Crier

Cross-post your content to dev.to, Ghost, WordPress, Hashnode, Medium, Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, Telegram, Discord, and more.

Like a town crier announcing your content to the world.

Installation

pip install crier

Quick Start

# Configure your API keys
crier config set devto.api_key YOUR_API_KEY
crier config set bluesky.api_key "handle.bsky.social:app-password"
crier config set mastodon.api_key "mastodon.social:access-token"

# Publish a markdown file
crier publish post.md --to devto

# Publish to multiple platforms at once
crier publish post.md --to devto --to bluesky --to mastodon

# List your articles
crier list devto

# Update an existing article
crier update devto 12345 --file updated-post.md

Supported Platforms

Platform Notes

Blog Platforms (dev.to, Hashnode, Medium, Ghost, WordPress):

• Full markdown article publishing
• Preserves front matter (title, description, tags, canonical_url)
• Best for long-form content

Newsletter Platforms (Buttondown):

• Publishes to email subscribers
• Full markdown support
• Great for content repurposing

Social Platforms (Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn, Twitter, Threads):

• Creates short posts with link to canonical URL
• Uses title + description + hashtags from tags
• Best for announcing new content

Announcement Channels (Telegram, Discord):

• Posts to channels/servers
• Good for community announcements
• Discord uses webhook embeds

Configuration

API keys can be set via:

1. Config file (~/.config/crier/config.yaml):

   platforms:
     devto:
       api_key: your_key_here
     bluesky:
       api_key: "handle.bsky.social:app-password"
     mastodon:
       api_key: "mastodon.social:access-token"
   

2. Environment variables:

   export CRIER_DEVTO_API_KEY=your_key_here
   export CRIER_BLUESKY_API_KEY="handle.bsky.social:app-password"
   

Markdown Format

Crier reads standard markdown with YAML front matter:

---
title: "My Amazing Post"
description: "A brief description"
tags: [python, programming]
canonical_url: https://myblog.com/my-post
published: true
---

Your content here...

Commands

crier publish FILE [--to PLATFORM]...  # Publish to platform(s)
crier update PLATFORM ID --file FILE   # Update existing article
crier list PLATFORM                     # List your articles
crier config set KEY VALUE              # Set configuration
crier config show                       # Show configuration
crier platforms                         # List available platforms

Getting API Keys

dev.to

1. Go to https://dev.to/settings/extensions
2. Generate API key

Hashnode

1. Go to https://hashnode.com/settings/developer
2. Generate Personal Access Token

Medium

1. Go to https://medium.com/me/settings/security
2. Generate Integration Token

Bluesky

1. Go to Settings → App Passwords
2. Create an app password
3. Use format: yourhandle.bsky.social:xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx

Mastodon

1. Go to Settings → Development → New Application
2. Create app with write:statuses scope
3. Use format: instance.social:your-access-token

Twitter/X

Uses copy-paste mode - generates formatted tweet text for manual posting. No API setup required. Just set any placeholder value:

crier config set twitter.api_key manual

Ghost

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → Add custom integration
2. Copy the Admin API Key (format: key_id:key_secret)
3. Use format: https://yourblog.com:key_id:key_secret

WordPress

WordPress.com:

1. Go to https://developer.wordpress.com/apps/
2. Create an app and get OAuth token
3. Use format: yoursite.wordpress.com:access_token

Self-hosted WordPress:

1. Go to Users → Profile → Application Passwords
2. Create a new application password
3. Use format: https://yoursite.com:username:app_password

Buttondown

1. Go to https://buttondown.email/settings/programming
2. Copy your API key
3. Use format: api_key

Threads

1. Create a Meta Developer account at https://developers.facebook.com/
2. Create an app with Threads API access
3. Get your user_id and access_token
4. Use format: user_id:access_token

Telegram

1. Message @BotFather to create a bot and get the bot token
2. Add your bot as admin to your channel
3. Get your channel’s chat_id (e.g., @yourchannel or numeric ID)
4. Use format: bot_token:chat_id

Discord

1. Go to Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks
2. Create a new webhook for your announcement channel
3. Copy the webhook URL
4. Use the full URL as the API key

License

MIT