Outcomes

Keep account, publication, delivery, native post, schedule, and media identifiers distinct in application code.

A public reference is a JSON-safe locator, not a secret and not an authorization decision. Each reference has a kind, a version, and the backend registry key it routes to. The client checks the kind and version on some calls and routes on backend; it does not prove the caller owns the reference. The application still checks that the current tenant may use the referenced account.

Resource boundaries

• A connected account (ConnectedAccountRef) identifies an authorized social identity through one backend instance: backend, platform, and accountId.
• A publication (PublicationRef) identifies one publish call. It has only backend and publicationId, with no platform or account, because one publication can span several. When its targets use more than one backend, backend is "multiple".
• A delivery (DeliveryRef) records one target’s attempt. It is account-scoped: backend, platform, accountId, and deliveryId. Use it with posts.getDelivery.
• A platform post (PlatformPostRef) identifies content on the destination network, including content that Social SDK did not create. It is account-scoped and may carry provider-native identifiers in native.
• A scheduled job belongs to a backend or application worker and is not a platform post.
• Media, comments, and conversations have their own account-scoped reference types.

These identifiers are not interchangeable. Removing a provider record, cancelling a pending schedule, and deleting content from a platform are separate operations with different permissions and side effects.

Outcome boundaries

Each target reports its own lifecycle. accepted or processing means the backend took responsibility for more work. Only a published outcome, which carries a PlatformPostRef, proves publication. A timeout can leave the result unknown; retrying that write blindly can duplicate public content.

Applications retain successful targets, reconcile uncertain targets, and retry only targets whose documented idempotency and failure state make a retry safe.