# How to Post to Social Media with PHP (2026) · PostLake

> Markdown version of https://postlake.dev/guides/php . The canonical page for humans.
> PostLake is the social media API for AI agents: https://postlake.dev/llms.txt

Post to social media with *PHP*.

PHP talks to PostLake with ordinary HTTPS. Same request body as the docs quickstart, profile name, text, optional filters.

**In short:** One cURL (or Guzzle) POST to /v1/posts from PHP. Address a profile; decode targets[] before you trust the result.

## When this guide is for you

Your product or CMS is PHP and you want fan-out without Facebook/Twitter SDKs.

## Before you start

Same setup the [docs quickstart](https://docs.postlake.dev/quickstart.md) uses. Do this once:

- Sign up at [app.postlake.dev](https://app.postlake.dev) and verify your email (unlocks free credits).
- On **Channels**, create a **profile** (e.g. `my-brand`) and connect at least one account. **Bluesky is the fastest first channel**: no app review. Instagram/TikTok/Facebook need each platform's review before API posting.
- Account menu → **API Keys** → create a key (`sk_live_…`). It shows once; treat it like a password.


## Working example in PHP

Connect accounts once in the dashboard, then this is the publish call:

```
<?php
$payload = json_encode([
    "text" => "Hello from PHP 👋",
    "profile" => "my-brand",
]);
$ch = curl_init("https://api.postlake.dev/v1/posts");
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_POST => true,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
        "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("POSTLAKE_API_KEY"),
        "Content-Type: application/json",
        "Idempotency-Key: hello-php-001",
    ],
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $payload,
]);
$raw = curl_exec($ch);
$post = json_decode($raw, true);
foreach ($post["targets"] as $t) {
    echo $t["platform"] . " " . $t["state"] . PHP_EOL;
}
```

## Step by step

1. Load the API key from the environment (not from source control).
1. POST JSON with `profile` set to your Channels profile name.
1. `json_decode` the body and loop `targets`: don't stop at HTTP 200.
1. Reuse the same pattern for schedule (`scheduledAt`) and media (`med_…` ids).

## Read the response (don't skip this)

You get one `Post` with an overall `state` and a `targets[]` array. One entry per account. **Always check each target**; partial success is normal.

```
{
  "id": "post_a1b2c3",
  "state": "partial",
  "targets": [
    { "platform": "bluesky",  "state": "published", "url": "https://bsky.app/…" },
    { "platform": "linkedin", "state": "failed",
      "error": { "type": "invalid_request", "message": "…", "retryable": false } }
  ]
}
```

- `published`: every target succeeded. `partial`: some published, some failed. `failed`: none published. `processing`: still going (async networks like TikTok).

- **You're only charged for targets that actually publish.** Failed targets cost nothing.

- Send an `Idempotency-Key` header on writes so a retry never double-posts.

- Full detail: [Publishing](https://docs.postlake.dev/publishing) · [Errors & retries](https://docs.postlake.dev/errors)

## Where the post goes

Same rules as the docs. Pick one addressing style:

- **By profile**: `"profile": "my-brand"` posts to every account under that profile (the name on Channels).

- **Filter networks**: `"platforms": ["bluesky", "linkedin"]` narrows that set. It is a **filter, not a selector**: if you have two Pinterest boards, both match `pinterest`.

- **By account id**: `"accounts": ["acc_…"]` for exact channels (copy an id on Channels, or `GET /v1/social-accounts`).

- One profile and you omit `profile`? PostLake uses that profile. Multiple profiles and you omit it? You'll get an error that names them.

See [Publishing: where to post](https://docs.postlake.dev/publishing).

## Do more (same API)

- **Schedule**: add `scheduledAt` as UTC (trailing `Z`), or a naive local time plus `timezone` (IANA, e.g. `Europe/London`). Credits charge when it fires. [Scheduling docs](https://docs.postlake.dev/scheduling) · [scheduling guide](/guides/schedule-posts-api).

- **Media**: `POST /v1/media`, then pass the `med_…` id in `media`. [Media docs](https://docs.postlake.dev/media).

- **Per-network caption**: `textOverrides` (e.g. shorter text for X). **Per-network options**: `platformOptions` (Pinterest `boardId`, TikTok privacy, …). Live option lists: `GET /v1/platforms/{platform}`.

- **Validate first**: `POST /v1/posts/validate` runs the same checks without publishing (free).

## Pitfalls specific to this path

- Check `curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE)` and the Post `state` separately.

- UTF-8 captions need `Content-Type: application/json` and proper JSON encoding.

- Platform filter arrays must be JSON arrays, not comma-separated strings.

Prefer an assistant over PHP code? Point it at [MCP](https://docs.postlake.dev/mcp) (`https://api.postlake.dev/mcp`). Prefer the dashboard? Use [Quickstart → No code](https://docs.postlake.dev/quickstart).

## Common questions

### How do I post to social media with PHP?

cURL or Guzzle POST to https://api.postlake.dev/v1/posts with Bearer auth and JSON { text, profile }. Decode targets[] for per-network results.

### Do I need a package per network?

No. One HTTP call to PostLake covers every connected account on the profile.

### Can I schedule from PHP?

Yes, add scheduledAt as UTC or a naive local time plus timezone. See docs → Scheduling for edit/cancel endpoints.

## Go deeper in the docs

These guides stay short on purpose. Canonical behaviour lives here:

    [Docs ### Quickstart Account, first channel, first post, MCP or API.](https://docs.postlake.dev/quickstart)
    [Docs ### Publishing Request body, addressing. Partial success, lifecycle.](https://docs.postlake.dev/publishing)
    [Docs ### Scheduling UTC or local time plus timezone, edit/cancel, fire-time credits.](https://docs.postlake.dev/scheduling)
    [Docs ### Platforms Limits, media rules, live platformOptions.](https://docs.postlake.dev/platforms)

Also: [Media](https://docs.postlake.dev/media) · [Errors](https://docs.postlake.dev/errors) · [MCP](https://docs.postlake.dev/mcp) · [Analytics](https://docs.postlake.dev/analytics)

## Related guides

- [Post with Node.js](https://postlake.dev/guides/nodejs.md)
- [Post with Python](https://postlake.dev/guides/python.md)
- [Schedule posts via API](https://postlake.dev/guides/schedule-posts-api.md)
- [Post everywhere at once](https://postlake.dev/guides/post-to-all-social-media-at-once.md)

[All guides](https://postlake.dev/guides/index.md) · [Full docs](https://docs.postlake.dev/) · [llms.txt](https://postlake.dev/llms.txt)

Plain markdown for agents: https://postlake.dev/guides/php.md · https://postlake.dev/llms.txt