Managing and importing groups
Here we've gathered everything about the "Groups" section in the dashboard: how to import your Facebook groups, what the full / light / soft tags mean, how to enable, disable, and delete groups, and why an import sometimes finds 0. The main rule is simple: the bot only works with groups your Facebook account has already joined.
What is "Import groups" / the "Scan" button? Will the bot find groups for me to post in?
"Import" (also called "Scan") isn't a search for new groups - it scans the groups you've ALREADY joined on Facebook. The bot connects to your server, opens the "My groups" list in your profile, collects the links, names, and member counts, and saves them to your dashboard, under the "Groups" section. Open the "Groups" page (/v2/groups) and click "Import groups". The bot won't join new groups for you - first join the groups you want on Facebook as usual, then run the import.
Do I need my own computer to import groups? Does the scan run on my laptop?
No, you don't need your own computer for this. The scan runs on your personal server (a separate Windows server with the bots that we set up for you), not on your device. You just click "Import groups" in the dashboard from any phone or computer. What's more, you can close the page right after you start it - the scan keeps running on the server without you.
How many groups does the import find? Is there a limit?
There's no limit on the number of groups - it imports every group your Facebook account belongs to. Exactly how many show up depends only on how many groups you're in. When it's done, you'll get a Telegram message like "✅ Group import complete. Found: N groups". For each group it also collects the member count and shows a badge next to it (for example "👥 5.0k").
How long does the import take, and can I close the tab?
The scan usually takes 5-10 minutes: first the bot scrolls through your group list and gathers links and names, then it visits each one for the member count. You'll see live progress right on the page. Feel free to close the tab - the scan runs on the server, and you'll get a Telegram notification when it finishes. If you reopen the page mid-scan, you'll see the current progress.
The import found 0 groups (or instantly showed my old groups, like it did nothing). What's wrong?
Almost always it's one thing: your Facebook isn't logged in on the server. In that case the "My groups" page returns a login form, and the scan genuinely sees 0 groups. The dashboard will show a message like "Group import: not logged into FB. Log in via VNC and try again". The fix: click "Log into Facebook", sign into your account in the window that opens, click "Logged in" - and run the import again. After you log back in, the groups are found just fine.
The import says I'm not logged into Facebook, even though I thought I logged in earlier. Why?
Your Facebook session on the server may have expired - that's normal, Facebook logs you out periodically. The scan needs a live FB session, so click "Log into Facebook", sign in again through the VNC window (this is secure access to your server's desktop, like TeamViewer; the password only goes to your server) and click "Logged in". Then run the import again - it'll work.
What do the full / light / soft tags next to groups mean?
The tag decides how many contacts the bot adds to the post's footer for that specific group. full (shown as "All links") - phone + WhatsApp + a link to your Telegram/site. light ("WhatsApp") - phone + WhatsApp. soft ("Phone only") - no links, just a phone number, for strict groups that ban links. You can change the tag anytime using the dropdown to the right of the group.
How are tags assigned automatically, and why do bigger groups get fewer contacts?
During import the tag is set by member count: up to 10,000 → full (all links), 10,000-15,000 → light (phone + WhatsApp), 15,000 and up → soft (phone only). The logic is deliberately the reverse of what you'd expect: the bigger and stricter the group, the fewer contacts and links in the post - that lowers the chance Facebook flags the post as spam. You can change any tag manually if you know the rules of a specific group.
How do I turn an individual group on or off, and when will the bot pick that up?
On the "Groups" page each group has a toggle. A disabled group stays in the list, but the bot won't post to it. The change takes effect quickly: it's written to the groups file on your server, and the bot rereads that file about once a minute. There are also "Enable all" / "Disable all" buttons to switch every group at once, plus a search box for the list.
How do I remove a group from the list?
Next to each group there's a delete button - it removes the group from your list in the dashboard, and the bot stops posting to it. This isn't leaving the group on Facebook itself: on Facebook you stay a member, only the dashboard entry is deleted. If you later run the import again and you're still in that group, it'll come back to the list.
