# Signal Academy

> Signal is an operator-first growth operations platform: plan a week of posts, approve them in a single human gate, and publish reliably to connected platforms. Metrics are verified from official provider APIs only — never estimated. The docs below reflect actual product behavior.

Key principles: nothing publishes without human approval; no fabricated analytics; no scraping; verified metrics only (with honest Unavailable/Unsupported states).

## Getting Started
- [What is Signal](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/what-is-signal): Signal is an operator-first growth platform: plan weekly, approve once, and publish to real platforms with a reliability system behind every post.
- [Getting started with Signal](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/getting-started): The fastest path from a new workspace to your first scheduled post: connect an account, create a weekly plan, approve, and let the scheduler publish.
- [Connect your first social account](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/connect-first-account): Connect a platform so Signal can publish for you. Bluesky/dev.to/Hashnode use an app password or API key; X/Reddit/LinkedIn use OAuth.
- [Create your first weekly plan](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/first-weekly-plan): A weekly plan is an organized set of posts for the week. Add items, set platform and time, then take them through approval.
- [Understanding the Signal workflow](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/understanding-the-workflow): The end-to-end loop: plan → approve → schedule → publish → measure. Approval is the single gate between an idea and a live post.
- [Your first scheduled post](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/first-scheduled-post): Approve an item, watch it move to scheduled, and understand what the scheduler does when its time arrives.

## Weekly Plans
- [What is a weekly plan](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/what-is-a-weekly-plan): A weekly plan is an organized set of posts for one week. It's where you decide what goes out, on which platform, and when — before approval.
- [Queue vs scheduled vs published](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/queue-scheduled-published): The three states an item passes through, what each means, and what moves an item from one to the next.
- [How approval works](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/how-approval-works): Approval is the single human gate in Signal. Nothing schedules or publishes until a person approves it — by design.

## Publishing
- [How Signal publishing works](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/how-publishing-works): The scheduler runs on a timer, claims each due item so it can't double-publish, sends it to the platform, and records the outcome.
- [Publishing lifecycle explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/publishing-lifecycle): An item's full journey: pending approval → scheduled → running (claimed) → completed, failed, or blocked.
- [The publishing reliability system](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/publishing-reliability): Claims prevent double-posting, retries absorb transient errors, and stale-claim detection surfaces interrupted publishes for manual recovery.
- [Retry and backoff explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/retry-and-backoff): When a publish hits a transient error, Signal retries with increasing delay up to a bounded number of attempts before marking it failed.
- [Understanding failed posts](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/understanding-failed-posts): A failed post is one the platform rejected or that errored after retries. Failed items are always visible and can be retried after you fix the cause.
- [Understanding stale claims](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/understanding-stale-claims): A stale claim is an item stuck in running because a publish was interrupted. Recovery is manual on purpose, because the post may already be live.
- [Publishing status reference](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/publishing-status-reference): A quick reference for every publishing status you'll see and what action, if any, it asks of you.

## Creative Workflow
- [Creative approval workflow](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/creative-approval-workflow): Creative assets pass their own readiness and approval checks before a post that uses them can publish.
- [Understanding creative readiness](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/understanding-creative-readiness): Creative readiness means a post's media has passed validation and been prepared into a provider-safe form. Not-ready creative blocks the post.
- [Media validation rules](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/media-validation-rules): What Signal checks before allowing media to publish: format, alt text, and provider-safe sizing.
- [Media derivatives explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/media-derivatives): Signal transcodes your original image into a provider-safe derivative — right format and size for the platform — without altering the original.
- [Fixing creative validation errors](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/fixing-creative-validation-errors): How to resolve a blocked post caused by creative: add alt text, use a supported format, or replace an image that can't be made compliant.

