Reddit Posting Skill (AppleScript Chrome Control)

Post to Reddit by controlling the user's real Chrome via AppleScript. No Playwright, no Selenium, no API tokens.

How It Works

Claude Code → osascript → Chrome (real browser, logged in) → Reddit /api/submit

• Same-origin fetch with cookies → undetectable

• Reddit's /api/submit endpoint for text/link posts

• Modhash from /api/me.json for CSRF protection

Prerequisites

• macOS only (AppleScript is a macOS technology)

• Chrome: View → Developer → Allow JavaScript from Apple Events (restart Chrome after enabling)

• User logged into Reddit in Chrome

Method Detection (Run First)

WINDOWS=$(osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to return count of windows' 2>/dev/null) if [ "$WINDOWS" = "0" ] || [ -z "$WINDOWS" ]; then echo "METHOD 2 (System Events + Console)" else echo "METHOD 1 (execute javascript)" fi

See reddit-cultivate skill for full Method 1 vs Method 2 details.

Posting Workflow

Step 1: Get Modhash

osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to tell active tab of first window to execute javascript "fetch("/api/me.json",{credentials:"include"}).then(r=>r.json()).then(d=>{document.title="UH:"+d.data.modhash})"' sleep 2 osascript -e 'tell application "Google Chrome" to return title of active tab of first window'

Step 2: Submit Post

Navigate Chrome to reddit.com first (same-origin requirement), then submit:

(async()=>{ try { let body = new URLSearchParams({ sr: "SideProject", // subreddit name (no r/ prefix) kind: "self", // "self" for text, "link" for URL title: "Your post title", text: "Your post body with markdown support", uh: "MODHASH_HERE", api_type: "json", resubmit: "true" }); let resp = await fetch("/api/submit", { method: "POST", credentials: "include", headers: {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}, body: body.toString() }); let result = await resp.json(); document.title = "POSTED:" + JSON.stringify(result); } catch(e) { document.title = "ERR:" + e.message; } })()

For link posts, change:

kind: "link", url: "https://github.com/your/repo", // instead of text

Step 3: Extract Post Link

The response contains result.json.data.url — the direct link to the new post.

Step 4: Add Flair (if required)

Some subreddits require flair. After posting, use:

(async()=>{ try { // First get available flairs let resp = await fetch("/r/SUBREDDIT/api/link_flair_v2", {credentials: "include"}); let flairs = await resp.json(); document.title = "FLAIRS:" + JSON.stringify(flairs.map(f => ({id: f.id, text: f.text}))); } catch(e) { document.title = "ERR:" + e.message; } })()

Then apply flair:

(async()=>{ try { let body = new URLSearchParams({ link: "t3_POST_ID", flair_template_id: "FLAIR_ID", uh: "MODHASH" }); await fetch("/api/selectflair", { method: "POST", credentials: "include", headers: {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}, body: body.toString() }); document.title = "FLAIR_SET"; } catch(e) { document.title = "ERR:" + e.message; } })()

Step 5: Session Summary

Always end with the post link:

Sub Title Post Link

r/SideProject "Your title" https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/abc123/...

Spam Filter Avoidance

Words to AVOID in titles/body

Avoid Use Instead

crawl, crawled, crawling compiled, cataloged, indexed, collected

scrape, scraping gathered, extracted, retrieved

bot, automated tool, script, program

free (overused) open source, MIT licensed

hack, hacks tips, techniques, methods

Content Triggers to Avoid

• Multiple external links (max 1-2)

• URL shorteners (bit.ly, tinyurl)

• New account + promotional content

• Same content across multiple subreddits quickly

• Excessive self-promotion language

Best Subreddits for Open Source Projects

Subreddit Members Best For Notes

r/coolgithubprojects 60K GitHub repos Designed for this!

r/SideProject 453K Side projects Very welcoming

r/opensource 100K+ Open source tools Technical audience

r/programming 6M+ Dev tools High competition

r/Python 1.5M+ Python tools Active community

r/webdev 2M+ Web tools "Showoff Saturday" only

r/selfhosted 400K+ Self-hosted tools Great engagement

Best Times to Post (US Eastern Time)

Day Best Time

Monday 6-8 AM

Tuesday 7-9 AM

Wednesday 8-10 AM

Thursday 7-9 AM

Friday 6-8 AM

Saturday 7-9 AM

Sunday 8-10 AM

Post 30 minutes BEFORE peak times for momentum building.

Post Templates

Open Source Project Announcement

Title: I built [PROJECT_NAME] - [one-line description] (open source)

Body: Hey everyone,

I created [PROJECT_NAME] to solve [PROBLEM].

What it does:

• Feature 1
• Feature 2
• Feature 3

Tech stack: [Languages/frameworks]

Links:

• GitHub: [single link]

Happy to answer any questions!

Tool/Resource Share

Title: [TOOL_NAME]: [what it does] - free and open source

Body: Built this because [reason/pain point].

Features:

• [List 3-5 key features]

How to use: [Brief code example or instructions]

GitHub: [link]

Feedback welcome!

Cross-Posting Strategy

Stagger posts across subreddits for maximum reach:

• Day 1: Primary subreddit (most relevant)

• Day 2-3: Secondary subreddit (different audience)

• Day 4-5: General subreddit (r/SideProject, etc.)

Never post to multiple subreddits on the same day — triggers spam detection.

Error Recovery

Issue Solution

"Post removed by filters" Rewrite without trigger words, reduce links

"You're doing that too much" Wait 10-15 min, need more karma

"This community requires flair" Use /api/selectflair after posting

"Title too long" Keep under 300 characters

Post not visible Check if shadowbanned: profile in incognito

Modhash expired Re-fetch from /api/me.json

Why AppleScript (Not Playwright)

Tool Problem

Playwright navigator.webdriver=true , detected by Reddit

Selenium Same detection issue

curl + API IP blocked after few requests

AppleScript Controls real Chrome, undetectable, cookies included