Make the image optional for WordPress posts too

Some blog posts just don't have one. WordPressPublisher no longer
rejects publishing a type=blog post without image_url — it uploads
and attaches it as the featured image when present, and simply skips
that step (no featured_media set) otherwise.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

AI_API.md

@@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ SocialAccount  (login for a social network)
 Post  (one piece of content, belongs to a Site, optionally a SocialAccount)
   └─ type: same vocabulary as SocialAccount.network, plus "blog"
   └─ target: nullable, network-specific destination (e.g. a subreddit for type=reddit)
-  └─ image_url: nullable URL. Required to publish type=blog (WordPress) —
+  └─ image_url: nullable URL, optional for every type. If set on a
-     used as the featured image. Optional for every other type.
+     type=blog post, WordPressPublisher uploads it and uses it as the
+     featured image — but it's fine to publish a blog post without one.
   └─ status: draft -> scheduled -> publishing -> published | failed
   └─ published_url: set once it's actually live somewhere
   └─ publish_error: set to the failure reason when status=failed (or when a
@@ -157,9 +158,9 @@ must exist if given. `type` required, one of `twitter`, `instagram`,
 `facebook`, `reddit`, `tiktok`, `linkedin`, `youtube`, `blog`, `other`.
 `body` required. `title` nullable. `target` nullable — a network-specific
 destination, e.g. the subreddit name for `type=reddit`. `image_url` nullable
-URL — not enforced at save time (you can draft a `type=blog` post without one),
+URL, optional for every type — if set on a `type=blog` post it's uploaded to
-but `WordPressPublisher` will reject publishing it until it's set. `status`
+WordPress as the featured image, but publishing works fine without one.
-defaults to `draft` if omitted. `scheduled_at` nullable datetime.
+`status` defaults to `draft` if omitted. `scheduled_at` nullable datetime.
 
 Note: `type` and the linked Social Account's `network` are **not**
 cross-validated — you can link a `type=blog` post to a Twitter account, or
@@ -217,18 +218,20 @@ php artisan posts:publish {post_id}
 What it does:
 1. Loads the Post and its Site.
 2. Validates: `post.type` must be `blog`, `post.title` must be set,
-   `post.image_url` must be set, `site.cms_type` must be `wordpress`, and
+   `site.cms_type` must be `wordpress`, and the site must have
-   the site must have `wp_username`/`wp_app_password` set. Any failure here
+   `wp_username`/`wp_app_password` set. Any failure here exits 1 with a
-   exits 1 with a descriptive message and **does not touch** `Post.status`.
+   descriptive message and **does not touch** `Post.status`.
-3. Downloads `post.image_url`, then POSTs it to
+3. If `post.image_url` is set: downloads it, then POSTs it to
    `{site.url}/wp-json/wp/v2/media` (HTTP Basic Auth with the site's
    WordPress Application Password) to upload it as media and get back a
-   media id.
+   media id. Skipped entirely if there's no image — that's fine, the post
+   just won't have a featured image.
 4. POSTs to `{site.url}/wp-json/wp/v2/posts` with `status: publish` (goes
-   live immediately, not a WP draft) and `featured_media` set to that id.
+   live immediately, not a WP draft), and `featured_media` set to the
+   uploaded media id if there was one.
 5. On success: sets `Post.status = published`, `Post.published_url` to the
    new post's permalink, prints `{"success": true, "url": "..."}`, exits 0.
-6. On failure at either HTTP step (bad credentials, unreachable site,
+6. On failure at any HTTP step (bad credentials, unreachable site,
    unreachable/rejected image, WordPress error): sets `Post.status = failed`,
    prints `{"success": false, "error": "..."}`, exits 1.
 

README.md

@@ -26,10 +26,10 @@ Built with Laravel 13, Livewire, and Tailwind CSS.
   (e.g. Reddit's browser automation) don't block the page.
 - Built-in publishers (`app/Support/Publishing/`), one per network, resolved
   by `Post.type`:
-  - **WordPress**: posts directly to a site's WordPress REST API, uploading
+  - **WordPress**: posts directly to a site's WordPress REST API. If
-    `Post.image_url` as the featured image first — required to publish a
+    `Post.image_url` is set (optional, for every post type), it's uploaded
-    WordPress post, optional for every other post type. Also available
+    and used as the featured image. Also available synchronously from the
-    synchronously from the CLI: `php artisan posts:publish {post_id}`.
+    CLI: `php artisan posts:publish {post_id}`.
   - **Reddit**: drives a standalone Playwright sidecar at
     `sidecars/reddit-post/` that logs in and creates a post.
   - Anything else: no publisher yet — publish however fits, then report

app/Support/Publishing/WordPressPublisher.php

@@ -20,10 +20,6 @@ class WordPressPublisher implements Publisher
             return PublishResult::rejected("Post {$post->id} has no title, required to publish to WordPress.");
         }
 
-        if (! $post->image_url) {
-            return PublishResult::rejected("Post {$post->id} has no image, required to publish to WordPress.");
-        }
-
         $site = $post->site;
 
         if ($site->cms_type !== 'wordpress') {
@@ -34,20 +30,25 @@ class WordPressPublisher implements Publisher
             return PublishResult::rejected("Site '{$site->name}' is missing WordPress credentials.");
         }
 
