How to do it
- Self-host next to the project Run the Docker Compose stack or all-in-one image on the project's infrastructure. No per-seat cost.
- Release to draft The socialhandoff-announce-action GitHub Action sends each release; a draft is created per network with a citation to the release.
- Shared project account, separate keys Each maintainer or bot gets its own agent key, so the audit log shows who drafted and who approved.
- Maintainer approves Any owner can approve from the inbox or phone. Contributor thank-you posts and calls for help follow the same path.
v0.18 is out, with 23 contributors, 9 of them first-timers. Highlights: async plugin loading, a much smaller install, and Windows path fixes. Thank you all. Changelog and upgrade notes in the release. #opensource
Open source promotion that respects the community
Open source communities are wary of marketing, and for good reason. The posts that work are factual, thank people by name, and link to the work. That is a good match for an agent that reads the release and drafts, and a good reason to keep a maintainer approving every post on a shared project account.
Why self-hosting fits
SocialHandoff is released under AGPL-3.0; see open source. Self-hosting is free and has no channel or agent limits, which suits projects without a budget. The self-hosting guide covers Docker Compose and the all-in-one image. Tokens are encrypted at rest, and the service runs as non-root.
Setup
- Connect the project's accounts. Many open source communities are active on Mastodon and Bluesky.
- Add the release action to your workflow (GitHub releases, GitHub Actions integration).
- Add brand memory: project name casing, how you credit contributors, topics the project avoids.
Permissions
The release bot gets draft only. Maintainers who draft by hand in their editor get draft and schedule. Owners approve. If the project wants patch releases to post automatically, promote the release agent on one network via the trust ladder and leave minor and major releases draft-only.
Measuring project reach
Stars and downloads matter more than likes. Tag links to the docs site with UTM parameters and compare traffic. Per-post metrics show which release posts drew replies and reposts.
Pitfalls
- Forgetting contributors. Ask the agent to include first-time contributor counts from the release notes.
- Hashtag spam. One relevant tag is plenty on Mastodon.
- Posting pre-releases. Reject release candidates, or send only full releases from the action.
Templates: open source release, thank-you post.