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Every 15 minutes

Get alerted when a Buffer post fails to publish

Every 15 minutes, Buffer is checked for posts that failed to publish, and each new failure is emailed with the channel, the scheduled time and the start of the post.

Runs
Every 15 minutes
Apps
Buffer
AI
Not needed
Access
API key

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: every 15 minutes, check Buffer for posts that failed to publish and email me each new one with the channel, when it was due and the first line of the post.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

A post that fails to publish is easy to miss. Buffer shows it in the app, but if nobody opens Buffer that day, a launch announcement or event reminder simply never goes out.

This automation checks Buffer every 15 minutes for posts in the error state and emails you once for each new failure, with the channel, when it was due and the start of the text.

Most failures come from a channel that needs reconnecting, which takes a minute to fix once you know about it.

What you get out of it

  • Know within minutes

    Failures are reported shortly after they happen.

  • One email per failure

    You are not told twice about the same post.

  • Enough context to act

    Channel, due time and text are in the email.

  • Covers every channel

    All channels in your Buffer organization are checked.

  • Read only

    It reports problems; it does not change your posts.

How it works

What happens, step by step

  1. Every 15 minutes, ClickRuntime asks Buffer for posts in the error state.

  2. It skips failures it has already told you about.

  3. For each new one, it notes the channel, when it was due and the start of the text.

  4. You get an email so you can reconnect the channel or reschedule the post.

Before it runs live

  • Connect Buffer

What you get

RunsEvery 15 minutes
Get alerted when a Buffer post fails to publishtoday, 9:00Succeeded
Email · Buffer post failed on InstagramInstagram (rosasbakery) · due 12:00 today "Behind the counter with Theo, who has been shaping croissants since..." This usually means the channel needs reconnecting in Buffer. Open Buffer to retry the post.

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.
  • Your own rules

    Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.

  • Any number of apps

    One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.

  • AI where it helps

    Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.

  • On a schedule or on each event

    Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

  • Act only on the items that match your own rules, and skip the rest
  • Add an AI step, for example to summarize, sort or draft a reply
  • Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
  • Combine it with other Buffer steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.
get_alerted_when_a_buffer_post_fails_to_publish.pyexample
from clickruntime import on_trigger, credentials, http, notify, state, report_fetched

ORG_ID = "your-organization-id"

def buffer(query, variables=None):
    resp = http.post("https://api.buffer.com", json={"query": query, "variables": variables or {}},
                     headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {credentials.secret('BUFFER_API_KEY')}"})
    resp.raise_for_status()
    return resp.json()["data"]

@on_trigger
def run(event):
    edges = buffer("query($org: OrganizationId!) { posts(input: {organizationId: $org, filter: {status: [error]}}, "
                   "first: 50) { edges { node { id text dueAt channel { name service } } } } }",
                   {"org": ORG_ID})["posts"]["edges"]
    seen = set(state.get("seen") or [])
    new = [e["node"] for e in edges if e["node"]["id"] not in seen]
    report_fetched(len(new))
    for p in new:
        notify.email_me(f"Buffer post failed on {p['channel']['service'].title()}",
                        f"{p['channel']['service'].title()} ({p['channel']['name']}) · due {p.get('dueAt') or 'unknown'}\n"
                        f"\"{p['text'][:200]}\"\n\nThis usually means the channel needs reconnecting in Buffer. "
                        f"Open Buffer to retry the post.")
    state.set("seen", sorted(seen | {p["id"] for p in new}))
    return {"failed": len(new)}

FAQ

Common questions

Why do Buffer posts fail?
The most common causes are an expired channel connection, a social network rejecting the media or text length, or a permissions change on a page or profile.
Will I be emailed again for the same failed post?
No. Each failed post is reported once. If you retry it and it fails again, Buffer gives it a new attempt but the same post id, so ask your assistant to report retries too if you want that.
Can several people get the alert?
The email goes to you. Ask your assistant to post to a Slack channel as well if the whole social team should see it.
What permissions does it need?
API key. Nothing else in your accounts is used.
Does it need AI?
No. It runs without AI, so it doesn't use your plan's AI allowance.
How many runs does it use?
One run each time it checks. Checks that find nothing new and stop right away aren't counted.
Can I change how it works?
Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Set up “Get alerted when a Buffer post fails to publish” from your assistant

Copy the prompt above, or connect your assistant first. Free plan, no credit card.