name: instagram description: Instagram Graph API integration via curl. Use this skill to fetch and publish Instagram media. vm0_secrets:

INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN vm0_vars:
INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID

Instagram API (Graph API)

Use the Instagram Graph API by directly executing curl commands to read and publish Instagram content.

Official docs: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

Fetch recent media (photos / videos / Reels) from an account
Get detailed information about a specific media item (caption, type, link, time, etc.)
Search recent media by hashtag
Publish image posts via API (with caption)

Prerequisites

You must have an Instagram Business / Creator account linked to a Facebook Page
Create an app in Facebook Developers and enable Instagram Basic Display / Instagram Graph API permissions
Obtain:

INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN: a long-lived user access token
INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID: your Instagram Business account ID

Set the environment variables, for example:

export INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN="EAAG..."
export INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID="1784140xxxxxxx"

These examples use Graph API version v21.0. You can replace this with the latest version if needed.

Required permissions (scopes)

Depending on which endpoints you use, make sure your app has requested and been approved for (at least):

instagram_basic
pages_show_list
instagram_content_publish (for publishing media)
instagram_manage_insights and related permissions (for insights / some hashtag use cases)

Important: When using $VAR in a command that pipes to another command, wrap the command containing $VAR in bash -c '...'. Due to a Claude Code bug, environment variables are silently cleared when pipes are used directly.
bash -c 'curl -s "https://api.example.com" -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY"' | jq '.'

How to Use

All examples below assume you have already set:

INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN
INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID

1. Fetch recent media for the account

Fetch the most recent media (photos / videos / Reels) for the account:

bash -c 'curl -s -X GET "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/${INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID}/media?fields=id,caption,media_type,media_url,permalink,timestamp" --header "Authorization: Bearer ${INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN}"'

Notes:

Each item in the returned JSON represents a media object
Common fields:
- id: media ID (used for details / insights later)
- caption: caption text
- media_type: IMAGE / VIDEO / CAROUSEL_ALBUM
- media_url: direct URL to the media
- permalink: Instagram permalink
- timestamp: creation time

2. Get details for a single media

If you already have a media id, you can fetch more complete information. Replace <your-media-id> with the id field from the "Get User Media" response (section 1 above):

bash -c 'curl -s -X GET "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<your-media-id>?fields=id,caption,media_type,media_url,permalink,thumbnail_url,timestamp,username" --header "Authorization: Bearer ${INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN}"'

3. Search media by hashtag

Note: hashtag search requires proper business use cases and permissions as defined by Facebook/Instagram. Refer to the official docs.

This usually involves two steps:

3.1 Get the hashtag ID

Replace <hashtag-name> with any hashtag name you want to search for (without the # symbol), e.g., "travel", "food", "photography":

bash -c 'curl -s -X GET "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/ig_hashtag_search?user_id=${INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID}&q=<hashtag-name>" --header "Authorization: Bearer ${INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN}"'

Note the id field in the returned JSON for use in the next step.

3.2 Fetch recent media for the hashtag

Replace <hashtag-id> with the id field from the "Search Hashtag" response (section 3.1 above):

bash -c 'curl -s -X GET "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/<hashtag-id>/recent_media?user_id=${INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID}&fields=id,caption,media_type,media_url,permalink,timestamp" --header "Authorization: Bearer ${INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN}"'

4. Publish an image post

Publishing an image post via the Graph API usually requires two steps:

Create a media container
Publish the container to the feed

4.1 Create a media container

Write the request data to /tmp/request.json:

{
  "image_url": "https://example.com/image.jpg",
  "caption": "Hello from Instagram API 👋"
}

Replace https://example.com/image.jpg with any publicly accessible image URL and update the caption text as needed.

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/${INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID}/media" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/request.json --header "Authorization: Bearer ${INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN}"'

The response will contain an id (media container ID), for example:

{
  "id": "1790xxxxxxxxxxxx"
}

Note this ID for use in the next step.

4.2 Publish the media container to the feed

Write the request data to /tmp/request.json:

{
  "creation_id": "<your-creation-id>"
}

Replace <your-creation-id> with the id field from the "Create Media Container" response (section 4.1 above):

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v21.0/${INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID}/media_publish" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/request.json --header "Authorization: Bearer ${INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN}"'

If successful, the response will contain the final media id:

{
  "id": "1791yyyyyyyyyyyy"
}

You can then use the "Get details for a single media" command to fetch its permalink.

5. Common errors and troubleshooting

Permissions / OAuth errors

Typical error message: (#10) Application does not have permission for this action
Check:
Whether the app has been reviewed / approved
Whether the required Instagram permissions are enabled
Whether INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN is a valid long-lived token

Unsupported account type

Most Graph API features require Business / Creator accounts
Make sure the Instagram account type is correct and linked to a Facebook Page

Rate limits

Too many requests in a short period may hit rate limits; add delays for bulk operations

Guidelines

Do not log tokens: INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN is sensitive; avoid printing it in logs or chat transcripts
Validate curl commands in a test environment first: confirm flows before wiring them into automation / agents
Keep API version up to date: periodically check Facebook docs and update the v21.0 version in URLs to the latest
Use placeholder text for IDs: all examples use placeholder text like <your-media-id> instead of shell variables in URLs to avoid dependencies and make examples self-contained

instagram

SKILL.md