it PilotDeck, choose an expiry, and keep only the permissions PilotDeck needs: account:read, posts:read and posts:write. Untick the rest.

Buffer Generate API Key dialog with a name, expiry and three permissions ticked — Name the key and tick only account:read, posts:read and posts:write.

Click Generate API Key, then copy the key with the copy button. Buffer shows it once, so paste it into PilotDeck before you click Done.

Buffer dialog showing the new API key to copy — The key is shown once. The value here is a placeholder.

Copy it once. Keep the key out of screenshots and shared notes. If you lose it, create a new key in the same Buffer settings page and reconnect in PilotDeck.

Open Integrations in PilotDeck#

You

Make sure the correct site is selected in the site switcher (here, pilotdeck-testwebsite). Go to Settings > Integrations and find the Shares what you publish section. With nothing connected it shows a Connect a tool grid.

Click the Buffer tile. It carries the hint API key and a Not connected badge. A How to connect Buffer panel opens next to a Your details form.

Paste the key and connect#

You

PilotDeck Buffer form with an API key and a label — The Your details form. The key field is hidden.

Paste the key (<your-buffer-api-key>) into Buffer API Key. The field shows dots, so you cannot read it back.
Optionally type a name in Label (optional), for example Marketing workspace. It shows next to the Buffer name on the card.
Click Connect.

PilotDeck checks the key against Buffer before it saves anything. The check lists your channels, so a key that cannot list channels is rejected. On success you see Tool connected. and a Buffer card appears under Your tools with a Connected badge.

PilotDeck Buffer card showing Connected with one Bluesky account — The connected card lists the channels it found, grouped by network.

Test and check your channels#

Verify

On the Buffer card, click Test. PilotDeck lists your channels again and reports how many it found, in the form Key works followed by the number of accounts. The card also shows your channels grouped by network, for example LinkedIn x1 or Facebook x3.

PilotDeck Buffer card showing Key works, 1 account found — A successful test reports how many accounts it found.

If the card says No accounts found in this tool yet., connect a channel in Buffer first, then click Test again.

Choosing accounts per site. Each site keeps its own Buffer connection. To limit which of your Buffer accounts a site posts to, use the Which accounts does this site use? section on the same screen.

Done. Approved social posts for this site can now be sent to Buffer.

Choose the accounts this site uses#

You

Under Which accounts does this site use?, click each account the site should post to so it shows a green tick, then click Save Changes. Posts for the site go only to the accounts selected here, not to every channel in Buffer.

PilotDeck account list with one Bluesky account selected — A selected account is highlighted with a tick. Save Changes turns grey once saved.

Supported channels and post types#

Buffer channel	How PilotDeck treats it
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads	PilotDeck writes copy for these five networks and sends it to the matching channel.
Mastodon, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest	Recognised and listed on the card. PilotDeck's content engine does not write copy for them yet.
Google Business, Buffer Start Page, Substack	Listed by Buffer but not targeted. PilotDeck does not post to them.

Posts can carry text, a link, images and video. Media must be reachable by a public URL, because Buffer has no upload endpoint. Facebook and Instagram posts are sent as plain feed posts; Instagram posts are also shared to the feed. Buffer takes one channel per request, so a post for several channels is sent one channel at a time. If one channel fails, the others that succeeded are kept and only the failed ones are reported.

How posts reach Buffer#

When you send an approved post, PilotDeck saves it in Buffer as a draft. A draft does not publish until you release it in Buffer. If you set a time, the draft carries that time. Without a time it is placed in your Buffer queue as a draft.

Only a non-draft post publishes by itself. Buffer schedules anything that is not a draft and publishes it at the next free slot. PilotDeck therefore sends drafts unless a post is already approved and a non-draft send is explicitly requested, or automatic scheduling applies to it. Check your Buffer queue before relying on either.

Buffer answers the create request with the real post id straight away, so PilotDeck does not poll Buffer afterwards. This also keeps free plan requests low.

Connection statuses#

Badge	Meaning
Connected	The key works. Posts can be sent.
Needs re-auth	Buffer rejected the key or it expired. Disconnect, create a new key in Buffer and connect again.
Error	Another failure, such as rate limiting or a network problem. The card shows the last error under the name.
Not connected	Shown on the grid tile for a tool you have not connected yet.

Limits#

Buffer allows about 100 API requests per 15 minutes. On the free plan there is also a cap of 100 requests per day.
Listing channels costs one request for your organizations plus one per organization, so PilotDeck caches the channel list for 15 minutes.
Approving many posts at once on the free plan can reach the daily cap. Wait and try again later.

Disconnecting#

On the Buffer card click Disconnect and confirm the prompt Disconnect Buffer? Queued posts for its platforms will need a tool again. This removes only this site's Buffer connection. Drafts already in Buffer stay there. To reconnect with a new key, repeat steps 2 and 3. To fully remove access, also delete the key in Buffer's API settings.

Troubleshooting#

Connect says "Enter your API key to connect this social tool."

The Buffer API Key field was empty. Paste the key and click Connect again.

"Your social tool rejected the API key. Check the key and reconnect."

Buffer did not accept the key. Check that you copied all of it with no spaces, or create a new key in Buffer's API settings.

"Your social tool is limiting requests right now. Wait a few minutes and try again."

You reached Buffer's request limit. Wait a few minutes. On the free plan the daily cap of 100 requests may be the cause, so it may need until the next day.

"Your social tool did not accept this request. Check your connection details and try again."

Buffer refused the post. Check that the channel is still connected in Buffer and that any image or video link is public.

No Buffer channel is found for a platform

PilotDeck shows "None of your connected social tools has a channel for this platform. Connect one in Settings and try again." Add the channel in Buffer, click Test, and make sure the site's accounts include it.

A send timed out

PilotDeck cannot tell if Buffer received the post. Look in Buffer before you retry, so you do not create a duplicate.

I do not see Buffer in the Connect a tool grid

A tool that is already connected moves up to Your tools and leaves the grid. Disconnect it first if you want to connect it again with a new key.