User guide

How CreatorHQ works, start to finish

Everything you need to go from download to daily habit: setting up your account, connecting your platforms as they open up, and getting the most out of every tab. About a five-minute read — and about a five-minute setup.

Part 1 · Setup

Get set up in about five minutes

No CSV imports, no browser extensions, and you never hand over a platform password. Four steps and your HQ is running.

STEP 01

Download CreatorHQ and create your account

Grab CreatorHQ for Mac or Windows, or get it on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and open it. Create your account with your name, email, and a password — the only password you'll ever set with us, stored as a secure one-way hash. If you subscribed on the web first, sign in with the same email and your plan is already active.

STEP 02

Connect YouTube with Google sign-in

Go to the Settings tab, open Platforms, and tap Connect YouTube. You're taken to Google's official sign-in and consent screen — you approve access there, on Google's servers, not ours. Once you're back in CreatorHQ, your channel stats, video performance, and every new comment start flowing in.

STEP 03

Connect Bluesky and Mastodon the same way

Still in Platforms, connect Bluesky or Mastodon — both are open today, and your mentions, replies, and messages join the same inbox. Facebook and Instagram connect from this same screen the moment Meta's review clears: one Meta Connect approval through Facebook Login for Business will import both your Facebook Page and the Instagram Business or Creator account linked to it.

STEP 04

Let the first sync do its thing

CreatorHQ pulls in your comments, mentions, follower counts, and post performance from every connected platform. From then on it keeps itself current: Home builds your Today's Mission, the Inbox counts what actually needs a reply, and Analytics scores your Creator Health — automatically.

OAuth onlyEvery connection goes through the platform's official sign-in. CreatorHQ never sees or stores your platform passwords.
Disconnect anytimeRemove any connected account instantly from More → Platforms. Access is revoked the moment you tap Disconnect.
One account, every deviceSign in with the same email on Mac, Windows, iPhone, or iPad today — and on Android when that app launches.
Part 2 · The five tabs

Where everything lives once you're connected

CreatorHQ is organized into five tabs. Here's what each one is for and how to use it — every screenshot is CreatorHQ itself on real connected accounts.

Tab 01 · Home

Start here: your daily mission, already built

Open CreatorHQ and Home tells you exactly what today needs. No digging through three platforms to figure out where to start.

  • Check your Creator Health score at the top — one number for how your whole presence is doing.
  • Read Today's Mission — your priority task for the day, like "Reply to 19 priority comments today."
  • Scan the Content Pipeline — ideas, drafts, scheduled, and published counts at a glance.
  • Work the Priority Comments feed — the comments that most need a reply, pulled from every connected platform, or jump into the AI Copilot right from the top of the screen.
CreatorHQ Home tab showing Mission Control with Today's Mission, a Creator Health score, and Content Pipeline stats
Tab 02 · Inbox

Clear every comment, mention, and message in one pass

Everything your audience sends you across your connected platforms lands in one feed. Here's the fastest way to work it.

  • Start with the actionable count — the Inbox tells you how many items genuinely need you, not just how many exist.
  • Filter by intent — cut the feed to Opportunity, Risk, Question, or Reply and handle one kind of message at a time.
  • Triage by priority — Waiting, Critical, High, and Medium counts show where the fires are, so start at Critical.
  • Search when you need it — find any comment or message across every platform from one search bar, and watch your Inbox Health score climb as you stay on top of it.
CreatorHQ Inbox tab showing actionable items, category filters for Opportunity, Risk, Question and Reply, priority counts, and the Inbox Health score
Tab 03 · Create

Put the AI Copilot to work — on your terms

Create is where CreatorHQ's AI lives. It's wired into your own accounts, audience, and brand knowledge — not a generic chatbot.

