DotShare — Share Code Updates to LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Mastodon & Dev.to from VS Code

Write, generate with AI, and publish developer updates, threads, code snapshots and Dev.to articles without leaving your editor.

Install · MCP quick start · Publishing Library · Changelog · Website

DotShare is a free, open-source VS Code extension for building in public. It turns your commits, changelog and code into posts for LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, Discord and Dev.to, then publishes them directly from the editor. Generate drafts with Gemini, OpenAI, Claude, DeepSeek or Grok, build threads, attach images, capture CodeSnap code screenshots, create GitHub Gists, and schedule posts through DotSuite cloud.

Part of DotSuite, a family of developer tools for VS Code, Next.js and Python.

🆕 What's New in 3.6.0 — MCP & Publishing Library

• Local MCP server for AI agents, with setup and diagnostics for Codex.
• Shared Publishing Library for reviewing drafts, templates and per-account versions in VS Code.
• Saved previews and receipts that record exactly which draft revision was published and where.
• Encrypted local records with an OS-keyring master key and verified migration for existing libraries.

Download VS Code 3.6.0 (.vsix) · CLI and MCP on npm · Release notes and tarball

Quick start for AI agents

DotShare now includes a local MCP server and an agent CLI. Connect Codex or another MCP client, then ask it to preview or publish posts, images and threads to named accounts on LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, Discord and Dev.to. Per-account content, multiple accounts, durable retry protection and DotSuite cloud scheduling are available through structured tools.

Use Node.js 22.12+ and an unlocked OS credential store. Install the CLI and MCP server from npm, then connect Codex and a publishing account.

npm install -g dotshare-cli
dotshare-agent setup
dotshare-agent accounts add personal-mastodon --platform mastodon
dotshare-agent doctor --account personal-mastodon

Enter the Mastodon instance and token in the terminal prompts. After setup, reconnect or restart Codex. Try this prompt to save a draft and prepare a preview:

Use DotShare to save a draft titled “My first DotShare post” for personal-mastodon with the text “Hello from DotShare!” and prepare a preview for me to review.

To review it in VS Code, install the extension and run DotShare: Open Publishing Library from the Command Palette. Open the draft and review it before selecting Publish this saved preview. The receipt includes the result for each account and the post URL when the platform returns one.

Upgrading an existing library? Stop active publications, run dotshare-agent security protect, and restart all DotShare MCP clients and VS Code windows. Linux requires an unlocked Secret Service session. See the upgrade and recovery guide.

Saved drafts have explicit Draft → Preview → Published states, with separate in-progress/uncertain results and publication URLs. Editing invalidates the preview; publish_draft sends the saved revision and verified local image bytes. Use create_draft, update_draft, preview_draft and publish_draft from your agent, or the CLI's drafts commands.

Reusable local templates support literal {{variables}}, required/default values, HTTPS URL fields and platform/account variants. Start with five built-in recipes, save your own, then create an independent draft. Inspect each account's version with get_draft_variants and edit it with set_draft_variant; every edit requires a fresh publication preview. Rendering and draft creation never publish or call an AI provider. The same workflow is available through templates and drafts CLI commands.

In VS Code, run DotShare: Open Publishing Library (or use the sidebar button) to work with those same MCP drafts and templates visually. Edit shared content and account versions, fill/customize templates, prepare a saved preview and publish it with per-account receipts. External edits refresh automatically; unsaved changes are preserved and stale saves are rejected. The library connects to your configured local MCP installation, without copying platform credentials. Earlier platform composer drafts remain in their existing screen; no automatic migration occurs.

→ Publishing Library guide

→ Agent setup, Codex configuration, examples and supported limits

📦 Install

From VS Code: open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X), search DotShare, and click Install.

From the command line:

code --install-extension freerave.dotshare

From GitHub: download the v3.6.0 VSIX above and run code --install-extension ./dotshare-3.6.0.vsix. For the shared Publishing Library, also complete the MCP quick start.

Also available on the Visual Studio Marketplace and Open VSX (VSCodium, Cursor, Windsurf and other compatible editors). Requires VS Code 1.90 or later.

Quick start

1. Click the DotShare icon in the Activity Bar.
2. On a platform card, add your credentials (see the setup guides).
3. Click ✨ Create Post, write or generate your post, and press Share (or Ctrl+Enter).

