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  • Reels cover: This folder uploads to 5 platforms. Arrows from a folder to the Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn logos.

Visuals in Turkish · the full text is on this page

How-To Guide · Automation

Upload once, post to five platforms: setting up a publishing pipeline with Claude Code + Zernio (step by step)

Drop the video into a folder once and say "post." Claude writes the captions, Zernio sends them to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn; the final review is still yours.

Short answer

The "folder" in the video isn't a magic folder that works on its own; it's a combination of two tools. Claude Code is an AI agent that works in a folder on your computer: it reads the video's script, writes a separate caption for each platform and asks for your approval. Zernio is a publishing service that posts to social media accounts through official connections; Claude does the posting through its API. Every post is written to a "log" file, so the same video never goes to the same platform twice. This page covers every step from creating an account to the first test post, the instructions you'll paste into Claude, platform rules, comment → DM setup and a final pre-posting checklist. The PDF also covers which platform to start with for 12 industries and sample captions. Your result won't be identical to ours: the captions Claude writes come out a little different each time, so reading them before publishing is a must.

12 steps · 8 min read · · Turan Yasin Salcı

Step by step · 12 steps

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  1. First, see what you're building.

    The pipeline has three parts: the folder where you put the video, Claude Code, which writes the captions, and Zernio, which does the posting. Read the diagram below once; the next steps set up these parts in order.

    video.mp4  →  publish/ folder
                ↓  "post"
Claude Code (manager)
  · writes 5 captions from the video's script
  · adapts them to each platform's rules
  · shows them to you and waits for your approval
                ↓
Zernio API  →  Instagram · Facebook · TikTok · YouTube · LinkedIn
                ↓
publish-log.json (log): status + link
  · anything already logged isn't sent again
  · when you say "status", it reads each platform's link

  2. Create your Zernio account.

    Sign up with your email at zernio.com. Your first two connected accounts are free, and no card is required. After that, it's a monthly fee per account, in tiers: accounts 3–10 are $6, accounts 11–100 are $3 (according to the pricing page on October 31, 2026). Example: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn = 5 accounts → the first two are free, the remaining three are $6 each → about $18 a month. Prices may change; check the page again before connecting. You can start for free with just two accounts.

  3. Connect your accounts through the official screen.

    Create a profile in the dashboard (e.g. your business name); your accounts sit under this profile. Then click the connect account button and choose the platform. The platform's own sign-in and permission screen opens; you sign in there, and your password never reaches Zernio or Claude. On Facebook, choose your business Page; on LinkedIn, your personal profile or company page. Repeat for each platform.

  4. Get your API key and store it safely.

    In Zernio, open the API keys page and click Create API key. The key starts with sk_ and is shown only once; copy it right away. Don't write the key into a file, a chat or the instructions; store it on your computer as an environment variable. On Windows, open PowerShell and type the following (put your own key inside the quotes), then close and reopen PowerShell:

    setx ZERNIO_API_KEY "sk_YOUR_OWN_KEY_HERE"

  5. Install Claude Code.

    Claude Code requires a paid Claude subscription (Pro or higher) or a Claude Console account. On Windows, paste the command below into PowerShell (on Mac, into Terminal: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash). When it's done, open a new window and type claude --version; if you see a version number, the installation is complete. Details and troubleshooting are on the official installation page.

    irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

  6. Prepare the publishing folder.

    Create an empty folder named publish on your desktop. Inside it, create a text file named platform-rules.md, paste the rules below and save it (Claude will refer to this file when writing captions; you can add your own rules). Then go into this folder in the terminal and type claude. The first time it opens, you'll be asked to sign in with your Claude account; approve it in your browser.

    # Platform rules
- Instagram: Reels 9:16 (1080x1920). On the grid the cover is cropped to 3:4; keep the title inside the central 1080x1440 area. Caption: 3-4 short lines + "comment X" + 4-6 hashtags.
- Facebook: same caption as Instagram. Videos over 60 sec go out as regular videos, not Reels.
- TikTok: same video as Instagram. No mention of DMs; "comment X and I'll share the link in my reply".
- YouTube Shorts: title at most 100 characters, #Shorts at the end. Don't use copyrighted music in videos over 60 sec.
- LinkedIn: no "comment X"; put the link directly in the text, plainer language.
- All of them: the first line is the video's first sentence, at most one emoji, no made-up numbers or claims.

  7. Give Claude the instructions and have it save them.

    When Claude Code opens, you'll see an empty chat. Copy the instructions below, replace the part in square brackets with your own folder name and paste it as your first message. Add this sentence at the end of the message: "Save these instructions to the CLAUDE.md file in this folder." Since Claude Code reads this file every time it opens, you won't have to type the instructions again. Claude writes the small script needed to post to Zernio itself and asks for your permission at each step; read the permission requests before approving them.

