Create a Post

This guide will walk you through the process of creating a Post.

Lens Post content, including text, images, videos, and more, is stored in what's known as Post Metadata. This metadata is a JSON file linked to the Lens Post via its public URI.

Your First Post

To create a Post on Lens, follow these steps.

You MUST be authenticated as Account Owner or Account Manager to post on Lens.

Create Post Metadata

First, construct a Post Metadata object with the necessary content.

TS/JS
JSON Schema

The Post Metadata Standard is part of the Lens Metadata Standards and covers various content types. Below are the most common ones.

Used to describe content that is text-only, such as a message or a comment.

Text-onlyimport { textOnly } from "@lens-protocol/metadata";
const metadata = textOnly({  content: `GM! GM!`,});

See textOnly(input): TextOnlyMetadata reference doc.

Upload Post Metadata

Then, upload the Post Metadata object to a public URI.

import { textOnly } from "@lens-protocol/metadata";import { storageClient } from "./storage-client";
const metadata = textOnly({  content: `GM! GM!`,});
const { uri } = await storageClient.uploadAsJson(metadata);
console.log(uri); // e.g., lens://4f91ca…

This example uses Lens Storage to host the Metadata object. See the Lens Metadata Standards guide for more information on hosting Metadata objects.

Create the Post

TypeScript
GraphQL
React

Then, use the post action to create a Lens Post.

import { uri } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { post } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
const result = await post(sessionClient, { contentUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…") });

To learn more about how to use Post Rules, see the Post Rules guide.

Handle Result

TypeScript
GraphQL
React

Finally, handle the result using the adapter for the library of your choice:

import { handleOperationWith } from "@lens-protocol/client/viem";
// …
const result = await post(sessionClient, {  contentUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),}).andThen(handleOperationWith(walletClient));

The Lens SDK example here leverages a functional approach to chaining operations using the Result<T, E> object. See the Error Handling guide for more information.

See the Transaction Lifecycle guide for more information on how to determine the status of the transaction.

Posting on a Custom Feed

Whenever you are creating a root Post (i.e., not a Comment or Quote) on a Custom Feed, you need to verify that the logged-in Account has the necessary requisites to post on that Feed.

As with Global Feeds, you MUST be authenticated as Account Owner or Account Manager to post on a Custom Feed.

Check Feed Rules

First, inspect the feed.operations.canPost field to determine whether the logged-in Account is allowed to post on the Custom Feed.

Check Rulesswitch (feed.operations.canPost.__typename) {  case "FeedOperationValidationPassed":    // Posting is allowed    break;
  case "FeedOperationValidationFailed":    // Posting is not allowed    console.log(feed.operations.canPost.reason);    break;
  case "FeedOperationValidationUnknown":    // Validation outcome is unknown    break;}

Where:

FeedOperationValidationPassed: The logged-in Account can post on the Custom Feed.
FeedOperationValidationFailed: Posting is not allowed. The reason field explains why, and unsatisfiedRules lists the unmet requirements.
FeedOperationValidationUnknown: The Custom Feed has one or more unknown rules requiring ad-hoc verification. The extraChecksRequired field provides the addresses and configurations of these rules.

Treat the FeedOperationValidationUnknown as failed unless you intend to support the specific rules. See Feed Rules for more information.

Create the Post

Then, if allowed, post on the Custom Feed.

For simplicity, we will omit the details on creating and uploading Post Metadata.

TypeScript
GraphQL
React

Post on Custom Feedimport { evmAddress, postId, uri } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { post } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
const result = await post(sessionClient, {  contentUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),  commentOn: {    post: postId("42"), // the post to comment on  },  feed: evmAddress("0x1234…"), // the custom feed address});

Continue as you would with a regular Post on the Global Feed.

Commenting on a Post

The process of commenting on a Post is similar to creating a Post so we will focus on the differences.

You MUST be authenticated as Account Owner or Account Manager to comment on Lens.

Check Parent Rules

First, inspect the post.operations.canComment field to determine whether the logged-in Account is allowed to comment on a given post. Some posts may have restrictions on who can comment on them.

Comments cannot have their own Post Rules. Instead, they inherit the rules of the root post (either a Post or a Quote) in the thread. The operations field of a comment reflects the rules of the root post.

Check Rulesswitch (post.operations.canComment.__typename) {  case "PostOperationValidationPassed":    // Commenting is allowed    break;
  case "PostOperationValidationFailed":    // Commenting is not allowed    console.log(post.operations.canComment.reason);    break;
  case "PostOperationValidationUnknown":    // Validation outcome is unknown    break;}

Where:

PostOperationValidationPassed: The logged-in Account can comment on the Post.
PostOperationValidationFailed: Commenting is not allowed. The reason field explains why, and unsatisfiedRules lists the unmet requirements.
PostOperationValidationUnknown: The Post or its Feed (for custom Feeds) has one or more unknown rules requiring ad-hoc verification. The extraChecksRequired field provides the addresses and configurations of these rules.

Treat the PostOperationValidationUnknown as failed unless you intend to support the specific rules. See Post Rules for more information.

Create Comment

Then, if allowed, create a Comment on the Post.

You MUST comment on the same Feed as the original Post. Cross-feed commenting is currently not supported. If you find this feature valuable, please let us know by opening an issue.

For simplicity, we will omit the details on creating and uploading Post Metadata.

TypeScript
GraphQL
React

import { postId, uri } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { post } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
const result = await post(sessionClient, {  contentUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),  commentOn: {    post: postId("42"), // the post to comment on  },});

Continue as you would with a regular Post.

Quoting a Post

The process of quoting a Post is similar to creating a Post so we will focus on the differences.

You MUST be authenticated as Account Owner or Account Manager to quote on Lens.

Check Post Rules

First, inspect the post.operations.canQuote field to determine whether the logged-in Account is allowed to quote a given Post. Some posts may have restrictions on who can quote them.

Check Rulesswitch (post.operations.canQuote.__typename) {  case "PostOperationValidationPassed":    // Quoting is allowed    break;
  case "PostOperationValidationFailed":    // Quoting is not allowed    console.log(post.operations.canQuote.reason);    break;
  case "PostOperationValidationUnknown":    // Validation outcome is unknown    break;}

Where:

PostOperationValidationPassed: The logged-in Account can quote the Post.
PostOperationValidationFailed: Quoting is not allowed. The reason field explains why, and unsatisfiedRules lists the unmet requirements.
PostOperationValidationUnknown: The Post or its Feed (for custom Feeds) has one or more unknown rules requiring ad-hoc verification. The extraChecksRequired field provides the addresses and configurations of these rules.

Treat the PostOperationValidationUnknown as failed unless you intend to support the specific rules. See Post Rules for more information.

Create Quote

Then, if allowed, create a Quote of the Post.

You MUST quote on the same Feed as the original Post. Cross-feed quoting is currently not supported. If you find this feature valuable, please let us know by opening an issue.

For simplicity, we will omit the details on creating and uploading Post Metadata.

TypeScript
GraphQL
React

import { postId, uri } from "@lens-protocol/client";import { post } from "@lens-protocol/client/actions";
const result = await post(sessionClient, {  contentUri: uri("lens://4f91ca…"),  quoteOf: {    post: postId("42"), // the post to quote  },});

To learn more about how to use Post Rules, see the Post Rules guide.

Then, continue as you would with a regular Post.