Schedule Dev.to posts
Scheduling Dev.to posts with SocialPatra means you write an article once, pick a date and time, and SocialPatra publishes it to your Dev.to account at that moment.
Plan: Free and up
Dev.to is a markdown site, so the article is written in markdown. You connect your account with a personal API key, not a password, and you can revoke that key on Dev.to at any time.
This page covers how the connection works, what SocialPatra sends to Dev.to, and how to send one article to several blogging sites in one go.
Connect your Dev.to account with an API key
- Generate a key on Dev.to. On Dev.to open Settings, then Extensions, scroll to the DEV Community API Keys section, type a name and click Generate API Key.
- Paste it into SocialPatra. Add a Dev.to account in SocialPatra and paste the key into the API Key field.
- SocialPatra checks the key. The key is tested against your Dev.to profile when you connect. A wrong key is rejected with an Invalid API key message.
The key gives posting access to your Dev.to account, so treat it like a password.
How to schedule a Dev.to article
- Open the composer and pick your Dev.to account. Write the article in the composer and choose the Dev.to account it should go to.
- Add a title. Dev.to articles need a title, so the composer asks for one. Without a title the article is not sent.
- Write in markdown. Type the article body in markdown: headings, code blocks, lists and links.
- Pick the date and time. Choose when it should go live and save the post.
When the time arrives, the article is published on Dev.to as a live article, not saved as a draft.
What SocialPatra sends to Dev.to
| Detail | How it is handled |
|---|---|
| Title | Required. Titles longer than 128 characters are cut to 128. |
| Body | Markdown text, up to 100,000 characters. |
| Images | Up to 20 images of type JPEG, PNG, GIF or WebP, each up to 5 MB. |
| Cover image | The first image you attach is used as the article cover. |
| Image placement | Attached images are added at the top of the article body as markdown images. |
| Video | Not supported for Dev.to. |
The composer does not set Dev.to tags, a series, a canonical URL or an organization. If you rely on those, add them on Dev.to after the article is published.
Cross-post a blog article to Dev.to, Hashnode and Medium
Dev.to, Hashnode and Medium are all connected platforms in SocialPatra. Choose more than one of them as targets for the same post and one title and one article go to each. Each site has its own limits on length and images, so keep the article within the strictest one.
Writing an article that is ready to schedule
- Write the title last, in plain words, and keep it under 128 characters so nothing is cut.
- Open with the problem the reader has, then show the fix. Put code in fenced blocks.
- Check every link and image before you save, since nobody will be at the keyboard when the post goes live.
- Spread articles out. One good article a week reads better than three in one afternoon.
- Keep the original on your own site if you have one, and add its canonical link on Dev.to once the article is live.
Taking an article back down
Dev.to has no delete call for articles, so removing a published article from SocialPatra sets it back to unpublished on Dev.to instead of erasing it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I schedule posts on Dev.to?
Yes. Write the article in SocialPatra, pick a date and time, and it is published to your Dev.to account at that time.
How do I connect Dev.to to SocialPatra?
You paste a personal API key from Dev.to Settings, under Extensions, into SocialPatra. No password is shared.
Does SocialPatra publish markdown to Dev.to?
Yes. The article body is sent to Dev.to as markdown, with a required title and optional images.
Can I send the same article to Dev.to and Hashnode?
Yes. Choose both accounts as targets for the same post. One title and one article go to each site.
Can I set Dev.to tags, series or an organization from SocialPatra?
Not from the composer today. Add them on Dev.to after the article goes live.
Try it on your own accounts
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