# Create Articles Programmatically publish an author’s content and ensure it surfaces in target users’ apps (create → attach media → target → publish → verify). The Content API, Channels API, and Feeds API work together to deliver content to users. * The Content API creates and publishes posts. * The Channels API defines where that content goes by organizing audiences and topics. * Once published, the Feeds API makes sure each user sees the right content in their personal feed based on their memberships and permissions. Created articles are always created as a draft, and need another step to publish them (`PUT` request). ## Create a Basic Article This example shows how to create and publish an article using the Firstup API. This simulates how a publisher or admin might programmatically push content to the platform. **Before You Start** * You have an access token with `content.write` scope. See our [Authorization](/authorization/authenticationandauthorization) guidance. * You have at least one topic (channel) to publish content to. * A sample test user account who follows the same test topic for verifying feed visibility via the Feeds API (Feeds are user-personalized). JWT Bearer auth is available for Feeds integrations when you need server-to-server feed checks. **Workflow Overview** 1. Use `GET /v2/channels` to list your available topics (channels) and pass the `channel_id`. 2. Use `POST /v2/content` to create a draft article and link it to the topic by passing the `channel_id`. 3. Use `PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish` to publish your drafted article. 4. Use `GET /v2/feed/posts` to varify the published content. Note: You need to authenticate as the test user. Alternatively, use `GET /v2/content` with the `filter.channels.id` set to the topic used to publish the content. **Endpoints** GET /v2/channels POST /v2/content PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish GET /v2/feed/posts GET /v2/content ### Step 1: List Available Topics Before publishing, get the list of topics to find where your content should go. ``` GET /v2/channels Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` Pick a `channel_id` from the response to pass in the next step. **Example response** ``` { "data": [ { "id": "3811518", "name": "My Feed", "description": "This is your program's default topic. Content published to this topic appears in every user's personalized feed.", "state": "hidden", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": false, "user_submittable": true, "groups": [], "contributor_count": 1, "contributors": [ 18366046 ], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 0, "created_at": "2021-10-12T22:37:01.170Z", "updated_at": "2025-10-27T09:41:19.181Z" }, { "id": "4344268", "name": "🗞️ Business News Updated! 🗞️", "description": "News from around the world!", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": false, "user_submittable": true, "groups": [], "contributor_count": 3, "contributors": [ 19957904, 18366046, 20161654 ], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 5, "created_at": "2022-02-07T18:46:10.820Z", "updated_at": "2024-02-21T20:14:56.476Z" }, { "id": "7538568", "name": "! Important News !", "description": "Important News", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": false, "user_submittable": false, "groups": [], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 5, "created_at": "2024-02-21T19:53:22.542Z", "updated_at": "2025-05-12T14:08:49.597Z" }, { "id": "7538468", "name": "1 Sales Department", "description": "Sales Department", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": false, "user_submittable": false, "groups": [], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 5, "created_at": "2024-02-21T19:52:27.713Z", "updated_at": "2024-02-21T19:59:12.825Z" }, { "id": "7538518", "name": "2 Marketing Department", "description": "Marketing Department", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": false, "user_submittable": false, "groups": [], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 5, "created_at": "2024-02-21T19:52:58.120Z", "updated_at": "2024-02-21T19:59:18.582Z" }, { "id": "7538618", "name": "3 Training Department", "description": "Training Department", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": false, "user_submittable": false, "groups": [], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 5, "created_at": "2024-02-21T19:54:03.145Z", "updated_at": "2024-02-21T19:59:26.047Z" }, { "id": "6346568", "name": "BlockHeads", "description": "The home of original Block Heads Content!", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": true, "user_submittable": true, "groups": [ "justjoeca", "justjoe", "block_heads" ], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 1, "created_at": "2023-02-08T04:57:39.297Z", "updated_at": "2024-08-11T08:41:43.742Z" }, { "id": "6346518", "name": "Block Heads", "description": "The home of original Block Heads Content!", "state": "archived", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": true, "user_submittable": false, "groups": [ "justjoeca", "justjoe" ], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 0, "created_at": "2023-02-08T04:57:31.023Z", "updated_at": "2023-02-08T04:58:24.375Z" }, { "id": "5517818", "name": "Company News", "description": "asdf", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": false, "targeted": true, "user_submittable": false, "groups": [ "copy_and_paste_example" ], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 1, "created_at": "2022-09-08T21:28:12.008Z", "updated_at": "2025-09-12T09:56:04.338Z" }, { "id": "5596518", "name": "Company Updates", "description": "Company updates", "state": "published", "auto_publish": false, "recommended": true, "targeted": false, "user_submittable": false, "groups": [], "contributor_count": 0, "contributors": [], "auto_follow": false, "follower_count": 20, "created_at": "2022-09-21T14:57:28.346Z", "updated_at": "2025-10-16T13:33:14.425Z" } ], "meta": { "pagination": { "page": 1, "page_size": 10, "total_records": 56 }, "filter": {} } } ``` ### Step 2: Create a Draft Article Submit the content as a draft: * Creating your article as a draft is the default and only way. Publishing this requires another endpoint. * This gives you a chance to review or edit before publishing. ``` POST /v2/content Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json ``` **Example request** ``` { "content_type": "article", "title": "How to Automate Engagement Campaigns", "body": "

Engagement starts with relevance...

