script for socials to buffer (#1589)

- add a script to put the posts for sponsors and speakers to buffer
directly (no need to use zapier)
- fix bugs in the script for generating the combined queue
- add documentation
- add the json with queue for 2026 for visibility 
- add missing partner cards

---------

Co-authored-by: pre-commit-ci[bot] <66853113+pre-commit-ci[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: celinaczy

.gitignore

@@ -142,3 +142,6 @@ storybook-static/
 
 # EuroPython website
 src/content/days
+
+# Local secrets (never commit)
+.env.local

docs/social-media-scheduling.md

@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+# Social Media Scheduling
+
+This document describes the end-to-end process for generating social media cards
+and scheduling posts for EuroPython 2026 speakers, sponsors, and community
+partners via Buffer.
+
+---
+
+## Overview
+
+The pipeline has three stages:
+
+1. **Generate social card images** — render PNG cards for speakers and sponsors
+   using Puppeteer
+2. **Generate the post queue** — hit the Astro API endpoint to produce
+   `queue.json`
+3. **Schedule posts to Buffer** — run the Python script to push items from the
+   queue
+
+---
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Dev server running locally (`pnpm dev`, default port `4321`)
+- Node.js + pnpm installed
+- Python environment with dependencies: `requests`, `python-dotenv`
+- A `.env.local` file in the project root with your Buffer API key:
+
+```
+BUFFER_API_KEY=your_buffer_api_key_here
+```
+
+This file is gitignored and never committed.
+
+### Getting the Buffer API key
+
+1. Log in to [buffer.com](https://buffer.com) with the EuroPython account
+2. Go to **Account Settings** → **Apps & Integrations** (or navigate directly to
+   https://account.buffer.com/apps)
+3. Under **Access Token**, copy your personal access token
+4. Paste it as the value of `BUFFER_API_KEY` in your `.env.local`
+
+---
+
+## Step 1 — Generate Social Card Images
+
+Social cards are 900×900px PNG images rendered from Astro pages and
+screenshotted with Puppeteer.
+
+### Speaker cards
+
+```bash
+node scripts/download_social_speakers.cjs
+```
+
+Screenshots are saved to the current directory. Move them to the right place:
+
+```bash
+mv social-*.png public/media/speakers/
+```
+
+### Sponsor & partner cards
+
+```bash
+node scripts/download_social_sponsors.cjs
+```
+
+Move them:
+
+```bash
+mv social-*.png public/media/sponsors/
+```
+
+> The scripts read from `http://localhost:4321/media/speakers` and
+> `http://localhost:4321/media/sponsors` respectively, so the dev server must be
+> running.
+
+### Checking for missing images
+
+Cross-reference the live site with what's in `public/media/sponsors/`. Every
+sponsor and partner listed on:
+
+- https://ep2026.europython.eu/sponsors/
+- https://ep2026.europython.eu/community-partners/
+
+should have a corresponding `social-<slug>.png` in `public/media/sponsors/`.
+
+---
+
+## Step 2 — Generate the Post Queue
+
+The queue is a JSON file that interleaves speakers, sponsors, and community
+partners in a repeating pattern:
+
+```
+speaker → speaker → sponsor → speaker → partner → (repeat)
+```
+
+Regenerate it by hitting the API endpoint while the dev server is running:
+
+```bash
+curl -s http://localhost:4321/api/media/combined_socials_queue > src/pages/api/media/combined_socials_queue.json
+```
+
+This overwrites `src/pages/api/media/combined_socials_queue.json` with all 150+
+items sorted and interleaved.
+
+### Tier classification
+
+Sponsors are split into two buckets:
+
+- **Commercial** (go into the sponsor slot): Keystone, Diamond, Platinum,
+  Platinum X, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Patron
+- **Community partners** (go into the partner slot): Partners, Supporters,
+  Financial Aid
+
+If a new sponsor tier is added, update `commercialTiers` in
+`src/pages/api/media/combined_socials_queue.ts`.
+
+### Manual queue adjustments
+
+You can edit `src/pages/api/media/combined_socials_queue.json` directly to
+reorder entries. For example, to swap two sponsors:
+
+```python
+python3 -c "
+import json
+path = 'src/pages/api/media/combined_socials_queue.json'
+with open(path) as f:
+    q = json.load(f)
+q[2], q[17] = q[17], q[2]  # swap positions 3 and 18 (0-indexed)
+with open(path, 'w') as f:
+    json.dump(q, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
+"
+```
+
+`src/pages/api/media/combined_socials_queue.json` is committed to the repo. Any
+manual reordering should be committed so the intentional order is preserved and
+not lost when the queue is regenerated.
+
+---
+
+## Step 3 — Commit and Merge Images
+
+Before scheduling, the social card images need to be live on the production
+site. Buffer fetches the image URL at scheduling time and will fail with
