> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.postqueen.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Instagram

> How to add Instagram to your system

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/forceplay/LL5FipRv-7nhg1To/images/channels/instagram.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=LL5FipRv-7nhg1To&q=85&s=1956cec7ed91719a647019d3ddc6af2c" alt="Instagram" height="44" noZoom style={{ height: "44px", marginBottom: "1.25rem" }} data-path="images/channels/instagram.svg" />

<Snippet file="never-share.mdx" />

## What she can post to Instagram

A carousel of ten photos, a Reel with trending audio behind it, a story that vanishes in a day. She builds all of it from the same editor and sends it on the schedule you set.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Character limit" icon="text-width">
    2,200 characters in the caption
  </Card>

  <Card title="Media" icon="photo-film">
    Always required. Up to 10 items in a carousel
  </Card>

  <Card title="Post types" icon="layer-group">
    Feed post, carousel, Reel, story
  </Card>

  <Card title="Analytics" icon="chart-line">
    Yes, for the account and for each post
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Account numbers come back as follower count, reach and views. Engagement sits beside them: likes, comments and shares, plus saves and replies. Per post she reads views, reach and saves, plus likes, comments and shares.

|                   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Post settings** | `post_type`, `is_trial_reel`, `graduation_strategy`, `collaborators`, `audio`. Full schema in the [Instagram settings reference](/public-api/providers/instagram)                                                  |
| **Connect flow**  | Two steps. You authorize the Meta app, then pick which Instagram account to attach. The account must be a business account connected to a Facebook page. The standalone flow attaches the account in a single step |
| **Automations**   | None. Instagram does carry an audio search tool, used to find music or original sounds for a Reel                                                                                                                  |

<Warning>
  Instagram refuses some combinations before she ever calls the API:

  * **Should have at least one media.** A caption on its own is not a post here.
  * **Instagram carousel only supports up to 10 media attachments.**
  * **Trial Reels can only have one video**, and **Trial Reels must be a video**.
  * **Audio can only be added to Reels, not to Stories**, only to **a single video Reel**, and only on the Facebook Business connection.

  Stories do not support carousels. Attach several items to a story and each one publishes as its own separate story.
</Warning>

## Connection Options

There are two ways to connect to an Instagram account: by using a Facebook Business or through a standalone flow that connects directly to an Instagram account.

<Info>
  **What PostQueen supports on Instagram:**

  * Feed posts (single image, carousel, video / Reels).
  * Stories (image and video).
  * Attaching audio (music or original sounds) to Reels: Facebook Business connection only, the [Instagram Audio API](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-platform/content-publishing/audio-api/) is not available for standalone connections.
  * Replying to comments via an explicit user action.

  **What PostQueen does not support:**

  * Story link stickers / swipe-up links: the Instagram Graph API does not offer interactive sticker payloads, so PostQueen can only upload the story media.
  * Automatic comment auto-reply: there is no agent that watches for incoming comments and replies on your behalf. You can post a reply through the API, but each reply is an explicit action.
</Info>

<Warning>
  Please note that standalone option requires a professional Instagram account.
</Warning>

Once the channel is in, it stays in. The short lived code from that login is traded for a long lived token good for 58 days, and a background job wakes when the clock runs out, refreshes the token and goes back to sleep. You never re-authorize the channel by hand.

Analytics come through as well. Both the account numbers and the per post numbers listed at the top of this page are read straight from `graph.instagram.com`, so a standalone channel charts the same as one attached through a Facebook page.

<Note>
  Two things do not carry over. Attaching audio to a Reel runs through the Facebook Business connection only, so a Reel from a standalone channel goes out without an added track.

  The ten item carousel guard is the other one. A standalone channel checks only that you attached at least one piece of media and that a Trial Reel is a single video. An eleventh carousel item sails past her and comes back as a rejection from Instagram instead.
</Note>

## Self-hosting

<Info>
  On PostQueen Cloud this channel is ready: open **Add Channel** and pick it.
  Running your own instance? You register the application yourself:
  [Set up Instagram on your own instance](/installation/providers/instagram).
</Info>

<Snippet file="next-steps-provider.mdx" />