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.