Can I pick groups manually during setup instead of importing them all?
The group list is always pulled in automatically from the ones your account belongs to - you can't "add a group by link through the interface" during initial setup. After the import, though, you have full control of the list: you enable and disable the groups you want with toggles, change tags, and delete the extras. If you'd rather upload a ready-made list of your own, there's CSV import for that (see below).
I have several servers (Facebook accounts). Which one does the import run from, and where do the groups go?
If you have several servers, when you click "Import groups" the dashboard first asks which Facebook account to scan. But the resulting group list is shared across your whole account in the dashboard: after the import it's spread to all your active servers. So the groups are tied to your BuzzPost profile, not to one specific server.
Can I upload my own list of groups as a file (CSV)?
Yes. On the "Groups" page there's an "Import CSV" button: a file up to 2 MB with the columns url, name, tag, enabled. A valid group link is required (one that contains facebook.com/groups/), and only the full / soft / light tags are supported. Duplicates and invalid rows are skipped, and the dashboard shows counters for "added / duplicates / invalid". To export back out, use the "Export CSV" button (it downloads the file buzzpost_groups_.csv).
I accidentally hit import twice - will two scans start at once?
No. While the first scan is running, a second parallel run is rejected. That's a safeguard: two scans at once would fight over the browser on the server. Just wait for the first import to finish (or about 30 minutes if it gets stuck for some reason), and run it again if you need to.
While the import is running, the bot stops posting - is that normal?
Yes, that's expected. For the duration of the scan (up to 15 minutes) the bot and browser on the server pause temporarily, so they don't interfere with the scan or share the same Chrome. Once the import finishes, the bot resumes on its own on the usual schedule. That's why it's convenient to run the import when missing a few minutes of posting isn't a big deal.
After the import, some group names show numbers or a weird ID instead of proper names. Is something broken?
No. Sometimes Facebook changes its layout and the bot can't pull a readable name - then it shows the group's technical link or ID instead. It doesn't affect posting: the bot only needs the group's link, and it posts there anyway. The names usually fill in on the next successful import. If almost all your groups look like this (90%+), the dashboard also shows a warning.
Why are some groups highlighted yellow with the note "turn off to avoid a ban"?
It's a heuristic hint: the dashboard flags in yellow the groups whose names look irrelevant to real estate (jobs/work, "giving away free", news, politics - in Russian and Hebrew). It's not a block or a ban - you can still post to those groups, the system just suggests turning them off so your real estate ads don't look out of place and don't raise the risk of complaints. Whether to keep them on or off is up to you.
If I run the import again, will the tags I set manually get reset?
Tags based on member count are recalculated on a repeat import only if the bot manages to recount the group's members. If something goes wrong at that step and the member count comes out as 0, the previous tag is kept - the system deliberately doesn't reset everything back to full (the most "contact-heavy" mode). That said, if you manually tuned tags to specific groups' rules, it's worth double-checking them after a big repeat scan.
Where can I see the import history?
On the "Groups" page there's an "Import history" block - it shows the last 30 scan runs. It's a handy way to check when you last refreshed your group list and how many were found.
Do I need to click something so the new groups "travel" to the server and the bot starts posting to them?
No, there's no separate "apply" button. After a successful import (or after any change - enabling, disabling, switching a tag) the dashboard updates the group list on all your active servers on its own, and the bot rereads it about once a minute. From there the enabled groups go into the regular posting rotation on schedule.
Does the bot join new groups by itself, or post only to groups I'm already in?
The bot posts to groups you're already a member of. During import ("Scan") it finds all your groups and shows them in a list — you mark which ones to post in. It won't mass-join new groups on your behalf: which groups to join is your decision. That's both safer for the account and more correct — you post where you're actually a member. Tip: the more relevant groups you join manually, the wider the reach the bot then covers automatically.