✨ Features

🤖 AI release copilot

• Generate posts and full articles with Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, DeepSeek or xAI Grok, using your own API key. Models are discovered live from each provider.
• DotShare reads your CHANGELOG, README, package manifest, Git commits and diffs so posts describe what actually changed.
• Five writing tones: Professional, Build in Public, Technical Deep-Dive, Quick TL;DR, and Full Markdown Article.
• Writes in English or Arabic. Run DotShare: Inspect AI Release Context to see exactly what the AI receives.
• Known secret patterns (API keys, tokens, private keys) are redacted from code excerpts before they reach an AI provider.

🧵 Thread composer

• Build threads for X, Bluesky and Mastodon, with a character counter per post and up to 4 images per post.
• Long single posts are split into numbered threads automatically.
• X Premium mode for posts up to 25,000 characters.

📰 Dev.to publishing

• Generate technical articles with YAML frontmatter, or load the Markdown file open in your editor.
• Live sanitized preview with word count and reading time; publish as draft or public, with series support.

📸 CodeSnap

• Turn selected code into a polished image with 9+ themes (Dracula, Nord, Tokyo Night, GitHub, Catppuccin and more).
• Send the snapshot straight to the composer, or save it as PNG.

💻 GitHub Gists

• Create a public or secret Gist from a selection or a whole file, then share it in one click.

📊 Productivity

• Drafts for social posts, articles and Gists.
• Analytics for share counts and success rates per platform.
• Smart hashtags from your project, commits and tech stack (skipped where they don't help, such as Discord).
• Saved API sets to switch between accounts.
• Interface available in English, Arabic and Russian.

🌐 Supported Platforms

💎 Free vs DotSuite Plans

Everything that runs inside VS Code with your own accounts and AI keys is free and open source. Paid plans add cloud services hosted by DotSuite.

See current plans on the DotShare page on DotSuite.

🔑 Platform Setup Guides

⌨️ DotShare CLI

Use named local accounts from your terminal or CI. Requires Node.js 22.12+ and an unlocked OS credential store. Install the CLI with npm install -g dotshare-cli. With an account already connected, save and preview a draft from the terminal:

printf '%s\n' '{"title":"My first draft","content":{"accountIds":["personal-mastodon"],"text":"Hello from DotShare!"}}' | dotshare-agent drafts create --input -
dotshare-agent drafts preview DRAFT_ID --revision 1

Replace DRAFT_ID with the ID from the create response. After reviewing the output, see the CLI draft commands for publishing the saved revision.

Credentials stay in the required OS keyring. Shared drafts, custom templates and journals are encrypted with a separate OS-keyring master key. The old dotshare "message" relay and legacy login are disabled; use the direct named-account tools. Input formats and examples.

🔐 Security & Privacy

• Your keys stay in VS Code SecretStorage. Webviews only receive whether a key is saved, never its value, and saved keys show as 🔒 Key Saved & Active.
• Direct publishing sends each credential only to its own platform. AI prompts go only to the provider you choose.
• Cloud scheduling is opt-in. Before any credential is synced to DotSuite, DotShare asks for explicit consent (Mastodon has its own prompt). Sync requires HTTPS and a signed-in DotSuite account.
• Logs are redacted: credential values and OAuth callback queries are excluded, and known secret formats are masked.
• Clear All Credentials removes local platform, AI, GitHub and DotSuite secrets and cloud consent. Copies already synced to DotSuite are revoked from the DotSuite Dashboard.

Server-side handling is implemented in the separately maintained DotSuite backend; local SecretStorage does not protect copies held there.

❓ FAQ

Is DotShare free? Yes. The extension is open source under Apache 2.0, and direct publishing with your own accounts and AI keys is free. Only DotSuite cloud services, such as higher scheduling limits, are paid.

Do I need my own server to post to Mastodon? No. You only need an account on any Mastodon instance and an access token. DotShare talks to your instance directly.

Which AI models can I use? Any text model your key can access from Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, DeepSeek or xAI Grok. DotShare lists them live from each provider.

Can I schedule posts for later? Yes, with a free DotSuite account. Scheduled posts run on DotSuite servers, so your computer doesn't need to stay on.

Does DotShare work in VSCodium, Cursor or Windsurf? Yes, install it from Open VSX.

Where are my API keys stored? In VS Code's encrypted SecretStorage on your machine. See Security & Privacy.

🤝 Contributing

Bug reports, platform ideas and pull requests are welcome. Read the contributing guide to get started, and see the roadmap for what's planned.

💝 Support the Project

If DotShare saves you time, you can help keep it alive:

Or ⭐ star the repository, share DotShare with your network, and report issues.

📄 License

DotShare is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.