> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.tella.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Publish to social media with the API or MCP

> AI assistants connected to the Tella MCP server, and scripts using the public API, can publish your videos to YouTube, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook through your connected accounts. TikTok is app-only.

AI assistants connected to the [Tella MCP server](/docs/help/integrations/mcp-server) and scripts using the [public API](/docs/help/integrations/public-api-and-webhooks) can publish your videos to YouTube, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook through the accounts you've connected in Tella. TikTok can only be published from the Tella app.

## What you need first

* **A connected account.** Connect the platform in Tella under **Settings** → **Connections**. The API and MCP can't connect one for you. See [Connect your social accounts](/docs/help/integrations/connect-social-accounts).
* **Edit access to the video.**

## Publish from an AI assistant

Ask your assistant in plain language, for example:

* "Post my latest video to LinkedIn for my connections, with a two-line summary as the text."
* "Publish 'Launch day' to YouTube as unlisted, with a description written from the transcript."
* "Did my X post of the product demo go through? Send me the link."
* "Post the demo to both of my YouTube channels."

The assistant uses three tools: `list_social_accounts` to see which accounts you've connected, `publish_to_social` to start a publish, and `list_social_publications` to check on it and get the post's link. You don't need to export the video first: Tella exports it with the size, frame rate, speed and subtitles you ask for, or reuses an export that already has them, and the publish waits for it. Because a post is public and under your name, a well-behaved assistant confirms the platform, text and audience with you before publishing.

The editor's own agent doesn't publish: it can edit your video, but posting stays your call.

Unlike the **Publish** tab, the API and MCP don't add your chapters to a YouTube description for you. An assistant can read the chapters and write them into the description itself.

## Which account does it post to?

If you've connected several accounts for a platform, such as two YouTube channels, the assistant can ask which one to use, or post to several at once. If it doesn't name one, Tella posts with the account you connected first. The names it shows are the ones you see in **Settings** → **Connections**, where you can rename an account to tell them apart.

## Which audience does the API or MCP use?

If you don't say, Tella picks the most private option the platform offers: **Private** on YouTube, **Connections only** on LinkedIn, and **Only people who manage the Page** on Facebook. X, Instagram and stories are always public. This is the opposite of the **Publish** tab, which starts on the most public option.

## Which Facebook Page and Instagram account does it post to?

Your defaults from **Settings** → **Connections** → **Facebook**. If you haven't set one, Tella posts to the first Page or Instagram account the Facebook connection lists, so set your defaults first if you manage more than one.

## Can the API or MCP post to TikTok?

No. TikTok requires the creator to choose the audience and interactions and to accept its terms on a form in the app, so TikTok is only available in **Share** → **Publish**. The API and MCP do list TikTok posts you made in the app.

## Build it with the public API

`POST /v1/videos/{id}/publish` starts a publish and `GET /v1/videos/{id}/publish` lists the latest publish to each platform and account. `GET /v1/social-accounts` lists your connected accounts; pass one's `id` as `accountId` to choose which account posts. Tella records the result automatically, even if your script or assistant stops checking. Poll the GET endpoint or call `list_social_publications` to retrieve the status and, once publishing succeeds, the post's link.

The [API reference](https://www.tella.com/docs) has the full request and response, and the [MCP tools reference](https://www.tella.com/docs/mcp-tools/social-publishing) documents the tools.

Social publishing is included on every plan with API and MCP access, like the rest of the API.


## Related topics

- [Publish a video to social media](/docs/help/sharing/publish-to-social-media.md)
- [Tella MCP Server](/docs/help/integrations/mcp-server.md)
- [Social publishing](/docs/mcp-tools/social-publishing.md)
- [Connect your social accounts](/docs/help/integrations/connect-social-accounts.md)
- [Media library API](/docs/media-library-api.md)


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