Post scheduling means you write posts now, and they are automatically posted later at times and dates of your choosing.
This is very useful for accounts that need posts to go out at particular times of day, for example to reach people reading their feeds in particular time zones, or to accompany scheduled live events such as streams or radio shows.
Scheduling through third party apps
Some third party apps have scheduling options built in:
ANDROID: Tusky, Fedilab, Moshidon ⧉, Subway Tooter ⧉
iPHONE / iPAD: Mona ⧉
LINUX & WINDOWS DESKTOP: Tuba ⧉
WEB: FediPlan ⧉, Phanpy ⧉
Professional post scheduling services
There are now commercial companies offering advanced post scheduling services that include compatibility with Mastodon and other social networks. The two most prominent at the moment are Publer ⧉ and Buffer ⧉.
Scheduling through self-hosting
If you’re techy and want to self-host a scheduling app, there’s a new free open source third party web app called Mastodon Scheduler ⧉ or alternatively you can self-host the software used on FediPlan ⧉.
Why doesn’t Mastodon have a built-in scheduler?
This is the weird part… Mastodon does actually have a fully functional built-in scheduler buried deep in its code! However, for some unexplained reason, the official web interface and official apps don’t yet give you any way to access it. This leads to the bizarre situation where you can only use Mastodon’s official post scheduling system through unofficial third party apps, and that’s what is used by the third party apps listed above.
If you’re comfortable using Github, you can vote for an official Mastodon scheduling interface to be added by giving a thumbs up at this issue ⧉.
Do scheduled posts transfer if I transfer my account to another server?
No, scheduled posts only happen on the server you set them up on. If you’ve transferred your account to a different server, the old account would be deactivated and all your followers would be following your new account instead.
How far into the future can I schedule a post?
You can set any date for your future posts. However, bear in mind that if you move your account to a different server those posts won’t happen. The scheduling feature is mainly used for posting in the near future rather than the far, unknowable future.