If you publish on WordPress and want new posts to appear on your existing Mastodon account, PressQueue automates cross-posting through Buffer, a service that connects social accounts and queues or publishes updates. Mastodon accounts run on separate servers, and Buffer connects your account to WordPress.
PressQueue is a free, open source WordPress plugin for Buffer. You connect it to Buffer with a personal API key, choose what to share and where, then test the rules before enabling them. This setup shares posts to an existing Mastodon account; it is different from ActivityPub federation, which gives your WordPress site its own identity that Mastodon users can follow.
Set up PressQueue and connect Buffer
To use PressQueue, you need WordPress 6.8 or newer and PHP 8.1 or newer. You also need permission to upload plugins and a Buffer account with your Mastodon account added. WordPress.com supports plugin uploads on paid plans; free sites do not support installing arbitrary plugins, according to its plugin eligibility guidance.
Download pressqueue.zip from the PressQueue download page. In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add Plugin > Upload Plugin, select the ZIP, and install and activate it.
In your Buffer settings, create a personal API key that PressQueue uses to connect to Buffer. Pick the longest expiry, 1 year, because the default is 30 days. Then paste the key under PressQueue > Channels. There is no Buffer login button. PressQueue stores the key encrypted, then displays your Buffer channels with on and off switches. New channels start off, so turn on the Mastodon channel you want to use.
Create a sharing rule and test it
A rule controls when PressQueue shares a post and which posts qualify. It also sets the receiving channels and how PressQueue handles the message and image. Sharing rules cover new posts and posts updated with a real content change. They also let you select older posts to share. Filters narrow posts by type, category, tag, author, or custom field. They can also use taxonomy, the way WordPress groups content.
The one-click option creates a rule to share every new post to all your channels. To choose more precisely, select only the Mastodon channel and add filters, such as a category. In PressQueue’s message editor, placeholders such as {{ title }}, {{ excerpt }}, and {{ terms:category }} insert post details. It adds the post link automatically. You can write different messages for each network and check a live preview with its character count.
New rules start switched off. Test a rule against recent posts first, then turn it on when the results look right. PressQueue also starts in Test mode, which records what it would share without sending anything. Switch to Live to publish; use Paused to stop sharing. A “Never share” rule for a category, tag, or author overrides sharing rules, and each post has its own “Share this post” switch in the editor.
Choose when posts go out
PressQueue can add a post to the end of Buffer’s queue or put it at the top of the queue, ahead of posts already waiting. It can also publish the post right away or save a Buffer draft for review. You can also set a date and time for an individual post.
Scheduled WordPress posts are shared when they go live. Posts with a past publication date are not shared automatically. To share older posts, use Share old posts, which reshares published posts in batches. You can spread them across the Buffer queue, send them one at a time, or create drafts.
Set the image and link preview
For each rule, choose no image, the post’s featured image (its main image), an image selected in the post, or a PressQueue social image. A social image shows the post title against a background, with the site name underneath. Set its style under Settings > Social images and preview backgrounds, fonts, text color, and alignment. PressQueue creates the image when a post first needs one and redraws it if the title or style changes. The file stays out of the Media Library.
The social image can also serve as the link preview image when someone shares the post URL. PressQueue supports Yoast SEO, Rank Math, The SEO Framework, and Jetpack. An image set for an individual post in an SEO plugin overrides the social image. The setting lets you use the social image for every post or only posts without their own image; you can also turn this option off. Image generation requires PHP’s GD image library with FreeType font support. If the host lacks it, PressQueue sends the text and link without the generated image.
Check the result
Publish a test post and confirm it appears on the intended Mastodon account with the expected text and image. For a post that needs a one-time share, Share now previews what each channel will receive before sending. To change how one post is shared, use Customize for this post in the editor.
PressQueue avoids duplicate posts if WordPress triggers the same sharing action more than once, but it does not automatically retry when Buffer’s response does not make clear whether the share succeeded. Check Buffer and the Mastodon account before manually resending in that situation. PressQueue is free. Buffer has a free plan.