Instagram Automation via Rube MCP

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

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/instagram

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

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