How to Schedule Posts on Mastodon

Mastodon can hold a post and publish it later when an app asks for it through Mastodon's API, at least 5 minutes in the future. The web interface that ships with Mastodon has no scheduling option. In Postopus you connect the account on your own Mastodon server, write the post or thread, check it in a live preview and pick a date and time.

The Mastodon facts here come from Mastodon's documentation and its source code on GitHub (version 4.7.3, the latest release), checked on October 27, 2026 (see Sources).

Scheduled Posts in Mastodon's API

Mastodon added scheduled posts to its API in version 2.7.0, according to its documentation. An app sends the post with a publishing time, and the server keeps it until then. Mastodon sets these rules:

• How far ahead: at least 5 minutes in the future.
• How many: Mastodon's source code allows up to 300 scheduled posts per account, and up to 25 scheduled for the same day.
• Managing them: an app can list your scheduled posts, change the publishing time of one, or cancel it.

No Scheduling Button in Mastodon's Web Interface

We searched the web interface in Mastodon's source code (version 4.7.3) on October 27, 2026. It has no scheduling option, and none of its English interface text mentions scheduling. Mastodon's posting guide doesn't mention it either. Some servers run a modified version of Mastodon, such as glitch-soc, which Mastodon's documentation describes as adding experimental features, so the interface on your server can differ.

Mastodon's Limits: 500 Characters and 4 Images

Mastodon's posting guide and API documentation set these limits:

• Text: 500 characters by default. Each server can set its own limit and reports it in its instance settings (max_characters).
• Links: every link counts as 23 characters, however long it is.
• Mentions: only the username part of a mention counts toward the limit.
• Images: up to 4 per post. A media description (alt text) is optional, and the guide recommends adding one.

How to Schedule a Mastodon Post in Postopus, in 5 Steps

1. Connect your Mastodon account. Open Social Accounts in the sidebar and choose Connect Account in the Mastodon panel. Type the server you sign in at, such as mastodon.social, or your full handle like @you@mastodon.social. You sign in on your own server and approve Postopus there, and Postopus never sees your password.
2. Write the post. Choose Create Post in the sidebar and pick your Mastodon account. Write it yourself, or start from a Tako draft in your voice and edit it. The counter uses your server's limit and counts every link as 23 characters, as Mastodon does.
3. Add images, a thread or a first comment. Add up to 4 images and write alt text for each one. For a thread, choose Add post (convert to thread) under the post and write the next posts below it. A first comment is optional; Postopus posts it as a reply right after the post.
4. Check the preview. The live Mastodon preview shows the post with its images, the rest of the thread and the first comment under it, and updates as you type.
5. Pick a time. Open Publish and choose Schedule Post, then pick a date, a time and a timezone. Or choose Add to queue to put the post in the next free slot of your weekly posting schedule. Postopus publishes the post at that time, and you do not need to keep the app open.

Where to See and Change Scheduled Mastodon Posts

Scheduled posts show on the Postopus calendar, in a month or week view (day by day on a phone), and in the Scheduled tab of your posts. Drag a post to another day on the calendar to reschedule it.

When you delete a published post in Postopus, the delete dialog has Also delete from Mastodon ticked, and Postopus deletes the post on Mastodon too.

To post the same thing elsewhere, pick your Mastodon account together with LinkedIn, X or Bluesky accounts, then keep one text or write a version for each. A thread can go to X, Bluesky and Mastodon together. The Mastodon scheduler page covers the rest of what Postopus does for Mastodon.

FAQ

Can You Schedule Posts on Mastodon?

Yes, through apps that use Mastodon's API, at least 5 minutes ahead. The web interface that ships with Mastodon (version 4.7.3) has no scheduling option. In Postopus you pick a date and time in the editor, and Postopus publishes the post then.

What Is the Character Limit on Mastodon?

500 characters on a default server, according to Mastodon's posting guide. Each server can set its own limit, and every link counts as 23 characters. The Postopus counter uses your server's limit, and the free Mastodon character counter takes any limit you enter.

Can I Schedule a Mastodon Thread?

Yes. In Postopus, write the thread post by post, check it in the preview and schedule it. Each post publishes as a reply to the one before.

Sources

Checked on October 27, 2026.

• Mastodon documentation, scheduled_statuses API methods: scheduled posts since version 2.7.0, listing, rescheduling and cancelling them, at least 5 minutes ahead.
• Mastodon documentation, statuses API methods: the scheduled_at parameter of a new post, at least 5 minutes in the future.
• Mastodon source code, app/models/scheduled_status.rb at v4.7.3: up to 300 scheduled posts per account, 25 for the same day, 5 minutes ahead.
• Mastodon source code, the web interface at v4.7.3 and its English text: no scheduling option or text.
• Mastodon documentation, Posting to your profile: 500 characters by default, links as 23 characters, mentions, up to 4 images, media descriptions.
• Mastodon documentation, Instance: each server's max_characters.
• Mastodon documentation, What is Mastodon?: glitch-soc as a version with experimental features.