", "summary": "Learn how to programmatically publish content using Firstup.", "visibility": "private", "channels": [ { "id": 123 } ], "featured": false } ``` The response contains the `content_id` of your draft article. Pass this into the next step. ### Step 3: Publish the Article Once you're ready, move the article from `draft` to `published`. ``` PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` The article is now live and visible according to its topic targeting and visibility settings. ### Step 4: Verify (optional) Either authenticate as a test user who follows the topic you've posted to, and make a `GET` request to their feed: ``` GET /v2/feed/posts Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` Or, make a `GET` request as your user account to the content API. ``` GET /v2/content?filter.channels.id=123&page.size=10&page.number=1 Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` ## Attach an Image This example shows how to create an article and attach an image to the body. * Add up to 10 images per article. * Images are not resized or hosted. Make sure they are production ready. * You can update the article's body to explicitly reference or embed the image. **Before You Start** * You have an access token with `content.write` scope. See our [Authorization](/authorization/authenticationandauthorization) guidance. * An image URL hosted on a public CDN or trusted server. * You have at least one topic (channel) to publish content to. **Workflow Overview** 1. Use `GET /v2/channels` to list your available topics (channels) and pass the `channel_id`. 2. Use `POST /v2/content` to create a draft article and link it to the topic by passing the `channel_id`. 3. Use `PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/images` to add an image to your drafted article. 4. Use `PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish` to publish your drafted article. **Endpoints** GET /v2/channels POST /v2/content PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/images PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish ### Step 1: List Available Topics Before publishing, get the list of topics to find where your content should go. ``` GET /v2/channels Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` Pick a `channel_id` from the response to pass in the next step. ### Step 2: Create a Draft Article Submit the content as a draft: * Creating your article as a draft is the default and only way. Publishing this requires another endpoint. * This gives you a chance to review or edit before publishing. ``` POST /v2/content Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json ``` ``` { "content_type": "article", "title": "How to Automate Engagement Campaigns", "body": "

Engagement starts with relevance...

", "summary": "Learn how to programmatically publish content using Firstup.", "visibility": "private", "channels": [ { "id": 123 } ], "featured": false } ``` The response contains the `content_id` of your draft article. Pass this into the next step. ### Step 3: Add an Image to the Article Now, attach an image using the article’s `content_id`. The image URL must be accessible to Firstup’s servers (e.g., public S3 or CDN link). ``` PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/images Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json { "image_url": "https://cdn.example.com/images/secure-api-guide.png" } ``` If successful, the image is now linked to the article and will be included in the rendered view. ### Optional: Add metadata Optionally add metadata fields. Examples: * `featured: true` * `featured_label: "Editor’s Pick"` ### Step 4: Publish Once you're ready, move the article from `draft` to `published`. ``` PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` The article is now live and visible according to its topic targeting and visibility settings. ## Attach a Video This example shows how to create an article and attach a video to the body. * You can add multiple videos, but only one at a time. * Videos are not resized—optimize them for web streaming. * Use `caption` and `preview_image_url` for accessibility and visual polish. **Before You Start** * You have an access token with `content.write` scope. See our [Authorization](/authorization/authenticationandauthorization) guidance. * A public video URL (e.g., MP4 or embed-safe platform). * You have at least one topic (channel) to publish content to. **Workflow Overview** 1. Use `GET /v2/channels` to list your available topics (channels) and pass the `channel_id`. 2. Use `POST /v2/content` to create a draft article and link it to the topic by passing the `channel_id`. 3. Use `PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/videos` to add a video to your drafted article. 4. Use `PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish` to publish your drafted article. **Endpoints** GET /v2/channels POST /v2/content PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/videos PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish ### Step 1: List Available Topics Before publishing, get the list of topics to find where your content should go. ``` GET /v2/channels Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` Pick a `channel_id` from the response to pass in the next step. ### Step 2: Create a Draft Article Submit the content as a draft: * Creating your article as a draft is the default and only way. Publishing this requires another endpoint. * This gives you a chance to review or edit before publishing. ``` POST /v2/content Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json ``` ``` { "content_type": "article", "title": "How to Automate Engagement Campaigns", "body": "

Engagement starts with relevance...

", "summary": "Learn how to programmatically publish content using Firstup.", "visibility": "private", "channels": [ { "id": 123 } ], "featured": false } ``` The response contains the `content_id` of your draft article. Pass this into the next step. ### Step 3: Add a Video to the Article Now, attach a video using the article’s `content_id`. ``` PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/videos Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json { "video_url": "https://cdn.example.com/videos/ceo-interview.mp4", "caption": "CEO Interview: Leading in 2025", "preview_image_url": "https://cdn.example.com/images/ceo-video-thumbnail.jpg" } ``` The response includes an embed_html snippet, which can be added to the article body if desired. ### Optional: Embed If you want control over where the video appears in the article, insert the embed_html into the body: ``` PUT /v2/content/{content_id} Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN Content-Type: application/json { "body": "

Watch our CEO talk about leadership:

" } ``` ### Step 4: Publish Once you're ready, move the article from `draft` to `published`. ``` PUT /v2/content/{content_id}/publish Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN ``` The article is now live and visible according to its topic targeting and visibility settings.