Title: How AutoPost works — setup walkthrough for Shopify stores | AutoPost Description: Step-by-step: install AutoPost, connect TikTok and other social accounts, choose a template, build an automation, review the queue and read the publish results. Canonical URL: https://autopostbyamasty.com/how-it-works.html Product: AutoPost — AI Social Media Posting — a Shopify app by Amasty (https://apps.shopify.com/autopost-social-media-ai-post) Updated: September 9, 2026 --- How it works # From an empty feed to a running posting schedule A complete walkthrough of what you do in AutoPost, what the app does on its own, and what to check once posts start going out. Budget about ten minutes for the first automation. Setup ## Six steps to your first automated post ### Install AutoPost on your store Open the listing on the Shopify App Store and click **Install**. Shopify shows the permissions the app needs — read access to your products, files, orders and publications, and write access to files — and after you approve, AutoPost opens inside your admin. You start on the Free plan; no card is required. ### Connect your social accounts Go to **Accounts** and connect Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest or X. Each one opens that platform's own authorisation screen. Instagram needs a professional account linked to a Facebook Page; Pinterest needs a business account; Facebook needs a Page you administer. Connected accounts appear with their handle and avatar. Per-network requirements are listed on the [integrations pages](https://autopostbyamasty.com/integrations.html). ### Choose or write a template Open **Templates**. Start from one of the 29 built-in layouts or create your own, inserting product variables such as `{PRODUCT_TITLE}`, `{PRODUCT_URL}` or `{PRODUCT_PRICE}` and an `{AI_RESULT}` block where you want AI-written copy. The preview shows the template rendered with a real product from your catalog. ### Create an automation In **Automations**, define which products qualify (any product, recently created, recently updated, title keyword, status or sales channel), pick the template, tick the networks to publish to, and set the weekdays and hours. Then choose what happens when the run ends: keep posting, post once, post twice, or disable the automation. ### Review the queue before it publishes The **Calendar** and **Posts** pages show everything AutoPost intends to publish. Open any queued post to edit the caption, swap the media or move it to another time. Nothing is final until it is sent. ### Let it run, then check the results AutoPost publishes at the scheduled times and records what each platform returned. Failed posts show the reason — a file that is too large, an unsupported format, a video that is too long, or a platform rate limit — so you can fix the cause and requeue. Under the hood ## What happens between your schedule and the platform You configure a rule; AutoPost repeats this cycle for you. ### Select the product At the scheduled slot the automation picks the next product matching its conditions, skipping out-of-stock items and anything already covered by the run. ### Render the post The template is filled with that product's data. If it contains an AI block, the caption text is generated, then the whole caption is checked against each network's character limit. ### Prepare the media Product images or video are selected and adapted to the target network's format, size and aspect-ratio requirements. ### Publish and record The post is sent through the platform's official API. The response — success or the specific failure reason — is stored against the post and shown in the app. Recipes ## Three automations worth setting up on day one ### New arrivals to TikTok **Condition:** product creation time — last 7 days. **Template:** AI — New Arrival. **Networks:** Instagram, TikTok. **Schedule:** Mon / Wed / Fri, 11:00. **After the run:** keep posting on schedule. Every new product announces itself within a week of being added, without anyone remembering to do it. ### Bestseller rotation **Condition:** any products, active only. **Template:** Bestseller or Top Picks. **Networks:** Facebook, Pinterest, X. **Schedule:** daily at 18:00. **After the run:** post once, then skip. Keeps a steady flow of catalog content without repeating the same item twice in a cycle. ### Flash sale campaign **Condition:** product title contains the campaign keyword. **Template:** Flash Sale or Discount Highlight. **Networks:** all connected. **Schedule:** the sale weekend, hourly slots. **After the run:** disable automation. The campaign switches itself off when it is over, so nothing promotes an expired deal. [More step-by-step guides](https://autopostbyamasty.com/guides/index.html) Before you start ## What you need **A Shopify store with product media** AutoPost publishes what is already in your catalog, so products need at least one usable image; a video unlocks Reels, TikTok video posts and video pins. You can upload media in bulk from inside the app if some products are missing it. **Accounts you are allowed to post to** You must be able to authorise the account yourself: an Instagram professional account linked to a Facebook Page, a TikTok account permitted to post, a Facebook Page you administer, a Pinterest business account, or an X account. **A rough idea of your posting rhythm** Two or three posts a week per network is a comfortable start. The Free plan covers 5 posts a month for testing; Basic and Advanced raise that to 150 and 300 posts a month. See [pricing](https://autopostbyamasty.com/pricing.html). **Rights to the content you publish** You are publishing your own product media and copy to your own accounts, so make sure you hold the rights to it and that it follows each platform's content rules. AutoPost does not alter the meaning of your captions or media. Keep reading ## Guides that go with this page [Automations · 7 min read Building your first automation From an empty Automations page to a rule that publishes new arrivals three times a week. Read the guide →](https://autopostbyamasty.com/guides/build-first-automation.html) [Content · 7 min read Writing product templates and AI captions Fixed brand copy, product variables and AI blocks — and which caption patterns suit each network. Read the guide →](https://autopostbyamasty.com/guides/product-templates-and-ai-captions.html) [Planning · 6 min read A social content calendar for a Shopify store How much to post, what to post per network, and how to express the plan as automations. Read the guide →](https://autopostbyamasty.com/guides/social-content-calendar-for-shopify.html) [All guides](https://autopostbyamasty.com/guides/index.html)