Sometimes posts fail to publish due to platform issues, media problems, or permission errors. This guide helps you understand why posts fail, how to identify failures, and how to fix and retry them.
When you schedule a post in Viraly, it goes through several stages before being published to your social platforms. A failure can occur at different points in this process:
Failure Type
When It Occurs
Common Causes
Processing Failed
Before publishing, while preparing your content
Media validation issues, attachment format problems, missing required fields
Publish Failed
During actual publishing to the platform
Token/authentication issues, platform API errors, content policy violations, rate limits
Identifying Failed Posts
Viraly makes it easy to identify failed posts through several visual indicators:
In the Calendar View
Red badge — Failed posts display a red exclamation icon on the calendar tile
Status label — Shows “Processing Failed” or “Publish Failed” in red
Error banner — When you click on a failed post, a red banner displays with error details
Filtering Failed Posts
To view all failed posts at once:
Go to the Calendar or List view
Click the Filters button
Under Status, select Failed to show only posts that failed to publish
Notifications
When a post fails, Viraly sends you a notification with:
The channel name and type that failed
An error message explaining what went wrong
A direct link to edit and retry the post
Common Failure Reasons
Authentication & Token Issues
Issue
Solution
Access token expired
Reconnect your social profile in Settings → Social Profiles
Insufficient permissions
Reconnect and ensure all requested permissions are granted
Account disconnected
The social account was removed from Viraly — reconnect it
Token refresh failed
Re-authenticate by clicking Reconnect on the affected profile
Media & Content Issues
Issue
Solution
Image file too large
Compress images or use smaller file sizes (check platform limits below)
Video format not supported
Convert video to MP4 with H.264 codec
Video duration exceeded
Trim video to meet platform requirements
Wrong aspect ratio
Resize media to match platform specifications
Too many attachments
Reduce the number of photos/videos in carousel posts
Missing required media
Add the required photo or video for the selected post type
Content Policy & Limits
Issue
Solution
Caption too long
Shorten your caption to meet platform character limits
Too many hashtags
Reduce hashtags (Instagram allows max 30)
Content policy violation
Review and modify content that may violate platform guidelines
Link validation failed
Check that any URLs in your post are valid and accessible
Platform & API Issues
Issue
Solution
Rate limit exceeded
Wait and retry later — platforms limit how frequently you can post
Platform API unavailable
Temporary issue — retry after a few minutes
Account restricted
Check your social account for any restrictions or violations
Feature not supported
Verify your account type supports the feature (e.g., Stories require Business accounts)
Platform-Specific Failures
Facebook
Limit
Requirement
Caption length
Maximum 5,000 characters
Image size
Maximum 10MB
Video size
Maximum 1GB
Carousel photos
Maximum 10 photos
Story video
3-90 seconds, 9:16 aspect ratio
Reel
Requires video attachment
Instagram
Limit
Requirement
Caption length
Maximum 2,200 characters
Hashtags
Maximum 30 per post
Image size
Maximum 8MB
Carousel items
Maximum 10 photos/videos
Reel duration
3 seconds to 15 minutes
Story video
3-60 seconds
Single video
Must be published as a Reel (not regular post)
X (Twitter)
Limit
Requirement
Post length
Varies by subscription tier (280-25,000 characters)
Image size
Maximum 5MB (GIFs: 15MB)
Carousel photos
Maximum 4 photos
Video duration
1-140 seconds
Video aspect ratio
1:3 to 3:1
LinkedIn
Limit
Requirement
Caption length
Maximum 3,000 characters
Document posts
Requires document title
Text posts
Requires message content
Photo posts
Requires at least one photo
Video posts
Requires video attachment
TikTok
Limit
Requirement
Caption length
Maximum 2,200 characters
Video posts
Requires video file
Photo posts
Maximum 35 photos
Privacy setting
Required — must select a privacy status
YouTube
Limit
Requirement
Title length
Maximum 100 characters
Description length
Maximum 5,000 characters
Shorts
Requires exactly one video with a title
Pinterest
Limit
Requirement
Title length
Maximum 100 characters
Description length
Maximum 800 characters
Link length
Maximum 2,048 characters
Board selection
Required — must select a Pinterest board
Media
Requires at least one photo or video
Threads, Bluesky & Mastodon
Platform
Character Limit
Threads
Maximum 500 characters
Bluesky
Maximum 300 characters
Mastodon
Maximum 500 characters (varies by instance)
Fixing and Retrying Failed Posts
Follow these steps to fix a failed post and retry publishing:
From the Calendar View
Click on the failed post (shown with a red indicator)
Review the error message in the red banner at the top
Click Edit to open the post in the composer
Fix the issue based on the error message
Click Schedule or Publish Now to retry
From Notifications
Click the notification bell icon
Find the failure notification
Click on the notification to go directly to the post editor
Fix the issue and resubmit
What Happens When You Retry
When you edit and reschedule a failed post:
Previous error information is cleared
The post enters the processing queue fresh
Viraly attempts to publish again with your updated content
If the Post Still Fails
If your post continues to fail after retrying:
Check the error details — Click “More Details” in the error banner for technical information
Verify your connection — Go to Settings → Social Profiles and check if the account shows any errors
Reconnect the profile — If the connection is expired, click Reconnect to re-authenticate
Try a different approach — If media is the issue, try uploading different files or formats
Contact support — If you’ve tried everything and the post still fails, reach out to support with the error details
Preventing Future Failures
Follow these best practices to minimize post failures:
Keep connections healthy — Periodically check Settings → Social Profiles for any warning icons
Grant all permissions — When connecting accounts, always grant all requested permissions
Follow platform limits — Stay within character counts, file sizes, and media requirements
Use supported formats — MP4 for videos, JPG/PNG for images
Check before publishing — Review any validation warnings shown in the composer before scheduling
Monitor notifications — Pay attention to token refresh failures and reconnect promptly