-        $mediaId = $this->uploadFeaturedImage($post, $site);
+        $payload = [
+            'title' => $post->title,
+            'content' => $post->body,
+            'status' => 'publish',
+        ];
 
-        if ($mediaId instanceof PublishResult) {
+        if ($post->image_url) {
-            return $mediaId;
+            $mediaId = $this->uploadFeaturedImage($post, $site);
+
+            if ($mediaId instanceof PublishResult) {
+                return $mediaId;
+            }
+
+            $payload['featured_media'] = $mediaId;
         }
 
         try {
             $response = Http::withBasicAuth($site->wp_username, $site->wp_app_password)
-                ->post(rtrim($site->url, '/').'/wp-json/wp/v2/posts', [
+                ->post(rtrim($site->url, '/').'/wp-json/wp/v2/posts', $payload);
-                    'title' => $post->title,
-                    'content' => $post->body,
-                    'status' => 'publish',
-                    'featured_media' => $mediaId,
-                ]);
         } catch (ConnectionException $e) {
             return PublishResult::failed("could not connect to site: {$e->getMessage()}");
         }

resources/views/livewire/posts/index.blade.php

@@ -27,8 +27,6 @@
                     <td class="p-3">
                         @if ($post->image_url)
                             <img src="{{ $post->image_url }}" alt="" class="w-10 h-10 object-cover rounded">
-                        @elseif ($post->type === 'blog')
-                            <span class="text-xs text-amber-600">missing</span>
                         @else
                             <span class="text-gray-400">—</span>
                         @endif
@@ -118,7 +116,7 @@
 
                 <div>
                     <label class="block text-sm font-medium">
-                        Image URL {{ $type === 'blog' ? '(required to publish to WordPress)' : '(optional)' }}
+                        Image URL (optional{{ $type === 'blog' ? ' — used as the featured image on WordPress if set' : '' }})
                     </label>
                     <input type="url" wire:model="imageUrl" placeholder="https://..." class="w-full border rounded p-2">
                     @error('imageUrl') <span class="text-red-600 text-sm">{{ $message }}</span> @enderror

tests/Feature/PublishPostCommandTest.php

@@ -29,20 +29,9 @@ test('it fails when the post has no title', function () {
         ->assertExitCode(1);
 });
 
-test('it fails when the post has no image', function () {
-    $site = Site::factory()->wordpress()->create();
-    $post = Post::factory()->create(['site_id' => $site->id, 'type' => 'blog', 'title' => 'Hi', 'image_url' => null]);
-
-    $this->artisan('posts:publish', ['post' => $post->id])
-        ->expectsOutputToContain('no image')
-        ->assertExitCode(1);
-
-    expect($post->fresh()->status)->toBe($post->status);
-});
-
 test('it fails when the site is not configured as WordPress', function () {
     $site = Site::factory()->create(['cms_type' => 'custom']);
-    $post = Post::factory()->create(['site_id' => $site->id, 'type' => 'blog', 'title' => 'Hi', 'image_url' => 'https://example.com/image.jpg']);
+    $post = Post::factory()->create(['site_id' => $site->id, 'type' => 'blog', 'title' => 'Hi']);
 
     $this->artisan('posts:publish', ['post' => $post->id])
         ->expectsOutputToContain('not configured as WordPress')
@@ -51,13 +40,47 @@ test('it fails when the site is not configured as WordPress', function () {
 
 test('it fails when the WordPress site is missing credentials', function () {
     $site = Site::factory()->create(['cms_type' => 'wordpress', 'wp_username' => null, 'wp_app_password' => null]);
-    $post = Post::factory()->create(['site_id' => $site->id, 'type' => 'blog', 'title' => 'Hi', 'image_url' => 'https://example.com/image.jpg']);
+    $post = Post::factory()->create(['site_id' => $site->id, 'type' => 'blog', 'title' => 'Hi']);
 
     $this->artisan('posts:publish', ['post' => $post->id])
         ->expectsOutputToContain('missing WordPress credentials')
         ->assertExitCode(1);
 });
 
+test('it publishes successfully without an image', function () {
+    Http::fake([
+        '*/wp-json/wp/v2/posts' => Http::response([
+            'id' => 42,
+            'link' => 'https://wp.example.com/2026/07/hello-world/',
+        ], 201),
+    ]);
+
+    $site = Site::factory()->wordpress()->create(['url' => 'https://wp.example.com']);
+    $post = Post::factory()->create([
+        'site_id' => $site->id,
+        'type' => 'blog',
+        'title' => 'Hello World',
+        'body' => 'Post content',
+        'image_url' => null,
+        'status' => 'draft',
+    ]);
+
+    $this->artisan('posts:publish', ['post' => $post->id])
+        ->expectsOutputToContain('"success":true')
+        ->assertExitCode(0);
+
+    expect($post->fresh())
+        ->status->toBe('published')
+        ->published_url->toBe('https://wp.example.com/2026/07/hello-world/');
+
+    Http::assertNotSent(fn ($request) => $request->url() === 'https://wp.example.com/wp-json/wp/v2/media');
+
+    Http::assertSent(function ($request) {
+        return $request->url() === 'https://wp.example.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts'
+            && ! array_key_exists('featured_media', $request->data());
+    });
+});
+
 test('it publishes successfully, uploading the image as the featured media', function () {
     Http::fake([
         'https://images.example.com/*' => Http::response('fake-image-bytes', 200, ['Content-Type' => 'image/jpeg']),