+`Failed to fetch image dimensions: Not Found` if the file isn't deployed yet.
+
+1. Stage the new images:
+
+```bash
+git add public/media/speakers/ public/media/sponsors/
+```
+
+2. Commit:
+
+```bash
+git commit -m "Add social media cards for speakers/sponsors"
+```
+
+3. Push to a branch and open a PR:
+
+```bash
+git push -u origin your-branch-name
+gh pr create --title "Add social media cards" --body "New speaker and sponsor social card PNGs for Buffer scheduling."
+```
+
+4. Wait for the PR to be merged and deployed before proceeding to Step 4.
+
+You can verify the images are live by checking a URL like:
+`https://ep2026.europython.eu/media/sponsors/social-arm.png`
+
+---
+
+## Step 4 — Schedule Posts via Buffer
+
+> ⚠️ **Images must be live before scheduling.** Buffer fetches the image URL at
+> scheduling time. If the PNG hasn't been deployed yet (i.e. the PR adding it
+> hasn't been merged and deployed), Buffer will fail with
+> `Failed to fetch image dimensions: Not Found`. Always merge and confirm the
+> images are live at `https://ep2026.europython.eu/media/speakers/` or
+> `https://ep2026.europython.eu/media/sponsors/` before running the script.
+
+### How Buffer scheduling works
+
+Buffer operates as a FIFO queue against pre-configured time slots:
+
+- Time slots are defined per channel inside Buffer (e.g. "Twitter, weekdays at
+  09:00 and 14:00").
+- Incoming posts fill the next available slot in order — you don't pick a
+  specific date/time.
+- Slots can be added or shifted directly in Buffer if you need to change the
+  cadence.
+
+> ⚠️ **Check your Buffer slots before running the script.** If you push 120
+> cards and there is only one slot per day per channel, you'll end up with posts
+> queued months out — and there is no bulk deletion in Buffer, so you'd have to
+> remove them one by one. Before each run, open Buffer and verify the number and
+> cadence of slots for each channel matches your intended rollout pace.
+
+The scheduling script is at `src/pages/api/media/buffer-scheduling.py`.
+
+### Configuration
+
+Open the script and set the range of queue items to schedule:
+
+```python
+QUEUE_START = 1   # first item (1-based, inclusive)
+QUEUE_END   = 5   # last item (1-based, inclusive)
+```
+
+It's a good idea to start with a small batch (e.g. 1–5) to verify everything
+looks correct in Buffer before pushing the full queue. Once you're happy with
+the results, increment the range for subsequent runs.
+
+### Running the script
+
+```bash
+uv run python src/pages/api/media/buffer-scheduling.py
+```
+
+Or with your venv activated:
+
+```bash
+python src/pages/api/media/buffer-scheduling.py
+```
+
+### What it does
+
+1. Connects to Buffer and fetches your channel profile IDs
+2. Iterates over the selected queue items
+3. For each item, posts to every channel that has text defined (`instagram`,
+   `x`, `linkedin`, `bsky`, `fosstodon`)
+4. Skips channels with empty text or no matching Buffer profile
+5. Adds Instagram-specific metadata (`postType: post`) automatically
+6. Waits 1.5 seconds between items to respect rate limits
+
+### Channel notes
+
+- **Instagram**: requires `postType: post` — handled automatically
+- **Sponsors/partners**: no Instagram channel (only x, linkedin, bsky,
+  fosstodon)
+- **Speakers**: all 5 channels including Instagram
+- **Bluesky**: Buffer returns this as `"bluesky"` — normalized to `"bsky"`
+  automatically
+
+### Tracking progress
+
+After each successful run, note the last `QUEUE_END` value. The next run should
+set `QUEUE_START = previous QUEUE_END + 1`.
+
+Already scheduled as of initial setup:
+
+- Positions 1–3: Abhik Sarkar, Abhimanyu Singh Shekhawat, Abigail Afi Gbadago
+
+Next batch (positions 4–8): Adam Gorgoń, Alejandro Cabello Jiménez,
+ActiveCampaign, Aleksander, 1Password
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+| Error                                         | Cause                           | Fix                                                        |
+| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `BUFFER_API_KEY not set`                      | Missing `.env.local`            | Create `.env.local` with the key                           |
+| `Failed to fetch image dimensions: Not Found` | Image not deployed yet          | Generate and commit the missing PNG first                  |
+| `Field "postType" is not defined`             | Wrong field placement           | `postType` goes inside `metadata.instagram`, not top-level |
+| `Channel profile not connected`               | Service name mismatch           | Check the normalization block in the script                |
+| `KeyError: 'channel'`                         | Queue item missing channel data | Re-run `curl .../queue > queue.json` to regenerate         |