Connect Claude or ChatGPT to your social calendar with MCP

Key takeaways

• MCP lets an AI assistant use tools inside other apps. The Postocial MCP server lives at https://app.postocial.com/mcp.
• Claude and ChatGPT connect through their settings in a few minutes, and Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code work too.
• The assistant acts as you and can only do what your role allows. With sign-in, it works in the one workspace you choose.
• Use it for the busywork, such as turning one idea into versions for several networks and placing them on the calendar. Keep the final read for yourself.

What MCP is, in plain terms

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to other apps. Instead of copying a draft out of a chat window and pasting it into a scheduler, you let the assistant call the scheduler's tools directly, with your permission.

For social media, that means a request like "Draft three LinkedIn posts about our new feature and schedule them for next week" can end with real posts on your Postocial calendar, not just text in a chat that still needs copying.

What the assistant can do in Postocial

Once connected, the assistant signs in to Postocial and picks one workspace. From there it can:

• list the social accounts connected to that workspace,
• draft, edit and duplicate posts, schedule them, publish them right away or add them to your queue,
• delete posts, or bring them back from the trash,
• attach files from your media library, add an image or video from a public link, and tag posts,
• read your analytics and best times to post (Postocial has no analytics for X, Reddit, Tumblr and Telegram), and
• on Premium and higher plans, work in the inbox: search contacts, read and assign conversations, prepare broadcasts, draft automations and book appointments.

It works within your permissions. The assistant can only do what your role in the workspace allows, so it never has more access than you do. Posts it schedules still wait for approval when your workspace requires it, and in the inbox it sends a message only after you confirm. Broadcasts it prepares wait for approval in Postocial, and automations it builds stay drafts until someone publishes them. Connecting new social accounts stays in the Postocial app.

Before you start

• A Postocial account with at least one connected channel. If you are new, getting started takes you through it, and connecting accounts covers each network.
• A role that can create and schedule posts, if you want the assistant to schedule for you.
• An AI app that supports custom MCP connectors. The steps below cover Claude and ChatGPT. Menu names change as these apps update, so if an option has moved, check the app's own help pages.

Connect Claude

1. In Claude, open Settings > Connectors.
2. Choose Add custom connector.
3. Give it a name, such as Postocial, and paste the server URL: https://app.postocial.com/mcp. Leave the OAuth client ID and secret empty.
4. Sign in to Postocial when prompted, and choose the workspace the assistant should use.
5. Start a new chat and ask: "Which social accounts can you see in Postocial?" If the list matches your workspace, you are ready.

The Claude setup guide has more detail on using Postocial from Claude.

Connect ChatGPT

1. In ChatGPT, open Settings > Apps & Connectors > Advanced settings.
2. Turn on Developer mode, then go back to Apps & Connectors and choose Create.
3. Enter a name and the server URL, https://app.postocial.com/mcp, choose OAuth for authentication and tick I trust this application.
4. Sign in to Postocial when prompted, and choose your workspace.
5. Open a new chat and ask ChatGPT to list your Postocial accounts.

See the ChatGPT setup guide for more.

Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and other clients

Developers can use the same server from their coding tools:

• Claude Code: run claude mcp add --transport http postocial https://app.postocial.com/mcp, then type /mcp and choose Authenticate. Full steps are in the Claude Code setup guide.
• Cursor: add the server URL under Settings > MCP, or in ~/.cursor/mcp.json. See the Cursor setup guide.
• VS Code: add the server to .vscode/mcp.json and use it in Copilot Chat agent mode. See the VS Code setup guide.
• Other MCP clients: if your app supports remote MCP servers with OAuth sign-in, add the server URL and leave any client ID and secret empty. If it can only send a fixed token, create a personal access token under Access Tokens in your Postocial user menu and send it as an Authorization: Bearer header. A token reaches every workspace you belong to.

For an overview of the server and every supported client, see Postocial MCP.

Your first five prompts

Start small, check each result in Postocial, then build up. This sequence works well for a first session:

1. Check the connection: "List my connected accounts in Postocial."
2. Draft one post: "Draft a LinkedIn post announcing our new booking page. Keep it under 150 words, friendly but not salesy, and end with a question."
3. Adapt it: "Now write versions for Threads and Bluesky. Threads allows 500 characters and Bluesky 300, so keep each version inside its limit."
4. Schedule it: "Schedule the LinkedIn post for Tuesday at 9 a.m. and the other two for Tuesday at noon."
5. Plan ahead: "Here are next week's three topics. Draft one Instagram post per topic and save them as drafts so I can add images."

After each step, open the calendar in Postocial and look at what happened. You build trust quickly that way, and you learn how the assistant reads your instructions. Our guide to posting on Bluesky, Threads and Mastodon explains what else changes between those networks.

Write a brief the assistant can reuse

An assistant writes better posts when it knows who you are. Keep a short brief and paste it at the start of a planning session, or save it in your AI app's project or custom instructions:

• What you sell or do, in two sentences.
• Who you are talking to.
• Your voice: three adjectives, plus words you never use.
• Rules per network, such as "Instagram: five hashtags at most" or "LinkedIn: no emoji in the first line".
• Default posting times, if you do not use a posting schedule.

A brief for a neighborhood bakery might read:

We are a family bakery selling sourdough, pastries and custom cakes. We talk to local families and to office teams ordering for events. Voice: warm, direct and a little playful. Never say "artisanal" or "game-changer". Instagram: five hashtags at most. LinkedIn: office catering only. Facebook Pages: opening hours and weekly specials.

If you already use a posting schedule in Postocial, ask the assistant to add posts to your queue, so they take the next free slots in your posting schedule.

Stay in control

• Review before you schedule. Ask for drafts first, read them, then ask the assistant to schedule. You stay the editor.
• Keep your approvals. If your team signs off on posts, check what the assistant created in Postocial before it is due, the same way you would for any other post. Posts the assistant schedules still wait for approval when your workspace requires it.
• Watch the bigger actions. Within your role, the assistant can publish and delete posts, including removing them from the networks. Keep your AI app's confirmation prompts on for those actions.
• Know which workspace is in use. With sign-in, the assistant works in the workspace you picked when you connected it. A personal access token reaches every workspace you belong to.
• Mind what you share. Your conversation, including drafts and any account details the assistant reads, is processed by the AI provider under its own terms. On Premium and higher plans, inbox tools also pass contact names, phone numbers and message text to the AI provider.
• Disconnect when you are done. You can remove the connector from your AI app's settings at any time. For a token connection, also delete the token under Access Tokens in Postocial.

MCP or the API?

MCP is for working in conversation: you ask, the assistant acts, you check. For automation that runs on its own, such as publishing from your own app or syncing with another system, use the REST API. It covers accounts, posts, scheduling, approvals, media, tags and analytics, with workspace API keys, fine-grained permissions and a limit of 60 requests per minute per key. Signed webhooks tell your systems when posts are scheduled, published or fail, and on Premium and higher plans Zapier can start Zaps from messaging events, such as a new contact or an inbound message.

Start with API and MCP or the API and webhooks guide.

Troubleshooting

• The connector option is missing. Custom connectors can depend on your AI app's plan or settings, such as Developer mode in ChatGPT. Check the app's help pages.
• The assistant cannot see an account. Make sure the account is connected in the workspace you picked. If you chose the wrong workspace, reconnect and pick another.
• Scheduling does not work. Check that your role allows scheduling, and that the post fits the network's limits.
• Times are off by a few hours. Name the time zone in your prompt, for example "9 a.m. New York time".