How Cradle works
Two programs. One decides what to publish and when. The other, running next to your phones, decides how. Everything below follows from that.
The one line that matters
Cradle decides
- What to publish
- When it goes out
- Which account
- Which phone
Runs in the cloud. Never touches a device.
The agent decides
- How to wake a phone
- How to open the app
- How to attach media
- How to tap publish
Runs on your machine. Only ever calls out.
One post, end to end
Nothing is marked published until the last step reports back.
- Write itcaption + media
- Pick a timeor publish now
- Time arrivesclaimed once
- Becomes a jobone per account
- Agent takes itholds the lease
- Phone does itstep by step
- Confirmedreported back
Six rules it never breaks
- Phones are never dialled into. The agent calls out.
- Video goes browser → private storage. Never through the app.
- Passwords go in and never come back out. Not to anyone.
- A dropped phone retries itself. A security check asks a person.
- Every permission is checked on the server, on every request.
- No CAPTCHA solving, no detection evasion. Ever.
- 2
- independent systems
- 1
- contract between them
- 3
- roles
- 6
- post formats
- 8
- job states
- 11
- core entities
Nine diagrams
Interactive — drag, zoom, click anything to trace what it connects to. Each opens on a page that answers one question.
Get your bearings
How it is built
- 02ArchitectureInside the Control PlaneHow is the cloud service organised, and what stops it turning into a ball of mud?
- 03ArchitectureInside the Farm AgentWhat is actually running next to the phones?
- 09ArchitectureHow the data fits togetherWhat are the core things in the system, and how do they relate?
How it behaves
- 06Data flowPost to execution: where the data goesWhat happens to a caption and a video between "Schedule" and "Published"?
- 07SequenceSigning a social account inHow does a password reach a phone without being handed around?
- 08State machineThe life of a device jobWhat states can a job be in, and how does it get unstuck?
Words you will see
- Workspace
- One team’s world. Nothing crosses between them.
- Farm Agent
- The program next to your phones. The only thing that touches one.
- Device
- A phone. Owned or rented — treated identically.
- Social account
- A TikTok or Instagram account, assigned to one phone.
- Post
- Your intention to publish. Not the act of publishing.
- Job
- One instruction to one phone. Three accounts, three jobs.
- Lease
- Proof an agent is the one doing this work. Expires if it stalls.
- Scenario
- The recipe for an app, in plain steps. No coordinates.
Watch it run Security
Diagrams are generated from typed sources next to the code, and describe the system as it is today.