Post to social media from Cline
Cline is a coding agent that runs as an IDE extension, a CLI and an SDK, and once you connect iHatePosting it can post to your social accounts from the editor. You add our hosted server as one entry in cline_mcp_settings.json, with your API key in an Authorization header. Cline can then draft a post, check it against each network's rules and schedule it without leaving your work.
Set it up
1. Create an iHatePosting API key
Sign in, open Settings → Developers and create a key. It starts with pk_live_ and is shown in full only once, so copy it before you leave the page.
2. Add iHatePosting to Cline
Add to ~/.cline/data/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json. The VS Code extension, the Cline CLI and Cline Desktop all read this one file. You can also open it from the Cline panel: Customize (wrench icon) → MCP → Installed → Edit Configuration. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key.
{ "mcpServers": { "ihateposting": { "type": "streamableHttp", "url": "https://ihateposting.com/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" }, "disabled": false, "autoApprove": [] } } }3. Ask it to post
Tell Cline what you want to say and where. It saves a draft in iHatePosting unless you ask for the post to go out now or at a set time.
What is different about Cline
- Add the entry to cline_mcp_settings.json under ~/.cline/data/settings. Cline's Config page keeps global provider settings, global settings and MCP settings there, and the extension reads and writes that file. On Windows that is %USERPROFILE%\.cline\data\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json, unless you have set HOME or CLINE_DIR, which Cline reads first.
- Cline's own pages disagree about the CLI. The MCP page names ~/.cline/mcp.json for the CLI, while the Config page keeps MCP settings under ~/.cline/data/settings. If you work in the CLI, run cline mcp and let the wizard add the server rather than editing a file the CLI may not read. It asks for the server name, the transport type, and the URL and headers for a remote server.
- Keep the type line, spelt streamableHttp in camelCase. Cline's MCP page says that omitting type defaults to the legacy sse transport for backward compatibility. Our endpoint serves Streamable HTTP only, so with the line missing the server never connects and nothing in the file says why.
- The Remote Servers tab cannot carry your key. It takes a server name, a server URL and a transport type, and has no field for a header. Add the server there if you like, then open the Configure tab, click Configure MCP Servers and add the headers block to the entry yourself.
- If you ran Cline before it moved to ~/.cline, your servers may still sit in the VS Code extension's global storage or in ~/Documents/Cline/MCP/cline_mcp_settings.json. The extension copies those into the shared file once and skips any server whose name is already there, so editing the old copy afterwards changes nothing.
- timeout is in seconds, not milliseconds. Cline uses 60 seconds when the field is absent and clamps anything outside 1 to 3600, so a value like 60000 becomes an hour rather than a minute. Raise it for this server if a media upload runs past a minute.
Limits. Enterprise administrators govern MCP from your organisation's remote configuration: allowedMCPServers restricts locally configured servers to approved server ids, blockPersonalRemoteMCPServers prevents you adding your own remote server, and remoteMCPServers pushes pre-configured servers to everyone. When an administrator sets blockPersonalRemoteMCPServers to true, the extension's MCP panel does not show the Remote Servers tab. Ask your administrator to push our address: https://ihateposting.com/mcp
Cline Bot's own documentation: MCP in Cline
Nothing goes out unless you say so
Every post Cline writes is saved as a draft in iHatePosting unless you ask for it to be published now or at a set time. Publishing, rescheduling, retrying and deleting are marked as actions that change things, so clients that honour those markings ask you before they run them. Deleting a post in iHatePosting never removes one that is already live on a network.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the iHatePosting entry go?
In cline_mcp_settings.json under ~/.cline/data/settings, where Cline's Config page keeps global provider settings, global settings and MCP settings. On Windows that is %USERPROFILE%\.cline\data\settings\cline_mcp_settings.json, unless you have set HOME or CLINE_DIR, which Cline reads first. If you work in the CLI, run cline mcp and let the wizard add the server, because Cline's MCP page names ~/.cline/mcp.json for the CLI.
Do I need the type line?
Yes. Cline's MCP page says that omitting type defaults to the legacy sse transport for backward compatibility, and our server speaks Streamable HTTP only. Write it in camelCase as streamableHttp. Without that line the server never connects.
Can I paste my key into the Remote Servers tab?
No. That form takes a server name, a server URL and a transport type, and has no header field. Add the server there, then open the Configure tab, click Configure MCP Servers and add the headers block with your key to the entry.
Cline shows the server as connected, so why does every tool answer 401?
Your key is wrong, or the headers block is missing. Our endpoint does not check the key when Cline connects. It forwards it on each call, so the tool list loads either way. A wrong key, or one that still reads YOUR_API_KEY, makes every call answer iHatePosting API 401, and with no Authorization header at all the tools answer No API key instead. Ask Cline to run the whoami tool: a working key answers with your iHatePosting login email and account name. Create a new key in Settings → Developers.
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