> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ocoya.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create and schedule your first post

> Write a post, choose channels, and schedule it — by hand or with AI.

Before you start, make sure you have [connected at least one channel](/help/connect-a-channel) and [set your time zone](/help/time-zones) — posts publish in the brand's time zone, which starts as UTC.

There are two ways to create a post: write it yourself, or describe it and let Ocoya draft it.

## Write it yourself

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Planner">
    Select **Planner** in the left sidebar, then **New post**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose your channels">
    Select which connected channels the post should go to. You can write one caption for all of them, or a different caption per channel — useful when one network has a much shorter limit than another.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write the caption and add media">
    Ocoya counts characters against each selected channel and warns you before you hit a limit. See [Character and media limits](/help/channel-limits).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a date and time">
    Choose when it should publish. The time must be **at least two minutes from now** — anything closer is refused.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Schedule it">
    Save the post. It appears on your calendar on that date.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Let Ocoya draft it

Select **New AI post** from Planner and describe what you want.

<Frame caption="The AI post composer, where you describe the post you want and Ocoya drafts it.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/ocoya/AXU_TbAvrsHP8A-m/images/screenshots/ai-post-composer.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=AXU_TbAvrsHP8A-m&q=85&s=04ab200e342d1a003347c1f2e4e5dc65" alt="Ocoya AI post composer with a prompt field reading Describe the post you want Ocoya to create, plus Hashtags, Images, Professional and Medium options and suggestion chips" width="2880" height="1800" data-path="images/screenshots/ai-post-composer.png" />
</Frame>

The toolbar under the prompt controls what you get:

* **Hashtags** — add generated hashtags
* **Images** — generate images to go with the caption
* **Professional** — the tone of voice
* **Medium** — the length

The badge on the right shows what the action will cost in credits before you run it. See [What are credits?](/help/credits)

Ocoya drafts the post and opens it in the editor, where you edit it exactly like one you wrote yourself.

<Note>
  AI output quality depends heavily on your brand profile. If captions feel generic, fill in your brand description — see [Set up your brand](/help/set-up-your-brand).
</Note>

## See what's scheduled

Planner has three views of the same posts, switchable at the top:

* **List** — everything in order, with filters for channel, date and status
* **Board** — posts grouped by status
* **Calendar** — a month grid

<Frame caption="Planner's Calendar view, showing scheduled posts across the month.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/ocoya/AXU_TbAvrsHP8A-m/images/screenshots/calendar-view.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=AXU_TbAvrsHP8A-m&q=85&s=3f15874d552ea7d353d43ce0452bc7ee" alt="Ocoya Planner in Calendar view with a month grid, a Draft panel on the left, an All profiles filter and a Share button" width="2880" height="1800" data-path="images/screenshots/calendar-view.png" />
</Frame>

## Publish now instead

To publish immediately rather than schedule, use **Publish now** in the post editor. This skips the two-minute minimum.

## Drafts

Saving a post without a date keeps it as a draft. Drafts never publish — they wait in Planner until you give them a date. Drafts appear in the panel on the left of the Calendar view.

## Related

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Time zones and scheduling" icon="clock" href="/help/time-zones">
    Making sure posts go out at the hour you meant.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Why didn't my post publish?" icon="triangle-alert" href="/help/post-didnt-publish">
    What to check when a scheduled post doesn't appear.
  </Card>
</Columns>