Post to Mastodon from OpenClaw
OpenClaw can post to Mastodon on Mastodon through ClipSpeed. Add the ClipSpeed server with one config block, sign in, and then ask OpenClaw to post to Mastodon, pick the time, and apply Mastodon's settings, without leaving a personal agent you run yourself and message from WhatsApp, Telegram or Discord. Mastodon is on the roadmap on ClipSpeed's rail; this page describes how it works and says so.
Keep a human in the loop: OpenClaw shows the plan and asks before anything is public. Posting today: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.
Also try
How to post Mastodon from OpenClaw
OpenClaw has no browser to complete an OAuth sign-in, so it authenticates with a ClipSpeed API key in a header. Generate the key in your ClipSpeed account, add the server to the agent's MCP configuration, restart the agent. Connect Mastodon in ClipSpeed, then describe the post. Setup takes about a minute.
# One-time setup: OpenClaw MCP config
{
"mcpServers": {
"clipspeed": {
"url": "https://api.clipspeed.ai/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer csai_live_..." }
}
}
}
# Then ask OpenClaw:
> Post the announcement to Mastodon at 9am
OpenClaw: Preview — nothing booked yet. Mastodon — text under 500. Book it?OpenClaw sits in ClipSpeed's compatible tier: same protocol and transport as the verified clients, not yet driven end to end by us. The developer reference below covers the wire in detail.
- In ClipSpeed, open Account → API & Integrations → Generate API Key. Copy the csai_live_ key once.
- Add the clipspeed server to your OpenClaw agent's MCP configuration with the URL and the Authorization header.
- Restart the agent and message it: "list my ClipSpeed channels".
- Connect Mastodon in the ClipSpeed app, or ask OpenClaw for a connect link: it is private, valid for ten minutes, and Mastodon signs you in itself.
Developer reference: the OpenClaw MCP page.
What can OpenClaw do on Mastodon?
On Mastodon, OpenClaw can post 500-character text, images and video to a Mastodon account on any server. Every booking runs through the same rules as the ClipSpeed app.
Text, Image and Video posts
Mastodon takes text, image and video through ClipSpeed. Video: MP4 or WebM. Image: JPG, PNG or GIF; up to four per post on Mastodon.
500 characters, checked at booking
Mastodon's own arithmetic, with every link counted as 23. Too long is refused with the real count, never trimmed at send time.
Exact time or refused
Name the minute and OpenClaw books it, or you are told why not and offered the next open slot. A booked Mastodon post is never moved behind your back.
Preview before anything posts
preview: true runs the whole booking and writes nothing. OpenClaw shows the plan, with each slot and the day's remaining cap, and books only on your yes.
Clips cut in the same chat
Submit a video or stream link, get captioned 9:16 clips with a viral score, and post the best as native video on Mastodon. No download, no re-upload.
Pacing and numbers
Planned: Text posts on Mastodon are at least 30 minutes apart, up to 10 a day. Video on Mastodon is at least 4 hours apart, up to 4 a day under your plan. After a post goes out, OpenClaw can read back views and engagement where Mastodon provides them.
How does OpenClaw post to Mastodon through ClipSpeed?
You describe what you want in plain language and OpenClaw makes the ClipSpeed calls. A typical conversation has three beats.
Find your Mastodon channel
Ask OpenClaw whether Mastodon is connected. It calls list_channels and reads platform_settings, so it also knows what Mastodon accepts and the limits before you write a word.
Compose within the rules
Describe the post. OpenClaw drafts within Mastodon's limits, counting links as 23; mention a clip or a file and it attaches it.
Schedule or publish
Name a time, or say now. The slot is booked exactly or refused with the next open one, and the reply carries the id you can cancel or edit by.
Mastodon settings reference
These are the schedule_post fields that apply to Mastodon. Mention any of them in plain language and OpenClaw sets them; the server checks them at booking. Fields marked planned land with the Mastodon release.
| Field | Type | Required | What it does on Mastodon |
|---|---|---|---|
platforms | string[] | Yes | Include "mastodon". Up to ten platforms per call; each books its own slot. |
text | string | Yes for a text post | Up to 500 characters on a default server; links count as 23. |
visibility | public | unlisted | followers | Planned | Mastodon's post visibility. |
media_kind | text | image | video | No | Detected from the file when omitted. |
clip_id or media_url | string | No | A clip or a public link. |
scheduled_at | ISO 8601 | No | Exact or refused with the next open slot. |
preview | boolean | No | Plan only. |
Common Mastodon configurations
Ask OpenClaw for any of these and it applies the matching settings.
