instagram-automation

SKILL.md

Instagram Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Instagram operations through Composio's Instagram toolkit via Rube MCP.

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

Active Instagram connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit instagram

Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas

Instagram Business or Creator account required (personal accounts not supported)

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds

Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit instagram

If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Instagram/Facebook OAuth

Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Create a Single Image/Video Post

When to use: User wants to publish a single photo or video to Instagram

Tool sequence:

INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_INFO - Get Instagram user ID [Prerequisite]

INSTAGRAM_CREATE_MEDIA_CONTAINER - Create a media container with the image/video URL [Required]

INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_STATUS - Check if the media container is ready [Optional]

INSTAGRAM_CREATE_POST or INSTAGRAM_POST_IG_USER_MEDIA_PUBLISH - Publish the container [Required]

Key parameters:

image_url: Public URL of the image to post

video_url: Public URL of the video to post

caption: Post caption text

ig_user_id: Instagram Business account user ID

Pitfalls:

Media URLs must be publicly accessible; private/authenticated URLs will fail

Video containers may take time to process; poll GET_POST_STATUS before publishing

Caption supports hashtags and mentions but has a 2200 character limit

Publishing a container that is not yet finished processing returns an error

2. Create a Carousel Post

When to use: User wants to publish multiple images/videos in a single carousel post

Tool sequence:

INSTAGRAM_CREATE_MEDIA_CONTAINER - Create individual containers for each media item [Required, repeat per item]

INSTAGRAM_CREATE_CAROUSEL_CONTAINER - Create the carousel container referencing all media containers [Required]

INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_STATUS - Check carousel container readiness [Optional]

INSTAGRAM_POST_IG_USER_MEDIA_PUBLISH - Publish the carousel [Required]

Key parameters:

children: Array of media container IDs for the carousel

caption: Carousel post caption

ig_user_id: Instagram Business account user ID

Pitfalls:

Carousels require 2-10 media items; fewer or more will fail

Each child container must be created individually before the carousel container

All child containers must be fully processed before creating the carousel

Mixed media (images + videos) is supported in carousels

3. Get Media and Insights

When to use: User wants to view their posts or analyze post performance

Tool sequence:

INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_USER_MEDIA or INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_MEDIA - List user's media [Required]

INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA - Get details for a specific post [Optional]

INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_INSIGHTS or INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA_INSIGHTS - Get metrics for a post [Optional]

INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_INSIGHTS - Get account-level insights [Optional]

Key parameters:

ig_user_id: Instagram Business account user ID

media_id: ID of the specific media post

metric: Metrics to retrieve (e.g., impressions, reach, engagement)

period: Time period for insights (e.g., day, week, lifetime)

Pitfalls:

Insights are only available for Business/Creator accounts

Some metrics require minimum follower counts

Insight data may have a delay of up to 48 hours

The period parameter must match the metric type

4. Check Publishing Limits

When to use: User wants to verify they can publish before attempting a post

Tool sequence:

INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_USER_CONTENT_PUBLISHING_LIMIT - Check remaining publishing quota [Required]

Key parameters:

ig_user_id: Instagram Business account user ID

Pitfalls:

Instagram enforces a 25 posts per 24-hour rolling window limit

Publishing limit resets on a rolling basis, not at midnight

Check limits before bulk posting operations to avoid failures

5. Get Media Comments and Children

When to use: User wants to view comments on a post or children of a carousel

Tool sequence:

INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA_COMMENTS - List comments on a media post [Required]

INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA_CHILDREN - List children of a carousel post [Optional]

Key parameters:

media_id: ID of the media post

ig_media_id: Alternative media ID parameter

Pitfalls:

Comments may be paginated; follow pagination cursors for complete results

Carousel children are returned as individual media objects

Comment moderation settings on the account affect what is returned

Common Patterns

ID Resolution

Instagram User ID:

1. Call INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_INFO
2. Extract ig_user_id from response
3. Use in all subsequent API calls

Media Container Status Check:

1. Call INSTAGRAM_CREATE_MEDIA_CONTAINER
2. Extract container_id from response
3. Poll INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_STATUS with container_id
4. Wait until status is 'FINISHED' before publishing

Two-Phase Publishing

Phase 1: Create media container(s) with content URLs

Phase 2: Publish the container after it finishes processing

Always check container status between phases for video content

For carousels, all children must complete Phase 1 before creating the carousel container

Known Pitfalls

Media URLs:

All image/video URLs must be publicly accessible HTTPS URLs

URLs behind authentication, CDN restrictions, or that require cookies will fail

Temporary URLs (pre-signed S3, etc.) may expire before processing completes

Rate Limits:

25 posts per 24-hour rolling window

API rate limits apply separately from publishing limits

Implement exponential backoff for 429 responses

Account Requirements:

Only Business or Creator Instagram accounts are supported

Personal accounts cannot use the Instagram Graph API

The account must be connected to a Facebook Page

Response Parsing:

Media IDs are numeric strings

Insights data may be nested under different response keys

Pagination uses cursor-based tokens

Quick Reference

Task
Tool Slug
Key Params

Get user info
INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_INFO
(none)

Create media container
INSTAGRAM_CREATE_MEDIA_CONTAINER
image_url/video_url, caption

Create carousel
INSTAGRAM_CREATE_CAROUSEL_CONTAINER
children, caption

Publish post
INSTAGRAM_CREATE_POST
ig_user_id, creation_id

Publish media
INSTAGRAM_POST_IG_USER_MEDIA_PUBLISH
ig_user_id, creation_id

Check post status
INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_STATUS
ig_container_id

List user media
INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_USER_MEDIA
ig_user_id

Get media details
INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA
ig_media_id

Get post insights
INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_INSIGHTS
media_id, metric

Get user insights
INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_INSIGHTS
ig_user_id, metric, period

Get publishing limit
INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_USER_CONTENT_PUBLISHING_LIMIT
ig_user_id

Get media comments
INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA_COMMENTS
ig_media_id

Get carousel children
INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA_CHILDREN
ig_media_id

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

Limitations

Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.

Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.

Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.