# deploy.social docs

> deploy.social posts one short video to many social platforms from a single upload. These docs cover using the web app, then its REST API and MCP server, which let your own code or an AI assistant upload a video, make a draft and publish it to the accounts connected to a workspace. The API and MCP server come with the Standard and Studio plans.

- REST API base URL: `https://api.deploy.social/v1`, with a workspace API key as a bearer token.
- MCP server: `https://api.deploy.social/mcp` for assistants that sign in (Claude.ai, ChatGPT), or `https://api.deploy.social/v1/mcp` with a workspace API key.
- Every page below as one Markdown file: https://deploy.social/llms-full.txt

## Get started

- [Welcome](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/welcome): A quick tour of Deploy: connect an account, upload a video, write one caption and send it to every platform in five steps.

## Posting

- [Post a video](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/post-a-video): How to post a video to every platform with Deploy: pick your accounts, upload, write one caption, check the settings and press Deploy.
- [Photo and text posts](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/photo-and-text-posts): How to post photos, carousels and text with Deploy: pick the kind, add and order your photos, and which platforms take what.
- [Captions](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/captions): How to write one caption in Deploy for every platform you post to, customize it for one destination, and add a first comment.
- [Platform settings](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/platform-settings): What you can set for each platform in Deploy: YouTube visibility, TikTok privacy and disclosures, and Instagram's feed and Reels options.
- [Schedule a post](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/schedule): How to pick a time for a post in Deploy, set up recurring posting slots, and see what's already scheduled that day.
- [YouTube thumbnails](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/youtube-thumbnails): YouTube shows its own auto-picked frame for Shorts, not the cover you build in Deploy. Here's why, and how to change it in YouTube Studio.
- [When a post fails](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/when-a-post-fails): Why a post didn't go out on one platform, and what to do: reconnect, try again, change the post, or leave it with us.

## Organize

- [Library](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/library): Find every video you've uploaded to Deploy, post one again without re-uploading, sort clips into folders, and follow each post.
- [Calendar](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/calendar): See every scheduled, published and failed post in Deploy on one calendar, move a post to a new time, or shift a whole batch.
- [Batches](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/batches): Turn on Batches in Deploy, set destinations and a release once, prepare a week of videos together, and start next week's batch from this one.

## Accounts and teams

- [Connect accounts](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/connect-accounts): Connect YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, X and Bluesky accounts to a workspace, then reconnect or remove one.
- [Workspaces and team](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/workspaces-and-team): How a workspace keeps a brand's accounts and posts together, how to invite a team member, hand over ownership, and give a client a connect link.
- [Client approval](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/client-approval): Turn on client approval for a workspace, add your client by email, and see on your calendar which posts they've OK'd.
- [Sign-in and devices](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/sign-in-and-devices): See every browser signed in to your Deploy account, sign one out, or sign out everywhere else at once, and manage how you sign in.
- [Plans and limits](https://deploy.social/docs/guides/plans-and-limits): What Free, Standard and our Studio plan include, and where to check exact API, video and account limits.

## API and MCP

- [API quickstart](https://deploy.social/docs/api): Create a workspace API key, add a video or photos, make a draft and check how it posts through the deploy.social API.
- [API reference](https://deploy.social/docs/api/reference): Every endpoint the deploy.social API exposes, with the request and response shape for each one.
- [Connect an assistant](https://deploy.social/docs/mcp): Connect an assistant to a Deploy workspace, see the tools it can use and choose read-only or posting access.
- [OpenAPI schema](https://api.deploy.social/openapi.json): Every endpoint with its request and response shapes, as OpenAPI 3.1 JSON.

## Reference

- [Errors](https://deploy.social/docs/api/errors): The codes the API and MCP server return when a request fails, and what to do about each one.
- [API limits](https://deploy.social/docs/api/limits): See request and daily post allowances for the API and MCP server, and how to recover when a limit is reached.
- [Platform limits](https://deploy.social/docs/platforms): See the fields, video rules and posting options each destination accepts, and how Deploy chooses a video copy for it.

