--- title: "What You Can Automate | Maeve Social" description: "Choose the API, CLI, or MCP for your task and check which workflows each supports." url: "https://maevesocial.com/guides/api-cli-and-mcp/what-you-can-automate" --- On this page 1. [Home](https://maevesocial.com/) 2. [Guides](https://maevesocial.com/guides) 3. [API, CLI and MCP](https://maevesocial.com/guides/api-cli-and-mcp) 4. What You Can Automate # What You Can Automate Updated October 19, 2026 Use Maeve's API, CLI, or MCP connection to work with your content outside the web app. Choose the connection that fits how you want to run the work. ## Choose a Connection | Connection | Use it for | Start here | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Public API | Your own application, integration, or server job | [The Public API](https://maevesocial.com/guides/api-cli-and-mcp/the-public-api) | | CLI | Terminal commands, scripts, and files on your computer | [The Command Line](https://maevesocial.com/guides/api-cli-and-mcp/the-command-line) | | MCP | An AI assistant working with your Maeve content | [Connecting an AI Assistant](https://maevesocial.com/guides/api-cli-and-mcp/connecting-an-ai-assistant) | One account, three doors * API key ezb\_live\_ * Reaches The workspaces you granted it, in one organization * Lasts 90 days by default, or never * How many 10 per organization Tightest * CLI login ezb\_cli\_ * Reaches Every workspace your account can reach * Lasts 7 days, then sign in again * How many 10 per person Loosest * MCP connection ezb\_mcp\_ * Reaches The workspaces and tool groups you approved * Lasts 6 hours, refreshed while in use * How many 10 per person Yours to narrow All three need the same authority to set up: an organization owner or admin, or a manager of the workspace in question. Everyone else is refused at the browser approval screen. Three credentials, three envelopes. All of them act as a person and cannot exceed that person's permissions, but a key is limited to the workspaces you grant it while a CLI login carries everything you can reach. The API provides the broadest set of operations. The CLI is a maintained REST client with manually registered commands and can upload local files. MCP exposes four stable tools that dispatch 123 catalogued operations subject to grants. ## Check Access Before Setup To create an API key or connect an AI assistant, you need organization Owner or Admin access, or a Manager role for the selected workspaces. Approving a CLI login requires Owner or Admin access, or a Manager role in at least one workspace. Your role and the organization's plan still apply when using automation. A connection does not grant access to features excluded from your plan. | Credential | Workspace access | Expiration | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | | API key | Selected workspaces in one organization | Chosen when created; 90 days by default | | CLI browser login | Workspaces your account can access | Seven days | | MCP browser connection | Selected workspaces and tool-group grants | Access tokens refresh while the connection remains valid | For an unattended job that should reach only one client, create an API key for that client's workspace. A CLI browser login is not limited by a separate set of workspace grants. ## Start with a Draft 1. List workspaces and select the one you want to use. 2. List its integrations and identify the connected social account. 3. Check that account's capabilities and any required platform options. 4. Upload or select media if needed. 5. Create a draft and open it in Maeve to review it. 6. Schedule or publish only when the content and destination are confirmed. Use the IDs returned by Maeve rather than constructing them from names. For a scheduled post, specify the date, time, and timezone. ## Check MCP Coverage MCP supports drafting and editing content, scheduling, review requests, media uploads and organization, task-board work, analytics reads, and inbox auto-reply rule configuration. Available operations depend on the grants approved for the connection; they are dispatched through `maeve_read` or `maeve_write`. The assistant surface In * Draft and edit content * Schedule posts * Media Room, including uploads * Task board * Request review * Read integrations and taxonomy * Read campaigns and strategy * Analytics * Inbox auto-reply rules Out, on purpose * Ad budgets and boosts * Approving, requesting changes on, or overriding a review * Replying to comments and messages * Grid Planner and Workbench layout * PDF reports * Campaign and hashtag group writes * Calendar notes and sharing Review publishing access before approvingAll groups start selected. Clear Publish and delete to remove immediate publishing and deletion operations. Content workflow still allows scheduling, which can publish a post later. High-risk actions require confirmation for the specific target. Nowhere outside the app at all * API keys * Member roles * Connecting a social account Most of what an assistant cannot do is reachable through the CLI or the API instead. Three things are reachable from neither, because they need a signed-in browser. | Task outside MCP | Where to do it | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Approve, request changes on, or override a review | Maeve app, or supported CLI/API operations | | Reply directly to inbox comments or messages | Maeve app, CLI, or API | | Generate PDF reports | Maeve app, CLI, or API | | Change Grid Planner or Workbench layouts | Maeve app, or supported CLI/API operations | | Manage ad budgets and boosts | Maeve app or supported API operations | | Create API keys, change member access, or connect social accounts | Signed-in Maeve app | Check the CLI help or API reference for an operation before building a workflow around it. CLI coverage and MCP coverage differ. ## Control Publishing Access The MCP approval screen starts with all tool groups selected. Open **Choose specific tools** to review them. **Publish and delete** includes immediate publishing, retries, and content deletion. Scheduling can still publish later Turning off **Publish and delete** removes those operations, but **Content workflow** still includes scheduling. A scheduled post can publish at its scheduled time. For draft-only work, explicitly ask the assistant to save drafts and review any scheduling request before allowing it. High-risk MCP operations require confirmation for the specific action and target. A queued publishing response is not proof that the platform accepted the post. Check the later content status and platform link before treating it as published. ## Configure Inbox Rules An assistant can create and edit inbox auto-reply rules, but it cannot directly reply to a person through MCP. New rules start disabled. Enabling a rule requires confirmation, and an enabled rule can send replies when its conditions match. Review the trigger, reply text, and destination before enabling a rule. ## Questions ### What are the ways to use Maeve outside the app? Use the public REST API, the maeve command-line tool, or the hosted MCP server for AI assistants. ### Which one should I use? Use the CLI for terminal work and local files, MCP for a supported AI-assistant workflow, and the API for your own integrations or server jobs. ### Do the three carry the same access? All enforce your permissions and plan, but they are distinct clients with separate credentials. API keys have workspace grants, MCP connections also have tool-group grants, and a CLI browser login uses your account's workspace access. ### Can an assistant publish? Yes, when the connection grants the publishing operation and the action is confirmed. Content workflow also includes scheduling, which can publish a post later. ### Can an assistant upload a file for me? MCP can prepare and complete media uploads when the client can send the file. For local files, the CLI provides media:upload. ### Can an assistant reply to my comments and messages? MCP does not expose direct inbox replies. It can configure auto-reply rules, which start disabled and require confirmation before enabling. ### What can I not do outside the app at all? Use the signed-in app to create API keys, manage member access, and connect social accounts. ### Who can create an API key? Organization Owners and Admins can grant workspaces in their organization. Workspace Managers can grant the workspaces they manage. In Maeve Social * [REST API](https://maevesocial.com/features/api) * [CLI](https://maevesocial.com/features/cli) * [MCP Server](https://maevesocial.com/features/mcp)