share what you publish
Connect Publer to PilotDeck
Create a Publer API key, connect it with your Workspace ID in PilotDeck and send social posts to Publer as drafts you release yourself.
What connecting Publer does#
PilotDeck writes social posts for the content you publish. Publer is the scheduling tool you already use to hold your social accounts. Once connected, PilotDeck sends each post to Publer, and you release it there. The example below uses a PilotDeck site named pilotdeck-testwebsite.
Drafts for you to release
Posts land in Publer as drafts. Nothing is published until you release it in Publer.
Your own accounts
Publer keeps your social connections. PilotDeck only needs an API key and the Workspace ID, and reads the accounts it finds there.
Checked before it is saved
PilotDeck lists your Publer accounts with the key first. A key that cannot do that is not saved, and the key is stored encrypted.
Before you start#
| You need | Details |
|---|---|
| A Publer account | At least one connected social profile in the workspace you want to use. |
| A Publer API key | Created in Publer under Settings > Access & API with the workspaces, accounts and posts scopes. |
| Your Workspace ID | The long id of letters and numbers in your workspace URL. It is not your account id. |
| A PilotDeck login | Permission to change integrations for the site. Without it the Connect button is unavailable. |
<your-publer-api-key>.Overview#
- 1Create a Publer account, a workspace and connect a social profileYou
- 2Open Settings > API & Webhooks (Business plan)You
- 3Generate an API key with the right scopesYou
- 4Copy the Workspace ID from your workspace URLYou
- 5Open Settings > Integrations in PilotDeck and pick Publer under Shares what you publishYou
- 6Paste both values and click ConnectYou
- 7PilotDeck checks the key by listing your accounts, then saves the connectionPilotDeck
- 8Choose the accounts this site uses and confirm the card shows ConnectedVerify
Sign up at app.publer.com and confirm your email. Publer then asks for your name and a password (Set up your account), and after that to create a workspace. Name it after the site, for example pilotdeck-testwebsite, and pick an industry.
PilotDeck can only post to profiles that already exist in Publer, so connect at least one. Click a network on Add your social accounts and follow Publer's prompt. Bluesky, for example, asks for your username and an app password that you create in Bluesky under Settings > App Passwords.
Open Social Accounts in the workspace to confirm the profile shows Active.
Sign in at app.publer.com, then go to Settings > API & Webhooks. The API Keys section has a Generate API Key button, or Manage API Keys once a key exists.
Create a key and give it the workspaces, accounts and posts scopes. Copy the key straight away.
Click Manage API Keys, then Generate API Key. Name the key something you will recognise, such as PilotDeck. Workspaces and Accounts (read access) are ticked by default. Also tick Posts (read and write access). Leave Media and Analytics off. Click Generate API Key; Publer shows the key once, so copy it before you close the dialog.
The Workspace ID is the long id after workspace= in the address bar while you are in the workspace you want PilotDeck to use, for example app.publer.com/?workspace=<your-workspace-id>. Copy only the id.
In PilotDeck, make sure the correct site is selected in the top-left site switcher (here, pilotdeck-testwebsite). Go to Settings > Integrations and find the Shares what you publish section. It reads "Connect the scheduling tool you already use. Posts land there as drafts for you to release."
Under Connect a tool, click Publer (tagged API key). A How to connect Publer panel appears next to a Your details form.
- Paste the key into Publer API Key (
<your-publer-api-key>). The field shows dots, so you cannot read it back. - Paste the id into Workspace ID.
- Optional: add a Label (optional), such as
Marketing workspace, to tell connections apart.
Both required fields are marked with an asterisk, and Connect stays disabled until both are filled in.
Click Connect. PilotDeck checks the key against Publer by listing your connected accounts. If that works, the connection is saved and appears under Your tools with a Connected badge and the accounts it found, grouped by network, for example LinkedIn x1.
Under Which accounts does this site use?, tick the accounts this site should post to, grouped by network. Posts for the site go only to the accounts selected here, not to every account Publer has. Click Save Changes. A Saved. note confirms it.
How posts reach Publer#
| Topic | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Drafts | Posts are sent to Publer as drafts. You release them in Publer. |
| Networks | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Mastodon, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and Telegram. Which of them you can use depends on the accounts in your Publer workspace. |
| Post types | Text posts, with the article link added to the text so Publer can show a preview. Multi-image carousels of 2 to 10 slides are sent as photo posts. Images on other posts are not sent, and the post goes out as text only. |
| Timing | Publer creates posts in the background, so a post may take a moment to appear. PilotDeck checks back on its own about every three minutes. |
Connection status and testing#
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Connected | The last check of the key and workspace worked. |
| Needs re-auth | Publer rejected the key. Enter a new key and Workspace ID. |
| Error | Another problem, such as a network failure or a rate limit. The reason is shown on the card. |
Click Test on the card at any time. PilotDeck lists your Publer accounts again. On success you see Key works with the number of accounts found, the account list is refreshed and the badge returns to Connected. On failure the badge changes and the reason appears on the card. Your account list is also cached for about 15 minutes.
PilotDeck does not set its own Publer limit. If Publer returns a rate limit, PilotDeck shows "Your social tool is limiting requests right now. Wait a few minutes and try again." Check your Publer plan for its request limits.
Disconnecting#
Click Disconnect on the card and confirm. The message reads "Queued posts for its platforms will need a tool again." Only this site's connection is removed, and other sites keep theirs. To reconnect, repeat steps 4 to 6. To fully remove access, also delete the API key in Publer under Settings > Access & API.
Troubleshooting#
"Your social tool rejected the API key. Check the key and reconnect."
Publer did not accept the key. Check that you pasted the whole key with no spaces and that it is still active. The card shows Needs re-auth until you connect again with a working key.
The connection fails with a 403
The key is usually missing the accounts or posts scope. Generate a new key with the workspaces, accounts and posts scopes.
"Enter your API key to connect this social tool."
The API key field is empty. Fill in the key and the Workspace ID.
"Your social tool did not accept this request. Check your connection details and try again."
Check the Workspace ID. It must come from the workspace URL, not from your account.
"We couldn't confirm whether this reached your social tool..."
The connection timed out and PilotDeck cannot tell whether Publer received the post. Look in Publer before sending it again, to avoid a duplicate.
"None of your connected social tools has a channel for this platform."
No account for that network exists in the connected workspace or in the accounts selected for this site. Add the profile in Publer, click Test, then select it under Which accounts does this site use?.
"No accounts found in this tool yet."
The key works but the workspace has no connected social profiles. Connect a profile in Publer, then click Test.
A post does not appear in Publer
Publer creates posts in the background, so wait a few minutes. Posts arrive as drafts, so look in Publer's drafts rather than its scheduled list.