Automate Social Media Posting with Python and Docker

A lightweight Python service that monitors an RSS/Atom feed and automatically cross-posts new entries to social platforms such as Bluesky and Mastodon. It also supports sending a push notification with a preformatted Twitter intent link for optional manual approval.

Features

• Continuously monitors a specified RSS/Atom feed for new entries
• Automatically posts new entries to Bluesky and Mastodon if configured
• Sends a push notification containing a Twitter intent link to enable manual approval
• Maintains posting state to prevent duplicate posts
• Runs as a Docker container for straightforward deployment and management

Tech Stack

• Python 3.12 (using the python:3.12-slim Docker base image)
• Python libraries: feedparser, atproto (Bluesky client), mastodon.py, requests
• Containerization with Docker and Docker Compose

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your system
• Optional: Access credentials for Bluesky and/or Mastodon
• Optional: Push notification service webhook (e.g., Pushover) for manual approval notifications

Installation & Running

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/justin-napolitano/cross_poster.git
cd cross_poster

2. Configure environment variables in docker-compose.yaml:

• SITE_FEED_URL: URL of the RSS/Atom feed to monitor
• STATE_FILE: Path to the JSON file to store state (default /data/state.json)
• Bluesky credentials (optional): BSKY_HANDLE, BSKY_PASSWORD
• Mastodon credentials (optional): MASTODON_BASE_URL, MASTODON_ACCESS_TOKEN
• Push notification webhook (optional): PUSH_WEBHOOK, PUSH_TOKEN, PUSH_USER

3. Build and start the service:

docker-compose up --build -d

4. To view logs:

docker-compose logs -f

Project Structure

├── app/
│   └── run.py          # Main application script
├── Dockerfile          # Docker image definition
└── docker-compose.yaml # Service orchestration and environment configuration

• app/run.py contains the main logic for polling the feed, posting to social platforms, and sending push notifications.

Future Work / Roadmap

• Add support for additional social platforms beyond Bluesky and Mastodon
• Implement more robust error handling and logging
• Provide configuration options for polling intervals and batch sizes
• Add unit and integration tests
• Support multiple feeds and customizable post formatting
• Improve security around credential management