## Results & Metrics
- [Understanding Results](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/understanding-results): Results shows what actually went out — real permalinks, timings, and outcomes — plus verified engagement where the platform exposes it.
- [Metrics refresh explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/metrics-refresh): Signal refreshes verified metrics on a schedule and on demand, with a cooldown per post, and never overwrites real data with empties.
- [Supported metrics by platform](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/supported-metrics-by-platform): Exactly which verified metrics Signal reads per platform, and which platforms are unavailable or unsupported.
- [Why some metrics are unavailable](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/why-metrics-unavailable): "Unavailable" and "Unsupported" are honest states, not errors. Signal shows them instead of estimating engagement it can't verify.
- [Best publishing time explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/best-publishing-time): Signal derives your best publishing time from actual engagement on real posts — and shows nothing until there's enough verified data.
- [Results Intelligence explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/results-intelligence): Top posts, top platforms, publishing consistency, and best time — all derived from verified data, with honest thresholds.

## Bluesky
- [Connect Bluesky](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/connect-bluesky): Connect Bluesky with an app password (not your main password). Signal verifies the handle and stores the credential encrypted.
- [Publish to Bluesky](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/publish-to-bluesky): How Bluesky posts and threads go out, and how Signal prepares media into a provider-safe form before publishing.
- [Bluesky thread publishing](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/bluesky-thread-publishing): Signal publishes Bluesky threads as a linked sequence of posts, recording the root permalink in publish history.
- [Bluesky metrics explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/bluesky-metrics): Signal reads likes, reposts, replies, and quotes for Bluesky posts from Bluesky's public app-view — real counts, never estimates.

## Reddit
- [Connect Reddit](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/connect-reddit): Reddit connects through its official OAuth flow. Signal requests scopes explicitly and stores tokens encrypted, revocable from the app.
- [Reddit publishing workflow](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/reddit-publishing-workflow): Reddit items target a specific subreddit. Approve, schedule, and the scheduler submits the post; the permalink is recorded on success.
- [Reddit API limitations](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/reddit-api-limitations): What Reddit's API does and doesn't allow, and how those limits shape publishing and metrics in Signal.
- [Reddit metrics explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/reddit-metrics): Signal reads a Reddit post's score and comment count from the official public JSON — verified counts only.

## X
- [Connect X](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/connect-x): X connects through OAuth. Signal requests scopes explicitly and stores tokens encrypted, revocable from the app.
- [X publishing workflow & media](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/x-publishing-workflow): How X posts publish in Signal, including media preparation into a provider-safe derivative before the post goes out.
- [X metrics availability](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/x-metrics-availability): X post metrics require an elevated/paid API tier. On the standard integration Signal shows "Unavailable" rather than estimating.

## dev.to
- [Connect dev.to](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/connect-devto): Connect dev.to with a personal API key from your dev.to settings. Signal stores it encrypted and uses it to publish articles.
- [Publish articles to dev.to](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/publish-articles-to-devto): dev.to is article-shaped: a title and a markdown body. Signal preserves your markdown verbatim and publishes via the dev.to API.
- [dev.to metrics explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/devto-metrics): Signal reads public reactions and comments for a dev.to article from the public API. View counts are author-only and aren't shown.

## Hashnode
- [Connect Hashnode](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/connect-hashnode): Connect Hashnode with a personal access token and select the publication articles should post to.
- [Publish to Hashnode](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/publish-to-hashnode): Hashnode items are articles published to your selected publication through Hashnode's API.
- [Hashnode metrics availability](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/hashnode-metrics-availability): Hashnode analytics require a GraphQL query Signal hasn't integrated yet, so Hashnode metrics show as "Unavailable" — never estimated.

## Teams
- [Invite team members](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/invite-team-members): Invite teammates by email. They join via a one-time link; the invite expires and can be revoked. Existing accounts also get an in-app notification.
- [Reviewer role explained](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/reviewer-role): Reviewers can view and approve content and creative, but cannot change settings, members, platforms, billing, or transfer ownership.
- [Ownership transfer](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/ownership-transfer): Transfer workspace ownership to another member with explicit confirmation. The workspace always keeps at least one owner.
- [Workspace permissions](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/workspace-permissions): The role matrix: owner, admin, editor, reviewer, viewer — and exactly what each can do.
- [Notifications and digests](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/notifications-and-digests): How team activity surfaces as notifications and optional digests, per person and per workspace.