  • Read your Creator Copilot brief — an AI operating brief with recommended actions based on what's happening across your platforms right now.
  • Chat with Copilot — it has access to your creator memory, knowledge base, inbox, publish queue, analytics, and projects, so you can ask it real questions about your channel.
  • Fill in your Knowledge Base early — add your brand rules, FAQs, sponsor notes, and product facts once, and every AI draft uses them from then on. This is the single highest-leverage five minutes in CreatorHQ.
  • Review everything before it goes out — AI drafts are suggestions. Nothing is posted or sent without your review and your tap.
CreatorHQ Create tab showing the Creator Copilot operating brief, Copilot Chat, and Knowledge Base cards
Tab 04 · Analytics

Check the numbers — and what to do about them

Analytics aggregates your stats across every connected platform, then explains them in plain language and recommends your next move.

  • Watch your Creator Health score — one score with plain-language guidance on what's helping and what's hurting it.
  • See the combined picture — followers, views, posts, and comments awaiting a reply, aggregated across every platform you've connected.
  • Act on AI Insights — growth score, content health, engagement status, and a recommended next move.
  • Read the AI Strategy Report weekly — an auto-generated report covering your wins, risks, and next moves. Great Monday-morning ritual.
CreatorHQ Analytics tab showing AI Insights with growth score, content health, engagement status and next move, plus the AI Strategy Report card
Tab 05 · Settings

Manage connections, actions, and your account

The Settings tab is the control room behind the control room — come here whenever you need to change what's connected or how CreatorHQ runs.

  • Platforms — see every connected account, add new ones, or disconnect any of them instantly.
  • Action Center — review and manage the actions CreatorHQ has queued up for you.
  • Knowledge Base — manage the brand rules, FAQs, and facts your AI Copilot draws on.
  • Account and subscription — your profile, plan, and billing settings, including switching plans, all in one place.
CreatorHQ More tab showing the Platforms, Action Center, and Knowledge Base management cards
Part 3 · The daily rhythm

What a day with CreatorHQ looks like

Once you're set up, CreatorHQ works best as a short daily loop instead of an all-day tab. Most creators settle into something like this.

MORNING

Open Home, read your mission

Check your Creator Health score and Today's Mission. In under a minute you know whether today is a reply day, a posting day, or a "everything's fine, go create" day.

MIDDAY

Clear the Inbox in one pass

Work the actionable items — Critical first, then filter by Question or Opportunity. Let the AI Copilot draft replies where it helps, review each one, and send. Your Inbox Health score tracks the payoff.

AFTERNOON

Plan and draft in Create

Check your Content Pipeline, move ideas toward drafts on the content calendar, and use Copilot Chat to draft captions and replies grounded in your Knowledge Base. You approve everything before it goes anywhere.

WEEKLY

Review Analytics and the Strategy Report

Once a week, open Analytics for the cross-platform picture and read the AI Strategy Report — wins, risks, and next moves. Adjust the coming week's plan, then get back to creating.

Quick answers

Common setup questions

Which platforms can I connect today?

Twenty platforms are built into CreatorHQ — YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Patreon, Shopify and more (see the full list). Each platform has to approve our API access before we can open it up. YouTube (Google-verified), Bluesky, and Mastodon have the full two-way inbox today; LinkedIn, Twitch, Discord, Telegram, Tumblr, Patreon, and Etsy accept account connections now with syncing rolling out; Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are furthest along in review. We turn each on as it clears.

When Meta connections open: why might Instagram not show up?

Facebook and Instagram are in Meta's review now. Once Meta Connect is live, Instagram comes in through the Instagram Business or Creator account linked to your Facebook Page — if it's missing, open Meta's settings, make sure your Instagram account is a Business or Creator account linked to your Page, then reconnect from More → Platforms.

Do I need a subscription before I can set up CreatorHQ?

You can subscribe on the web first and then sign in to CreatorHQ with the same email, or start right in CreatorHQ — either way, your plan and your account are the same everywhere. See plans and pricing for what each tier includes.

Something else isn't working. Where do I get help?

The Support page covers billing, account, and connection questions, and you can always reach a real person at support@usecreatorhq.com — we reply within 1–2 business days.

Ready to set up your HQ?

Download CreatorHQ for Mac, Windows, iPhone, or iPad, connect your platforms in two taps, and let your command center build itself.