Public post
Unlisted test
Clip as video
Day of posts, previewed
Example prompts for Mastodon in OpenClaw
Type these into a personal agent you run yourself and message from WhatsApp, Telegram or Discord, or pass one to routine in a script. OpenClaw calls ClipSpeed and confirms before publishing.
Post Mastodon with a scheduled time
Post the announcement to Mastodon at 9am. Keep the text under 500 characters with links counted as 23. Preview first.
Cut the clips, then post the best
Clip this link, keep the top three by viral score, and schedule them to Mastodon at 11am, 3pm and 7pm tomorrow. Show me the plan before booking.
Check and adjust the Mastodon calendar
What is scheduled on Mastodon this week? Cancel tomorrow's post and tell me the next open Mastodon slot on Friday.
Mastodon limits and gotchas to know
Mastodon enforces a few rules that OpenClaw and ClipSpeed respect automatically, but knowing them helps you phrase requests.
- 500 characters is the default limit, with every link counted as 23. Some servers allow more; ClipSpeed will use your server's limit at booking.
- Your account lives on one server; you connect that server, not mastodon.social in general.
- Mastodon is on ClipSpeed's roadmap, not the next rail. Bookings are refused plainly until it posts.
- Content warnings and alt text are planned fields.
- Planned pacing: ten text posts a day 30 minutes apart, video four hours apart.
| Rule | Mastodon |
|---|---|
| Accepts | Text, Image, Video |
| Text limit | 500 characters; every link counts as 23 (500 is the default; your server may allow more) |
| Title | No title field |
| Links in the caption | Kept; every link counts as 23 characters |
| Pacing | Planned: Text posts on Mastodon are at least 30 minutes apart, up to 10 a day. Video on Mastodon is at least 4 hours apart, up to 4 a day under your plan. |
| Formats | Image: JPG, PNG or GIF; up to four per post on Mastodon. Video: MP4 or WebM. Aspect: any |
| Status | On the roadmap; described here, not yet bookable |
What Postiz-style schedulers cannot do
Cut the clips first
OpenClaw does not need finished video to start. Hand it a YouTube link, a podcast, a stream VOD or a local export. ClipSpeed finds the moments, cuts them to 9:16 with word-by-word captions, scores each one 0 to 100 for shareability, and returns them in the same conversation. OpenClaw picks by score, writes the caption from the transcript, and books the clips on Mastodon. Three tool calls, one approval, no download and no re-upload.
- Clips arrive with a title written from the hook, a transcript and a viral score, so the agent can choose and caption without watching the footage.
- Live streams can be clipped while they are still on air; the agent books the highlights for the next morning before the stream ends.
- Every clip is already hosted, so
schedule_posttakes its id directly. Nothing moves through your laptop.
submit_to_clipspeedPaste the link. ClipSpeed starts the job and returns a project id.check_clipsPoll with the project id. Back come the finished 9:16 clips with titles, transcripts, viral scores and preview links.schedule_postPass the clip id, the platforms, a caption and a time. OpenClaw shows the plan with preview: true, you say yes, it books.generate_image or generate_videoDescribe the shot. ClipSpeed runs it on the model that fits (Seedance, Kling, Veo, Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image and others) and quotes the credits first.wait_for_generationReturns the hosted result link and a preview the agent can show you.schedule_post with media_urlThe result link goes straight into the booking on Mastodon. The caption, the time and the file are approved together.The other half nobody else has
Generate the image or video, then post it
A product shot for Instagram, a 16:9 announcement graphic for X, a six-second opener before a clip: OpenClaw can make an image or a short video with ClipSpeed's image and video models and book the result in the same reply. There is no separate design tool, no export, no upload page. The generated file is hosted, so media_url is the only thing the booking needs.
- The price in credits is quoted before anything renders, within the per-generation and daily caps you set in Settings.
- Results are previewed in the conversation, so you approve the picture and the post at once.
- Images post as JPG, PNG or WebP up to 25 MB; video posts as MP4, MOV or WebM up to 1 GB.
