Connect ChatGPT to Instagram

Can ChatGPT post to Instagram?

Postgale is the secure layer for AI agents on social media. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard that lets AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor use outside tools. An MCP server is what they connect to. ChatGPT does not reach Instagram on its own; with Postgale connected it gets tools for the Instagram accounts you connected and nothing else.

What do you need?

• An Instagram professional account (Business or Creator). Personal accounts cannot publish through Meta’s API.
• A Postgale workspace, and the account owner signing in once with Instagram login.
• An image or video on a public HTTPS URL. Images must be JPEG. Upload a file with upload_media to get a URL, or bring your own.
• ChatGPT, set up as below (A custom connector (MCP) in ChatGPT developer mode).

Step 1: connect your Instagram account

1. Create a Postgale workspace and open Dashboard → Accounts.
2. Choose Connect Instagram and sign in with the account you own, on the platform’s own page. Postgale stores the tokens encrypted and refreshes them.

Step 2: connect ChatGPT to Postgale

1. Create a Postgale workspace and connect the social accounts the agent may use under Dashboard → Accounts.
2. In ChatGPT, open Settings → Apps & Connectors → Advanced and turn on Developer mode.
3. Choose Create (or Add connector), name it Postgale, paste the server URL and set authentication to OAuth:

https://postgale.com/mcp

1. Create the connector. A Postgale page opens in the browser: sign in, pick the workspace the app may use and approve. The consent page names the app and where it returns to; approve only requests you started yourself.
2. Start a new chat with the Postgale connector enabled and ask: “Which social accounts are connected in Postgale?” ChatGPT calls list_accounts and answers with the accounts and their status.

The menu names are ChatGPT’s and can move; the MCP docs keep the current path for every client.

What can I ask ChatGPT to do on Instagram?

Check the connection first: “Which Instagram accounts are connected in Postgale?” Then, in plain language:

Ask your agent“Post this product photo to our Instagram tomorrow at 9am Eastern. Caption: “The fall drop is live.” Put the hashtags in a first comment.”

Ask your agent“Turn these five photos into an Instagram carousel with a short caption. Save it as a draft.”

Ask your agent“Read today’s comments on our latest Instagram post and draft replies to the sizing questions. Don’t send them yet.”

{
  "content": "The fall drop is live. Shipping Thursday.",
  "scheduledFor": "2026-10-22T13:00:00Z",
  "platforms": [
    {
      "accountId": "acc_instagram",
      "platformSpecificData": {
        "mediaUrl": "https://media.example.com/fall-drop.jpg",
        "firstComment": "#fall #wool #madeinusa"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Which Instagram rules does Postgale enforce?

• Media is required. A text-only Instagram post is rejected before anything reaches Meta.
• Images must be JPEG on a public HTTPS URL; Meta downloads them. Captions are cut off at 2,200 characters and 30 hashtags.
• Carousels take 2 to 10 items, images and videos mixed. Reels and carousels are processed by Meta asynchronously; Postgale polls the container and publishes when it is ready.
• Meta limits how many posts an account can publish per 24 hours. Postgale reads the current quota before every publish instead of guessing.
• Login tokens last 60 days. Postgale refreshes them during the last week automatically, so an account that posts rarely does not silently expire.
• Replies to direct messages are only allowed within 24 hours of the person’s last message (7 days with Meta’s human-agent tag). Outside that window Postgale returns a clear error and sends nothing.

Comments and messaging depend on the permissions Meta has approved for the connected app. When a permission is missing, Postgale answers with missing_permission instead of failing quietly.

How do I keep a person in the loop?

• Approval: tick “Hold posts from this app for approval” when you sign in, or in the Postgale dashboard require approval for the API key the agent uses (or for the whole workspace, or one account). Posts then wait as pending approval; comment replies and moderation, direct messages, WhatsApp sends and edits to live posts wait in the same queue. A person approves, edits or rejects each one in Dashboard → Approvals; the agent’s own key or sign-in cannot approve.
• Tool annotations: every Postgale tool declares whether it only reads, writes, or publishes live, deletes or spends. Clients that honour annotations ask before destructive tools run.
• Audit log: every write the agent makes is recorded with the key or the connected app, the action and the time.
• Revoking: each sign-in appears under Dashboard → Connected apps and each key under Dashboard → API keys; either can be revoked at any time.

What can’t an agent do on Instagram through Postgale?

• Connect a personal Instagram account. Meta’s API publishes only for Business and Creator accounts.
• Delete a published Instagram post. Meta’s API does not allow it; Postgale returns not_supported.
• Start a new direct-message conversation. On Instagram an agent can only reply to people who wrote first.
• Post without an image or video.

Common questions