← Help

Connect Mastodon

Mastodon works differently from Bluesky — every instance (server) is its own auth provider. We use the standard OAuth flow your instance already supports, so connecting takes one approval click on your instance and that's it.

You'll need: to know your Mastodon instance host — the part after the @ in your handle. If your handle is @you@mastodon.social, your instance is mastodon.social.
  1. 1

    Open your account page

    Go to your Creator Trend Engine account page. Scroll down to Publish targets → Connect Mastodon.

  2. 2

    Type your instance host

    Type just the domain — no https://, no @ in front. Examples:

    • mastodon.social
    • hachyderm.io
    • mas.to
    • mstdn.jp
    • … or whichever instance you signed up on.

    Click Authorize →.

  3. 3

    Approve on your instance

    We redirect you to your instance's authorization page. If you're already signed in there (you usually are), it shows something like:

    Creator Trend Engine wants permission to access your account

    Permissions:

    • Read your account information
    • Post statuses on your behalf

    AuthorizeDeny

    Click Authorize. Your instance redirects you back to Creator Trend Engine.

    Note: the dialog may be in your instance's default language — on a Chinese instance you'll see 同意授权 instead of Authorize, on a Japanese one 承認, and so on. The blue or violet button is always the “allow” one.

  4. 4

    You're back on Creator Trend Engine

    The Mastodon connect block flips to a green “Mastodon connected” box showing your full handle (you@yourinstance).

  5. 5

    Try a thread

    Open /compose or a template, draft a thread, and you'll see Publish to Mastodon → (the violet button) in the publish bar.

    Each post in your thread becomes a status on Mastodon, chained as replies — same as how a thread looks if you posted it manually.

If something goes wrong

▸The page after Authorize said “mastodon=invalid” or “mastodon=expired.”

Authorization sessions expire after 5 minutes. If you stepped away during the “Authorize on your instance” step, that's the most common cause. Just click Authorize → again on your account page to start fresh.

▸“mastodon register app failed.”

We tried to register the Creator Trend Engine app on your instance and your instance refused. This usually means:

  • The host you typed isn't actually a Mastodon instance. Check it loads in a browser tab and shows the Mastodon UI.
  • Your instance is in “closed registration” mode for third-party apps (rare but it happens). Contact your instance admin.
  • You included https:// or a trailing slash — strip them, just mastodon.social not https://mastodon.social/.
▸It redirected to my instance but said I need to sign in.

You're not currently signed in to your Mastodon instance in this browser. Sign in to your instance in another tab, then come back to Creator Trend Engine and click Authorize → again.

▸I want to switch to a different Mastodon account.

On /account, click Disconnect in the green Mastodon box. Then sign out of your current Mastodon account and sign in to the new one in another tab. Come back and connect again with the new instance host.

We only ever store one Mastodon connection per user. Connecting a new one replaces the old.

▸What permissions am I giving?

We request exactly two scopes from your instance:

  • write:statuses— post statuses on your behalf. Required for “Publish to Mastodon.”
  • read:accounts — read your account info, so we can show your handle in the connected box. We never read your followers, your DMs, or anything else.

We do not request follow, read:notifications, read:statuses, or anything else.

▸How do I revoke access?

Two layers, either or both:

  • From Creator Trend Engine — click Disconnect on your account page. We delete our copy of the access token.
  • From your Mastodon instance— go to your instance's “Authorized apps” settings (it's under Account → Account settings → Authorized apps on most instances) and revoke the “Creator Trend Engine” entry. This is the strongest revocation — your instance will reject any future use of that token.
Ready? Connect Mastodon on your account page →