The Double-Edged Sword of Content Automation: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Process
As a full-stack developer, I've always been fascinated by the intersection of technology and creativity. Recently, I found myself at the forefront of this intersection, trying to automate my content creation process. The goal was ambitious: to create a system that could automatically publish my articles across multiple platforms, including Dev.to, Hashnode, and Squad. It sounded like a dream come true – more time to focus on writing, less time spent on manual publishing. But, as I soon discovered, the reality was far more complicated.
The problem I was trying to solve was simple: I wanted to share my content with a wider audience, without sacrificing too much time in the process. As a developer, I'm no stranger to automation, but content creation is a uniquely human endeavor. I needed to find a way to balance the creative aspects of writing with the technical aspects of automation. The context of my project was clear: I had a repository full of articles, and I wanted to publish them across multiple platforms. The question was, how could I do it efficiently, without sacrificing quality or control?
My initial approach was to use a combination of scripts and APIs to automate the publishing process. I started by exploring the Dev.to API, which seemed like the most straightforward option. I spent hours poring over the documentation, trying to figure out how to use it to publish my articles. But, as I soon discovered, the API had its limitations. For one, it required a significant amount of setup and configuration, which was time-consuming and frustrating. Moreover, the API was rate-limited, which meant I could only publish a certain number of articles per day. I realized that I needed to find a way to work around these limitations if I wanted to achieve my goal.
The exploration phase of my project was marked by trial and error. I tried using different APIs, different scripts, and different approaches. I encountered numerous setbacks and obstacles along the way, from authentication issues to formatting problems. But, with each failure, I learned something new, and I began to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges involved in automating content creation. One of the biggest breakthroughs came when I discovered the daily.dev platform, which allowed me to integrate my content with multiple platforms, including Dev.to and Hashnode. This was a game-changer, as it enabled me to publish my content across multiple platforms with a single click.
The solution I eventually found was a combination of daily.dev, Dev.to, and Hashnode APIs, along with a custom script that handled the publishing process. The script was written in Python, using the requests library to interact with the APIs. It was a simple, yet effective solution, that allowed me to publish my articles across multiple platforms with ease. The code was straightforward, and it looked something like this:
import requests
def publish_article(article):
# Set API endpoints and credentials
dev_to_api = "https://dev.to/api/articles"
hashnode_api = "https://hashnode.com/api/v1/articles"
daily_dev_api = "https://daily.dev/api/v1/articles"
# Set API credentials
dev_to_token = "YOUR_DEV_TO_TOKEN"
hashnode_token = "YOUR_HASHNODE_TOKEN"
daily_dev_token = "YOUR_DAILY_DEV_TOKEN"
# Publish article to Dev.to
dev_to_headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {dev_to_token}"}
dev_to_response = requests.post(dev_to_api, headers=dev_to_headers, json=article)
# Publish article to Hashnode
hashnode_headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {hashnode_token}"}
hashnode_response = requests.post(hashnode_api, headers=hashnode_headers, json=article)
# Publish article to daily.dev
daily_dev_headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {daily_dev_token}"}
daily_dev_response = requests.post(daily_dev_api, headers=daily_dev_headers, json=article)
# Check responses
if dev_to_response.status_code == 201:
print("Article published to Dev.to")
else:
print("Error publishing to Dev.to")
if hashnode_response.status_code == 201:
print("Article published to Hashnode")
else:
print("Error publishing to Hashnode")
if daily_dev_response.status_code == 201:
print("Article published to daily.dev")
else:
print("Error publishing to daily.dev")
This script allowed me to publish my articles across multiple platforms with a single click, saving me hours of time and effort.
As I reflect on my journey, I realize that the biggest lesson I learned was the importance of perseverance and adaptability. Automating content creation is a complex task, and it requires a deep understanding of the technical and creative aspects involved. I learned to stop worrying about the outcome and focus on the process, embracing the mistakes and setbacks as opportunities for growth and learning. The experience also taught me the value of community and collaboration, as I discovered new platforms and tools that helped me achieve my goal.
So, what's next? I'm excited to continue exploring the possibilities of content automation, and to share my knowledge and experience with others. I'm currently working on integrating my script with other platforms, such as Substack and Medium, and I'm experimenting with new formats and mediums, such as video and podcasting. The future of content creation is exciting and uncertain, and I'm eager to see where this journey takes me. As I look back on my experience, I'm reminded of the wise words of a fellow developer: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." And, with that, I'm off to invent my next adventure in content automation.
Part of my Build in Public series — sharing the real process of building SaaS projects from Playa del Carmen, México.
Repo: zaerohell/content-automation · 2026-06-18
#playadev #buildinpublic
