Forge User Guide

Set up your knowledge base, publish your first post, then use Auto, Batch and Performance to build a consistent marketing workflow.

Open Forge · About Forge · Forge Academy

In this guide: How Forge works · Your first post · Publishing modes · Performance · Reference · Support

How to read this guide

If you are new to Forge, start with Part 1 and follow the first-post steps in Part 2. If you have already published, go to the publishing modes in Part 3. Use Part 5 when you need help with an error, media or credits. The ? help beside a feature opens relevant guidance or a video where available.

Part 1 — How Forge works

Forge connects what you are marketing, who needs it and where the message will appear. Understanding those relationships makes the publishing steps easier to follow.

What Forge actually does

Forge turns structured knowledge about your business into published content on your social channels.

There are three moving parts, and they must all be in place before anything gets published.

1. Nodes — what you're marketing

A Node is one thing you want to talk about. A product. A service. A case study. An announcement.

Think of a Node as a container that holds:

• What it is
• Who it's for
• What problems it solves
• What proof you have that it works

Every post you publish comes from a Node.

The Node type is not a label — it changes how the AI writes.

A case_study Node produces narrative, evidence-led content. A product Node produces positioning-led content. Choosing the right type is the first decision that shapes every post that follows.

2. Buyers, Pains, Proofs — the raw material

This is the part most people skip, and it's the reason most AI content sounds generic.

• A Buyer is a specific person you're talking to. "Chief Data Officer," not "decision makers."
• A Pain is a specific problem that buyer has. "Cannot trace critical decisions back to trusted data," not "data challenges."
• A Proof is a specific piece of evidence that your solution addresses that pain. A stat. A case. A capability that demonstrably works.

The AI writes from these three things. If they're vague, the output is vague. If they're specific, the output is specific. There is no shortcut here.

3. Surfaces — where it gets published

A Surface is a combination of a platform and a format. "LinkedIn Personal Text" is a surface. "Instagram Image Post" is a surface.

Each surface has its own constraints.

The same Node will produce a short caption for Instagram and a long-form post for LinkedIn — because each surface has its own length, tone, and structure rules. Forge uses the selected surface’s settings when preparing content. Review the draft and destination preview before publishing.

You connect a channel (your LinkedIn account, your Instagram account), then link a surface to a Node. That's how Forge knows where to publish.

The three publishing modes

Once a Node has buyers, pains, proofs, and at least one surface, you have three ways to publish:

• Manual — you write the post and publish it now. One post, one click.
• Auto — Forge generates and publishes on a schedule you set. You review or auto-approve.
• Batch — you write several variations at once and schedule them for future dates.

Start with Manual to check the message and publishing destination. Add Auto for recurring generation and publication, or Batch when you want to prepare several individual posts in advance.

The completeness score

Every Node card shows a small meter of progress dots. That's the completeness score — seven factors that measure how ready your Node is to produce good content:

1. Name
2. Description
3. Value proposition
4. Differentiator
5. At least one buyer
6. At least one pain
7. At least one proof

The score shows whether these inputs are present; it does not verify their accuracy or guarantee the quality of a draft. A complete Node gives Forge more context to work with. If content feels generic, review both the missing fields and how specific the existing information is.

Give Forge specific, verified information

Teach Forge the details that make your business different.

Every field, buyer and proof point provides material for generation. Use facts and evidence you are authorised to publish, and check every draft for accuracy before it goes live.

Part 2 — Your First Post

Follow these six steps in order. Start with one product or service, one buyer and one publishing destination so you can check the complete workflow before expanding it.

Before you begin

Have your product or service information, one buyer problem, supporting evidence and access to the social account you want to connect. Check your balance in Billing. You will connect the channel in Step 3 and link its publishing surface in Step 5 before publishing.

Step 1 — Create your first Node

1. Go to Dashboard → click Create Node.
2. Choose the Node type — for your first one, choose Product or Service. This choice shapes the tone and structure of every post. You can change it later.
3. Fill in:
   • Name — a short, internal label. "ValueEdge," not "Our flagship AI platform."
   • Description — one or two factual sentences. What it does, not what it promises.
   • Value proposition — the single most concrete benefit your customer receives.
   • Differentiator — what is actually different. Not "AI-powered." Not "seamless."

The field most people skip: the differentiator.

Describe a meaningful difference that you can support. A specific differentiator gives Forge stronger positioning material than broad claims such as “innovative” or “seamless”.

