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.

1. Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds
2. Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit instagram
3. If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Instagram/Facebook OAuth
4. 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:

1. INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_INFO - Get Instagram user ID [Prerequisite]
2. INSTAGRAM_CREATE_MEDIA_CONTAINER - Create a media container with the image/video URL [Required]
3. INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_STATUS - Check if the media container is ready [Optional]
4. 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:

1. INSTAGRAM_CREATE_MEDIA_CONTAINER - Create individual containers for each media item [Required, repeat per item]
2. INSTAGRAM_CREATE_CAROUSEL_CONTAINER - Create the carousel container referencing all media containers [Required]
3. INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_STATUS - Check carousel container readiness [Optional]
4. 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:

1. INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_USER_MEDIA or INSTAGRAM_GET_USER_MEDIA - List user's media [Required]
2. INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA - Get details for a specific post [Optional]
3. INSTAGRAM_GET_POST_INSIGHTS or INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA_INSIGHTS - Get metrics for a post [Optional]
4. 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:

1. 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:

1. INSTAGRAM_GET_IG_MEDIA_COMMENTS - List comments on a media post [Required]
2. 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 |