Instagram API guide
Instagram API explained, and when you don't need it
Does Instagram have an API? Yes: the Instagram API, from Meta, lets business and creator accounts publish, read insights and manage comments. If you just want your business posting Reels, Postdom is the simpler answer: it turns your website into ready-to-post videos in your brand and posts the ones you approve.
Does Instagram have an API?
Yes, for professional accounts: business and creator. Choose by the job first, then by login path.
- Publish your content: Meta's content-publishing API, for a professional account you can authorize.
- Read insights or manage replies: the insights, comment or messaging endpoints, each with its own permissions.
- Show a post on a website: the embed or oEmbed route. Showing a post is not account access.
These APIs are not a way into personal accounts or private profiles.
Free Instagram API alternative: post with Postdom
Building on Instagram's API means a Meta app, the right login path, App Review and Business Verification before you can serve other accounts, then your own scheduling and error handling.
Postdom skips that for a small business. Paste your website, approve the posts you like, and Postdom posts them to Instagram. The Free plan has no card and makes 1 post a month on 2 accounts, on any platform.
Which login path should you choose?
Both paths support professional accounts. Only Facebook Login needs a linked Facebook Page. Keep each path's token, host and permissions together.
| Path | Account and token | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
Instagram Logingraph.instagram.com | Business or Creator account; a linked Facebook Page is not required. Instagram User access token | Start here for an Instagram-only integration when its supported actions cover your workflow. |
Facebook Logingraph.facebook.com | Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook Page, with the required Page access. Facebook User or Page token, depending on the endpoint. Publishing uses a Page token. | Use this path when your integration needs the linked Page or a supported feature such as hashtag search or partnership ads. |
Instagram Graph API for Reels
Meta's URL-based flow creates a media container, waits until it is ready, then publishes it. A container ID or a FINISHED status does not mean the Reel is live: keep the returned media ID.
Create the Reel container
POST /<IG_ID>/mediaSend the finished video URL with media_type=REELS and the intended caption and supported disclosures. For this URL-based flow, Meta must be able to fetch the media from a public server. Save the returned container ID; it is not a published Reel ID.
Wait for the media to be ready
GET /<CONTAINER_ID>?fields=status_codeRead the original container's status. FINISHED means ready to publish, not already published. IN_PROGRESS means wait. Stop and investigate ERROR or EXPIRED rather than treating either as success.
Publish the approved content
POST /<IG_ID>/media_publishSend that container ID as creation_id only after the intended content and settings are approved. On success, Meta returns a media ID. Keep it separately from the container ID.
Reconcile the outcome
GET /<CONTAINER_ID>?fields=status_codeIf the publish response is missing or uncertain, check the original container before sending another publish request. PUBLISHED means its media was published. Keep the returned media ID and verify the intended account and result; avoid creating a duplicate to resolve a timeout.
How do you get Instagram API access?
- Confirm the account is a business or creator account, and write down the exact job.
- Create a Meta app, choose the login path and request only the permissions you need.
- Use Standard Access for your own accounts. Serving other people's accounts needs Advanced Access, App Review and Business Verification.
- Test the whole flow before launch, including what happens when a permission is missing.
Follow Meta's access overview and App Review requirements.
Is the Instagram API free?
Meta's access documents don't set one per-call price, and this page doesn't promise free or unlimited use. Budget separately for your own build (hosting, tokens, monitoring, support) and for any service you pay for. A Postdom plan is Postdom's price, not an Instagram access fee.
Instagram API key
There is no universal Instagram API key. You set up a Meta app and get an access token for the chosen login path and the account that authorized it. Keep tokens and app secrets on your server, never in public code or an agent prompt.
Questions about the Instagram API
Can I use the Instagram API with a personal account?
No. These APIs are for professional accounts: business and creator. To show a public post on a website, use Meta's embed or oEmbed route instead.
Do I need a Facebook Page?
Not with Instagram Login. Facebook Login needs the professional account linked to a Page.
Can I post Instagram Reels through the API?
Yes, with an eligible professional account and publishing permission. Create the container, check it is ready, then publish and keep the media ID.
Can the API schedule a Reel?
The publishing flow publishes a prepared container right away. Scheduling is up to your app. Postdom schedules what you approve for you, in your time zone.
Does Postdom have an API too?
Yes. Postdom's REST API and MCP server are included on every plan, for developers who post through their own AI agent. Postdom does not provide Instagram DMs, comment management or ads.
Post Reels without building an integration
Postdom reads your brand from your website and fills your For You feed with ready-to-post videos, slideshows and single images. You approve, edit or skip each one, and Postdom posts what you approve to TikTok, Instagram and more.
Nothing posts until you approve it. Start free with no card.
Postdom supports TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, Facebook Reels, X, Snapchat Spotlight, Threads, Bluesky. In this agent workflow you supply the video. Postdom also publishes Instagram slideshows, including ones it writes from your website. DMs, comment moderation and ads are outside Postdom.
Start free with Postdom
Paste your website and see your first video today.