4. Optional but recommended: scroll down to Content intelligence and set:
   • Content objective — what this content is trying to achieve (thought leadership, lead generation, brand awareness, etc.)
   • Content personality — up to two tones (evidence-led, challenger, educational, etc.)
   • Max words per post — if you want a hard cap on length
   These settings are optional, but skipping them means the AI falls back to defaults that may not match your voice.
5. Click Save. You should now see the Node card with a completeness score.

What just happened: you created the container. It's empty of buyers, pains, and proofs — but it's ready to receive them.

Step 2 — Add one buyer, one pain, one proof

You do not need all thirty buyers. You need one complete chain to start.

1. On the Node card, click the buyers count.
2. Click Add Buyer — enter a title ("Chief Data Officer") and a short description of who this is.
3. Save. The buyer now appears in the list.
4. Click the pains count. Click Add Pain. Select the buyer you just created. Enter a specific pain.
5. Save.
6. Click the proofs count. Click Add Proof. Select the pain you just created. Enter a specific proof.
7. Save.

What just happened: you gave the AI a complete story — a person, their problem, and your evidence. This is the minimum viable set. Everything else you add later is depth.

Complete the buyer, pain and proof relationship before generating.

A clear buyer, a relevant problem and genuine evidence give the draft a useful direction. Add more relationships as you learn which messages matter to your audience.

Step 3 — Connect a channel

1. Go to Channels.
2. Click Connect on the platform you want to publish to (LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads).
3. Authorise Forge through the platform's OAuth flow.
4. Return to Forge. You should see the channel listed with a green status.

What just happened: Forge now has permission to publish on your behalf.

Personal vs company credentials

On LinkedIn, distinguish your personal profile from a Company Page. On X, choose the personal or brand account you intend to use. Select the destination supported by the connection options in Forge, and check which identity will appear on the published post.

Step 4 — Upload media when your surface requires it

An image is optional for supported text surfaces and required for image surfaces. Prepare the image for the selected format before publishing.

1. Go to the Node card → click Edit node.
2. Find the Media section at the top.
3. Drag and drop an image, or click Add to select a file.
4. Click Save.

The ideal image

• Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square). A useful starting point for sharing across channels. Check the destination preview because feeds and profile grids can crop images differently.
• Canvas size: at least 1080 × 1080 pixels. This is a practical baseline for a clear square image; inspect the exported file for readability.
• Safe zone: keep all text and logos within the centre 70% of the image. That means a 15% margin on each side. On a 1080 × 1080 canvas, keep essential content within a central 756 × 756 area, leaving 162 pixels on each side. This reduces cropping risk; always check the destination preview.
• Format: JPEG for the broadest reuse. PNG is suitable for supported surfaces, but the Instagram Image surface requires JPEG.
• Size: under 5 MB. The default Forge upload limit is 5 MB per image and five images per Node. A publishing surface may have a different limit, but it does not override your workspace upload limit. Contact your administrator if you need a higher allowance.

What happens if you don't upload media: some surfaces (Instagram, Facebook Image, Threads Image) require an image and will fail without one. Others (LinkedIn Text, X Text) will publish text-only.

Step 5 — Link a surface to your Node

1. Go back to the Node card.
2. Under Publishing surfaces, click Add surface.
3. Select the surface (e.g., "LinkedIn Personal Text") and the credential you just connected.
4. Click Save.

What just happened: Forge now knows where to publish from this Node.

Step 6 — Publish your first post

1. On the Node card, find the surface you just linked.
2. Click Manual.
3. Write your commentary — or click Generate to let Forge draft it from your buyers, pains, and proofs.
4. Review the draft. If the AI produced something you don't like, edit it directly. If it's completely off, check that your Node has buyers and pains attached.
5. Click Publish Now.

Confirm the result: open Content History and check the publication status, then check the intended account on the destination platform. Processing can take a few minutes. If the result is unclear, check the destination before retrying so you do not publish the same post twice.

If something goes wrong

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Publish button is greyed out	A required connection, surface or field may be missing	Check the selected channel and surface, then complete any fields highlighted in Forge
“Insufficient credits”	Your balance is below the cost of the selected action	Check the required credits in Billing and top up
A post does not appear on the expected account	Processing, a different destination or a publishing error	Check Content History, the selected account and any error. Reconnect if requested, and check the platform before retrying
Generated content is generic	Node has no buyers/pains/proofs	Go back to Step 2
"Media required" error	Surface needs an image but none uploaded	Go back to Step 4
Image looks cropped on Instagram	The platform preview crops the uploaded image	Keep essential text in the centre 70%, with a 15% margin on each side, then check the preview

Part 3 — The Three Modes

Now that you've published manually once, here is when to use each mode.