## Comparisons and guides

- [Post one video to all platforms at once](https://deploy.social/post-to-all-platforms): Upload once and deploy.social posts to YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Facebook Reels, Threads, X and Bluesky, with the right caption on each.
- [Post to Reels, Shorts and TikTok at the same time](https://deploy.social/cross-post-reels-shorts-tiktok): One upload to Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and TikTok, with the caption, length and settings each one wants. What changes between the three.
- [How to post your TikToks to YouTube Shorts](https://deploy.social/tiktok-to-youtube-shorts): Post the same video to TikTok and YouTube Shorts without a watermark: start from your original file, keep it under 3 minutes, and post both at once.
- [Share a TikTok to Instagram Reels without the watermark](https://deploy.social/tiktok-to-instagram-reels): Skip TikTok's share button, since it carries the logo over. Upload your original video to Instagram Reels instead, or post to both at once.
- [How to post Reels to Facebook and Instagram at the same time](https://deploy.social/reels-to-facebook-and-instagram): Share one Reel to Instagram and your Facebook Page at the same time, with a caption for each, and add TikTok, YouTube Shorts and more in the same upload.
- [Social media video sizes and lengths for 2026](https://deploy.social/video-specs): Max length, file size, shape and caption limits for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Facebook Reels, Threads, X and Bluesky, checked Sept 2026.
- [TikTok caption character limit](https://deploy.social/tiktok-caption-limit): Posted from a tool like Deploy, a TikTok caption can be 2,200 characters, hashtags included. The TikTok app takes longer ones. Check yours free.
- [ShortSync alternative](https://deploy.social/alternative/shortsync): ShortSync pricing, compared: Deploy is $15 a month in USD for seven platforms. Our Studio plan is $39 for ten workspaces. ShortSync's Team is €49.99.
- [deploy.social vs ShortSync](https://deploy.social/vs/shortsync): ShortSync pricing next to Deploy's, for a solo creator, someone posting for clients, and your first week. Deploy is billed in US dollars.
- [Repurpose.io alternative](https://deploy.social/alternative/repurpose-io): Repurpose.io starts at $35 a month after a 10-video trial. Deploy posts short video to all seven major platforms for $15 a month, five free every month.
- [OneUp alternative](https://deploy.social/alternative/oneup): OneUp's real floor for all seven platforms is $35 a month, not its $25 sticker price. Deploy is a flat $15, five posts a month free.
- [Buffer alternative for short video](https://deploy.social/alternative/buffer): Buffer charges $6 per channel monthly, or $42 for seven. Deploy posts video to all seven for $15 a month, with 5 posts a month free.
- [Hootsuite alternative for short video](https://deploy.social/alternative/hootsuite): Hootsuite starts at $99 a month per user, billed yearly. Deploy posts short video to seven platforms for $15 a month.
- [Sprout Social alternative for short video](https://deploy.social/alternative/sprout-social): Sprout Social needs its $399 a month plan for seven profiles. Deploy posts to all seven platforms for a flat $15.
- [Later alternative for short video](https://deploy.social/alternative/later): Later can't post to X or Bluesky, by its own platform list. Deploy posts short video to all seven major platforms for $15 a month.
- [Metricool alternative for short video](https://deploy.social/alternative/metricool): Metricool is $35 a month once you add X. Deploy posts to all seven platforms, X included, for $15.
- [Publer alternative for short video](https://deploy.social/alternative/publer): Publer costs $28 a month for all seven platforms, seven accounts. Deploy is $15, with five posts a month free.
- [Planoly alternatives for short video](https://deploy.social/alternative/planoly): Planoly alternatives for video, compared on real prices: deploy.social, Later, Buffer, Metricool and Publer, with Planoly's monthly and yearly plans.
- [Blotato alternative for posting your videos](https://deploy.social/alternative/blotato): Blotato starts at $29 a month with no free plan. Deploy posts your videos to seven platforms for $15, with an API and MCP server.
- [Postiz alternative with nothing to host](https://deploy.social/alternative/postiz): Postiz costs $39 a month for all seven platforms, not its $29 sticker price. Deploy posts to all seven for $15, nothing to host.
- [Instagram caption character limit](https://deploy.social/instagram-caption-limit): An Instagram caption can run 2,200 characters, in the app or through Meta's API. Plus the hashtag and mention limits, and where the feed cuts it off.
- [Instagram Reel length](https://deploy.social/instagram-reel-length): An Instagram Reel can run up to 20 minutes in the app, and up to 15 minutes posted through an app like deploy.social. Both checked October 2026.
- [YouTube Shorts max length in 2026](https://deploy.social/youtube-shorts-length): A YouTube Short can run up to 3 minutes if it's square or vertical. Wider or longer, and YouTube files it as a regular video. Checked October 2026.
- [How to post to Instagram and TikTok at the same time](https://deploy.social/instagram-and-tiktok-at-once): Upload your original file once, through a tool that connects both accounts, and it posts to Instagram and TikTok with no TikTok watermark on either.
- [Best cross-posting tools for short video in 2026](https://deploy.social/best/cross-posting-tools): Nine cross-posting tools for short video, compared on real prices and platforms from their own pricing pages: deploy.social, ShortSync, Buffer and more.
- [Best free apps to post to all social media at once](https://deploy.social/best/free-cross-posting-apps): Eight apps with a real $0 plan, not a trial: deploy.social, Buffer, ShortSync, Metricool, Planoly and more, with each one's exact free-plan limits.
- [Buffer alternatives for video creators](https://deploy.social/best/buffer-alternatives): Nine Buffer alternatives for video creators, each with real prices and platform lists from its own pricing page: deploy.social, ShortSync, Later and more.
- [Free alternatives to Repurpose.io](https://deploy.social/best/free-repurpose-io-alternatives): Free alternatives to Repurpose.io with a $0 plan that never expires: deploy.social, ShortSync, Socialync, Metricool, Buffer and Publer, and their limits.
- [SocialBee alternative](https://deploy.social/alternative/socialbee): SocialBee starts at $29 a month after a 14-day trial. deploy.social posts short video to seven platforms for $15, with 5 free posts a month.
- [ShortSync review](https://deploy.social/shortsync-review): A ShortSync review from its own pages: 17 platforms, a free plan, €14.99 Creator, and the limits it states. Written by deploy.social.
- [Socialync alternative](https://deploy.social/alternative/socialync): Socialync pricing next to deploy.social: its free plan leaves X for paid plans and Starter is $20. Deploy is $15, X included on Free.
- [post bridge alternative](https://deploy.social/alternative/post-bridge): post bridge pricing next to deploy.social: Marketer is $39 a month after a 7-day trial. Deploy is $15, with 5 free posts a month.
- [Free caption length checker, 7 platforms](https://deploy.social/caption-length-checker): Paste a caption and see if it fits TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, X, Threads, Facebook Reels and Bluesky, with each platform's limit. Free.

## Optional

- [Docs home](https://deploy.social/docs): How to post, schedule and organize your videos, photos and text in Deploy, and how to build on it with the API and MCP server.