What is OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is an open-source personal agent that runs on your own machine or server and takes instructions from messaging apps. It can call MCP servers that speak streamable HTTP. With ClipSpeed configured with an API key, your OpenClaw agent can clip videos, generate media and schedule posts when you message it.
How ClipSpeed works with OpenClaw
- The agent connects to the ClipSpeed server over HTTP with a Bearer key
- It reads
platform_settingsbefore composing schedule_postis exact or refused with the next open slotpreview: truefor a plan it sends you before booking- Routines in the agent can call the same tools on a schedule
OpenClaw vs nanoclaw vs Hermes Agent: OpenClaw (your machine; whatsapp, telegram, discord), nanoclaw (your machine; whatsapp or telegram), Hermes Agent (your machine or server). This page is about OpenClaw; the OpenClaw guide compares them.
{
"mcpServers": {
"clipspeed": {
"url": "https://api.clipspeed.ai/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${CLIPSPEED_API_KEY}" }
}
}
}
# Verify from chat:
# you: list my ClipSpeed channels
# agent: TikTok connected (@yourname) · YouTube connected · X connected# What the agent reads at connect time (tool descriptions, abridged)
list_channels Connected platforms, what each accepts, limits, your time zone
connect_channel A private 10-minute link to connect one platform
platform_settings Limits, title rules, link handling, pacing per platform
schedule_post clip_id | text | media_url → platforms[], scheduled_at, preview
list_scheduled_posts Scheduled, sending, posted, failed — with post links
update_scheduled_post Edit copy while still scheduled (the time never moves)
cancel_scheduled_post Cancel; undoable 72 h in the app
post_analytics Views, likes, comments, shares where the platform gives them
submit_to_clipspeed Start clipping a video or stream link → projectId
check_clips Finished 9:16 clips with titles, transcripts, viral scores
generate_image / generate_video / wait_for_generation
# Mastodon: text/image/video · text 500 (links = 23)Post to Mastodon and other platforms from OpenClaw
One request can book the same content to Mastodon and other channels, each keeping its own settings and its own slot. Every platform below has its own OpenClaw guide.
Also works with
Mastodon and OpenClaw: frequently asked questions
How do I post to Mastodon from OpenClaw?
In ClipSpeed, open Account → API & Integrations → Generate API Key. Copy the csai_live_ key once. Add the clipspeed server to your OpenClaw agent's MCP configuration with the URL and the Authorization header. Connect Mastodon in ClipSpeed (or ask OpenClaw for a connect link; it is private and valid for ten minutes), then describe the post in plain language. OpenClaw reads the Mastodon rules, drafts within them, shows the plan and books on your yes. Mastodon is on the roadmap; until the badge changes, the booking is refused with a plain message.
What can OpenClaw post to Mastodon through ClipSpeed?
Post 500-character text, images and video to a Mastodon account on any server. Mastodon takes text, image and video posts. Text is limited to 500 characters, with every link counted as 23.
Which Mastodon settings can OpenClaw control?
The fields in the settings reference above: text, visibility, media_kind, clip_id or media_url, scheduled_at, preview. Mention any of them in plain language ("unlisted", "tomorrow at 9", "preview first") and OpenClaw sets the matching field before it books.
Do I need a Mastodon API key or developer account?
No. You connect Mastodon to ClipSpeed once through Mastodon's own sign-in, and OpenClaw talks to ClipSpeed over OAuth. No Mastodon developer key, bearer token or password is pasted anywhere.
How many Mastodon posts a day can OpenClaw schedule?
Planned: Text posts on Mastodon are at least 30 minutes apart, up to 10 a day. Video on Mastodon is at least 4 hours apart, up to 4 a day under your plan. When a time is taken, the booking is refused with the next open slot rather than moved. Ask for preview to see a day's plan and the remaining cap before anything is booked.
Can OpenClaw post to Mastodon from a script or a cron job?
Yes. OpenClaw's headless mode (routine) runs one prompt and exits, and the ClipSpeed server registered on that machine does the booking. On a runner with no browser, authenticate with a ClipSpeed API key header. Keep preview on so the run reports a plan before it books.
Is posting to Mastodon from OpenClaw different from nanoclaw?
The booking is identical: the same rules, the same calendar, the same refusals. What differs is where you work. OpenClaw: your own machine or server; chat from whatsapp, telegram, discord. nanoclaw: your machine; whatsapp or telegram, smaller footprint, fewer integrations.