When you want to publish one post now → Manual

Use this when:

• You have something specific to say today
• You want full control over the wording
• You're testing a new angle or a new Node

How: click Manual on any surface, write or generate the commentary, click Publish Now. The reference cost is one credit per post; check Billing for current rates.

Manual posts are not scheduled.

They publish immediately. If you want to plan ahead, use Auto or Batch.

When you want Forge to publish on a schedule → Auto

Use this when:

• You want consistent output without thinking about it every week
• You've already proven the Node produces good content manually
• You're comfortable with the AI writing on your behalf

How:

1. On the surface, click Auto.
2. Set the frequency (daily, 3× per week, weekly, custom).
3. Select the days you want to publish.
4. Set the time of day.
5. Choose whether posts require your approval before publishing, or publish automatically.
6. Click Save.

What happens next: Forge generates a post on your schedule. If approval is required, it appears in Approvals. If not, it publishes automatically.

Start with approval required.

Review the generated posts for accuracy, relevance and brand voice. Consider automatic publication only when the inputs and repeated drafts meet your requirements. Approval controls publication; it does not pause scheduled generation or its credit charges.

Credits are charged when the draft is generated, not when you approve it.

Deleting a generated draft does not return that credit. Start with a limited schedule and review both the draft quality and credit use before increasing the frequency.

To see all your Auto runs: open Content Plan. Every active automation appears there with its next run date.

When you want to plan a week in one sitting → Batch

Use this when:

• You want to write 5–10 variations at once
• You want each one scheduled for a different day
• You want specific control over which image goes with which post

How:

1. On the surface, click Batch.
2. Click Add variation for each post you want to schedule.
3. For each variation:
   • Write the commentary
   • Optionally select a specific image from the Node's media library (or leave it on Auto to rotate)
   • Optionally add a custom URL if the surface supports it
4. Choose the schedule (start date, frequency, days, time).
5. Review the estimated credits at the top.
6. Click Schedule Plan.

What happens next: Forge creates one scheduled post per variation. You can see them all in Content Plan. If you want to cancel the remaining posts, open the batch and click Deactivate plan.

Each variation is one post.

If you add 5 variations and your schedule fires 5 times, that's 5 posts and 5 credits. If you add 5 variations but the schedule only has 3 slots, Forge will not schedule them — the number of variations must match the number of scheduled slots.

Content Studio (articles only)

For long-form articles on the website_article surface, Forge has a separate Content Studio flow. It lets you choose a buyer, pain, proof, and framework for each article, then generates a long-form piece, typically 1,500–2,500 words. Review its claims, structure and length before using it.

Content Studio is accessed from the Article Studio tab in the dashboard. It's a different flow from Manual, Auto, and Batch — but the same mental model applies: buyers, pains, and proofs determine the output.

Part 4 — Performance

Once you've published, the next question is: did it work?

The Performance tab brings together the available metrics for supported posts.

What you'll see

Depending on the platform, format and permissions, Performance can show:

• Impressions — the number of times the post was displayed
• Reach — the unique people or accounts reached, as reported by the platform
• Likes — reactions on the post
• Comments — replies to the post
• Shares — reposts or retweets
• Clicks — link clicks (if the post contained a URL)
• Engagement rate — the engagement measure shown for that platform; use comparable definitions when comparing results

When data appears

Metrics are not instant.

For supported posts, the first metrics are expected around 6 hours after publication. Platform availability and connection permissions can affect when data appears.

Refreshes become less frequent as a post ages. The initial reference schedule is:

• First 24 hours: refresh every 6 hours
• After the first day, through day 7: refresh daily
• After the first week, through day 30: refresh weekly
• After 90 days: no further refresh

A dash (—) can mean metrics have not arrived or are unavailable for that account or format. Check the platform-support table below and the connection status. For older posts or a missing refresh, use the latest information shown in Forge or ask Support; do not assume that a dash means zero engagement.

Which platforms support analytics

Platform	Analytics available?	Notes
LinkedIn Company Pages	✅ Yes	Available metrics, subject to the connected Page and permissions
LinkedIn Personal Profiles	❌ No	Personal-profile post analytics are not currently available in Forge. Check LinkedIn directly.
X (Twitter)	✅ Yes	Available metrics depend on permissions and post format
Facebook	✅ Yes	Available metrics depend on permissions and post format
Instagram	✅ Yes	Available metrics depend on permissions and post format
Threads	✅ Yes	Available metrics depend on permissions and post format

Why no LinkedIn personal analytics?

The current Forge integration does not provide these metrics. Open the post on LinkedIn and use the analytics available to your account. Publishing support and analytics support are separate capabilities.