    When I put a new video in the [publish/] folder and say "post":
1) Read the video's script (voiceover script or subtitle file).
2) Write 5 captions: instagram, facebook, tiktok, youtube_title, linkedin.
   The rules are in platform-rules.md. No made-up numbers or claims.
3) Show me the captions. Don't send anything without my approval.
4) After approval, post to each account with the Zernio API.
   The key is in an environment variable: ZERNIO_API_KEY. Never print the key.
5) Write every post to publish-log.json (video, platform, status, link).
   Don't send anything that's already logged.
6) When I say "status", read each platform's status and link;
   if there's an error, tell me which platform it is and the error message.

  8. Do the first test on a single platform.

    Put a video in the publish folder and type "post" to Claude. Claude shows the five captions and waits for your approval. The first time, tell it "only to Instagram, schedule it for 1 hour from now"; check that the post appears in the Zernio dashboard. If all is well, post to all accounts with the next video. The captions come out a little different each time; have any line you don't like fixed by saying "change this."

  9. Set up comment → DM automation (optional).

    For the "Comment PUBLISH and I'll DM it to you" setup, every post needs a comment rule: when someone types the word, an automatic DM goes to them. You can have Claude set this up through Zernio by saying "set up a comment → DM rule for the word PUBLISH on this post; the DM text is: …". Things to watch:

    • Add the word with its spelling variants (for example PUBLISH · Publish · publish). People mix up upper and lower case, and in Turkish they also mix up the dotted and dotless i.
    • Keep the DM text plain and short; include the link, and don't say "PDF attached" (files don't go through in DMs).
    • Also add a short public reply to the comment ("Sent it by DM") and give 2–3 different sentences so it doesn't always look the same.
    • Don't set up a DM rule on TikTok; share the link only in a public reply.

  10. Use the log and the "status" command.

    The publish-log.json in the instructions is your publishing log: each post's platform, status and link are written here. Claude checks the log before posting; if that video is logged for that platform, it skips it, so even if you accidentally run the command twice, the same video won't go out a second time. About 30 minutes after the scheduled time, type "status" to Claude: it reads each platform's published / pending / error status and link. If there's an error, it tells you which platform got stuck and why. TikTok sometimes puts a video under review; it may take a while to show as "published."

  11. Don't skip the security rules.

    • Connect accounts through the platform's official permission screen, not with a password; never type your password into any tool.
    • Keep the API key only in the environment variable; it shouldn't appear in screenshots or in code you share. If it leaks, delete it in Zernio and create a new one.
    • Don't use automation to mass-comment, follow, like or send unsolicited messages; platform rules prohibit this and your account may be restricted.
    • If you want to remove a connection, remove it both in Zernio and in the platform's "connected apps" settings.

  12. A 5-point final check before every post.

    • Does the first line say the same thing as the video's first sentence?
    • If there's a number, price or claim, do you have the source?
    • Is the comment keyword the same in the caption, on the cover and in the automation?
    • Does the link open, and does it go to the right page?
    • Is the cover readable on the Instagram grid (3:4) and on TikTok?

How to measure it

In the first week, post every video through this pipeline and note two things: how many minutes it took to get one video out to all platforms, and how many times you had to fix a caption. Compare the time you spent with manual uploading; if the number of fixes doesn't go down, add your own rules to the platform-rules.md file.

Free · PDF

Download the Upload once, post to five platforms: setup guide and 12 industry pages (PDF).

A printable checklist version of the steps on this page. The PDF is in Turkish; no sign-up needed.

Download the checklist (PDF in Turkish)

Sources

[A] primary source · [B] industry research · [C] practitioner · [D] our own data

This post is also on (in Turkish)

Frequently asked questions

Does the folder really upload on its own?

No. You put the video in the folder and say "post" to Claude; Claude writes the captions, and after your approval Zernio does the posting. There's no automatically watched folder; the final approval is yours.

Can Claude or Zernio see my password?

No. Accounts are connected through the platform's own permission screen; the password stays on that screen. Claude only uses the Zernio API key from the environment variable.

How much does it cost?

On Zernio, the first two accounts are free, and accounts 3–10 are $6 per account per month (October 31, 2026). Claude Code also requires a paid Claude subscription or a Console account. Check current prices on both sites' pricing pages.

Can I set it up without knowing how to code?

Yes, but you need to paste a few commands into the terminal (installation and going into the folder). Claude writes the posting script; you just read and approve what it shows you.

Could the same video accidentally go out twice?

Not as long as the log is used: before posting, Claude checks the publish-log.json file and skips any video already logged for that platform.

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