## Notifications
- [The notification center](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/notification-center): A recipient-scoped feed of real operational events — failures, blocks, expiring connections, and team events — each linking to the entity it's about.
- [Scheduled digests](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/scheduled-digests): An optional daily or weekly digest of real pipeline counts, delivered to your enabled channels. Never engagement estimates.
- [Telegram notifications](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/telegram-notifications): Signal can deliver your digest to Telegram using the existing bot, to an operator-configured chat.
- [Notification preferences](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/notification-preferences): Turn email and Telegram on or off, set digest cadence, and choose how many days before a connection expires you're warned.

## MCP
- [What is Signal MCP](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/what-is-mcp): Signal exposes an MCP bridge so an AI client like Claude can read and prepare work in your workspace — always behind the same approval gate.
- [MCP token guide](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/mcp-token-guide): Create, name, and revoke MCP tokens from settings. A token scopes an AI client to one workspace and can be revoked anytime.
- [MCP security model](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/mcp-security-model): How the bridge stays safe: bearer-token auth, per-workspace scoping, audited tool calls, and no path around approval.
- [MCP approval workflow](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/mcp-approval-workflow): Work prepared through MCP lands in the same queue and passes the same approval gate as anything created in the app.
- [MCP connection problems](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/mcp-connection-problems): Fix the common reasons an AI client can't connect to Signal's MCP bridge: token, URL, or revocation.

## Troubleshooting
- [Failed posts](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/failed-posts): Diagnose and recover a failed post: read the recorded reason, fix the cause, and retry — without bypassing approval.
- [Bluesky authentication problems](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/bluesky-authentication-problems): Fix Bluesky connection issues: app-password mistakes, handle mismatches, and expired sessions.
- [Media upload problems](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/media-upload-problems): Resolve blocked or rejected media: alt text, format, and oversized images that can't be reduced to a provider-safe size.
- [Notification problems](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/notification-problems): Why a digest didn't arrive, why a channel is skipped, and why notifications stay unread until you act.

## Use Cases
- [Signal for SaaS founders](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/signal-for-saas-founders): Plan a week of cross-platform posts, approve in one pass, and publish reliably — without a marketing hire or a posting habit.
- [Signal for indie hackers](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/signal-for-indie-hackers): Build in public across Bluesky, X, and dev.to on a calm weekly cadence, with verified results and zero growth-hacking nonsense.
- [Signal for agencies](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/signal-for-agencies): Run multiple client workspaces with roles, a reviewer approval gate, and an audit trail of who approved what.
- [Signal for content marketing teams](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/signal-for-content-marketing-teams): Coordinate a weekly content pipeline across writers and reviewers, publish to blogs and social, and report on verified engagement.
- [Signal for AI startups](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/signal-for-ai-startups): Let Claude help prepare a week of content through the MCP bridge — then approve every item yourself before it ships.

## Trust & Safety
- [Security overview](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/security-overview): Signal is credential-minimal and OAuth-first. It never asks for platform passwords, cookies, 2FA codes, or recovery codes, and stores tokens encrypted.
- [The approval model](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/approval-model): Human approval is structural in Signal. No path — UI, scheduler, or MCP — publishes without a person approving first.
- [Publishing reliability](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/publishing-reliability-trust): Why you can trust Signal to publish once and only once: atomic claims, bounded retries, and visible stale-claim recovery.
- [Data handling](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/data-handling): What Signal stores, how it's scoped to your workspace, and how platform tokens are protected.
- [Privacy overview](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/privacy-overview): Signal reads public provider endpoints for metrics, never scrapes, and never sells or fabricates data about your audience.
- [How Signal prevents accidental publishing](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/how-signal-prevents-accidental-publishing): The specific mechanisms that stop a post from going out by accident: the approval gate, atomic claims, and manual stale-claim recovery.
- [How Signal handles failures](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/how-signal-handles-failures): Failures are surfaced, never hidden: transient errors retry with backoff, permanent ones are marked failed with a reason, and real data is never overwritten.
- [AI search & crawler visibility](https://signal.webmasterid.com/academy/ai-search-visibility): How Signal Academy is structured for AI assistants and search — clear answers, honest scope, llms.txt, and crawler-friendly metadata.