How to read the Performance tab

Review several comparable publications before changing your approach. Use the available data to look for patterns such as:

• Which Nodes produce the best engagement — the ranking is on the Performance page
• Which surfaces perform best — LinkedIn Company posts vs Instagram posts, for example
• Which buyers resonate — if the same buyer appears across multiple high-performing posts, that's a signal
• Which content types work — articles vs short posts, image posts vs text-only

Review performance weekly as a useful starting routine. Compare similar formats, audiences and time periods, and consider how much evidence you have. Update the relevant buyer, pain, proof or positioning when repeated results suggest a useful change.

Part 5 — Reference

Troubleshooting

Error	Meaning	Fix
"Credential needs reauthorization"	Token expired	Go to Channels → Reconnect
“Insufficient credits”	The balance does not cover the action	Go to Billing, check the cost and buy credits if needed
"Media limit per node reached"	You've hit the max images per Node	Delete unused images, or contact admin to raise the limit
"File exceeds size limit"	Image or video too large	Compress before upload
"Content validation failed"	Generated content doesn't match the surface schema	Edit the commentary manually before publishing
"LinkedIn token expired or invalid"	OAuth token revoked	Reconnect LinkedIn in Channels
“No container ID returned”	The platform returned an unexpected response	Check Content History and the destination before retrying. If it persists, contact Support with the publication ID
"Instagram media processing failed"	Instagram rejected the image	Check the image is JPEG, under 5 MB, and accessible at the URL
Draft deleted but credit already spent	Credits are charged at generation, not approval	This is by design. Auto drafts cost credits even if you delete them.

Credit refunds when an action fails

• Manual publish fails: credit is refunded automatically.
• Batch publish fails: credit is refunded automatically.
• Auto publish fails: credit is not refunded (generation succeeded; publishing failed).
• Draft generation fails (validation): credit is refunded automatically.

If you think a credit was deducted incorrectly, open a support ticket with the publication ID (visible in Content History).

Media requirements by publishing surface

The following is a Forge publishing-surface reference. Both the selected surface and your workspace upload limits apply; use the lower allowance. The default image uploader is limited to 5 MB per file, even where a surface reference below lists 10 MB. Check the current validation shown in Forge when preparing media.

Publishing surface	Media format	Surface reference limit	Aspect ratio	Is media required?
LinkedIn Personal Text	JPEG, PNG	10 MB	1:1 recommended	Optional
LinkedIn Company Text	JPEG, PNG	10 MB	1:1 recommended	Optional
LinkedIn Article	JPEG, PNG	10 MB	1:1 recommended	Optional (link preview)
Instagram Image	JPEG	10 MB	1:1 starting point; check the preview	Required
X (Twitter)	JPEG, PNG, MP4	5 MB (image), 200 MB (video)	1:1 recommended	Optional
Facebook Image	JPEG, PNG	10 MB	1:1 recommended	Required
Threads Image	JPEG, PNG	10 MB	1:1 recommended	Required

A practical starting image

Use a square JPEG, at least 1080 × 1080 pixels and under 5 MB. Keep essential text and logos in the centre 70%, leaving 15% on each side. Check each destination preview; a shared source image may still need a different crop for a particular surface.

Credit costs

Action	Cost
Manual publish	1 credit
Auto publish (per generated post)	1 credit
Batch publish (per scheduled post)	1 credit
Article generation (Content Studio)	2 credits

Credit costs may change. Check the Billing page for current rates before planning a large batch.

Glossary

• Node — a container for one thing you're marketing (a product, service, case study, article, or announcement).
• Buyer — a specific person you're speaking to.
• Pain — a specific problem that buyer has.
• Proof — a specific piece of evidence that your solution addresses that pain.
• Surface — a combination of platform and format (e.g., "LinkedIn Personal Text").
• Channel — a connected platform account.
• Credential — the OAuth token that authorises Forge to publish on your behalf.
• Completeness score — a 7-factor diagnostic on every Node showing how ready it is to produce good content.
• Narrative — the internal record that connects a Node, a Surface, and a series of content variants (you won't usually interact with this directly).
• Variant — one specific piece of content (one post). Every variant has a status: draft, scheduled, published, or failed.
• Content Plan — the calendar view of everything scheduled across Auto and Batch.

Need more help?

• Support — open a ticket from the Support link in the top bar.
• Video guides — visit the Forge Academy, or open the ? help beside a feature for the relevant guidance or video.
• Community — if the community link is available in your dashboard, use it to explore how other teams work with Forge.

Last updated: 21 October 2026. Check the current settings and rates in Forge if they differ from this guide, and report any outdated instructions through Support.