Automate Reddit posting with a Flask web app + a background worker that publishes using Playwright.

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🚀 What this project does

• Create scheduled Reddit posts from a web UI.
• Store scheduled jobs in SQLite.
• Auto-publish posts when their scheduled time arrives.
• Publish immediately or cancel pending posts.
• Save logs and debug artifacts when something fails.

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🧰 Stack

• Python
• Flask
• SQLAlchemy
• Playwright (browser automation)
• SQLite

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✅ Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ recommended
• pip
• Access to a Reddit account
• Chromium installed via Playwright

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⚡ Quick start

1) Clone the repository

git clone <REPO_URL>
cd Reddit-Auto-Post-Raspberry

2) Create a virtual environment and install dependencies

On Windows (PowerShell):

python -m venv venv
.\venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install -r requirements.txt

On Linux / Raspberry Pi:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

3) Install Chromium for Playwright

python -m playwright install chromium

If you're on Raspberry Pi/Linux and system libraries are missing, try: python -m playwright install --with-deps chromium

4) Configure environment variables

Copy the example file:

cp .env.example .env

On Windows PowerShell:

Copy-Item .env.example .env

Available variables:

Variable	Default value	Description
APP_HOST	0.0.0.0	Flask server host
APP_PORT	5000	Web app port
DEBUG	True	Flask debug mode
SECRET_KEY	(empty)	Flask session signing key. Required if LOGIN_PASSWORD is set.
LOGIN_PASSWORD	(empty)	Optional access code for dashboard protection.
DATABASE_URL	sqlite:///data/app.db	SQLite database URL
MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH	10485760	Upload size limit (bytes)
LOG_FILE_PATH	logs/worker.log	Worker log file
PLAYWRIGHT_HEADLESS	False	Run browser without UI
PLAYWRIGHT_AUTH_FILE	playwright/.auth/reddit.json	Saved Reddit session
WORKER_POLL_SECONDS	30	Worker polling interval (seconds)
DEBUG_ARTIFACTS_DIR	logs/debug	Screenshots/HTML on Playwright errors
CAPABILITIES_CACHE_TTL_HOURS	24	Capabilities cache TTL in hours

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Simple dashboard access code (optional)

If you want to prevent other users on your LAN from seeing your dashboard:

1. Set LOGIN_PASSWORD in .env with your access code.
2. Set SECRET_KEY in .env (any long random string).
3. Restart the web app.

Behavior:

• LOGIN_PASSWORD empty or missing: dashboard remains open (no login screen).
• LOGIN_PASSWORD set: dashboard is protected by /login and browser session cookie.
• LOGIN_PASSWORD set but SECRET_KEY missing: app fails fast at startup with a config error.

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🔐 First Reddit login (required)

Before publishing, save an authenticated Reddit session:

python -m app.scripts.reddit_login

A browser window will open:

1. Log in to Reddit manually.
2. Return to the terminal and press ENTER.
3. Session state will be saved to playwright/.auth/reddit.json.

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▶️ Run the app

Open 2 terminals (with the virtual environment activated in both):

Terminal A: Web app

python -m app.main

Terminal B: Worker

python -m app.worker

Then open:

• http://127.0.0.1:5000

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🧭 Recommended usage flow

1. Create a post from Create new post.
2. Fill in title, subreddit, date/time, and optionally image/text.
3. Save the post.
4. The worker publishes it when status is pending and time is due.
5. From the detail page, you can Publish now or Cancel while pending.

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🖼️ Supported image formats

• .jpg
• .jpeg
• .png
• .webp

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🩺 Quick troubleshooting

Problem	Common cause	Fix
Playwright authentication file not found	Login script not run yet	Run python -m app.scripts.reddit_login
Post button is disabled	Reddit UI validation or captcha/protection page	Check logs/debug/ and try PLAYWRIGHT_HEADLESS=False
Nothing gets published	Worker not running or no due posts	Start python -m app.worker and verify status/scheduled UTC
Image upload error	Unsupported format or invalid path	Use jpg/jpeg/png/webp and upload again

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📁 Project structure

app/
  main.py                      # Flask web app
  worker.py                    # Polling-based auto publisher
  web/                         # Routes and templates
  services/                    # Publishing, logging, validation, storage logic
  repositories/                # Data access layer
  scripts/                     # Manual scripts (login/testing)
data/                          # SQLite DB and uploads (runtime-generated)
logs/                          # Logs and debug artifacts
playwright/.auth/              # Saved Reddit session

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🛠️ Useful scripts

# Save Reddit session
python -m app.scripts.reddit_login

# Publish directly via script
python -m app.scripts.reddit_post <subreddit> "<title>" "<body>" "<image_path_1>" "<image_path_2>" ...

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📌 Notes

• The datetime from the form is converted internally to UTC.
• The repo ignores data/, logs/, and .env to avoid committing sensitive/local files.
• For 24/7 Raspberry deployment, running web + worker as services is recommended.