Instagram MCP server: let Claude or any agent post to Instagram

Set it up and post, step by step

1. Add PostWire's MCP server to your agent

   In Claude, open PostWire in the connector directory and press Connect. Anywhere else, add the remote server https://postwire.io/api/mcp (Streamable HTTP; OAuth sign-in or an API key) — in Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http postwire https://postwire.io/api/mcp. Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Codex and Gemini CLI configs: MCP client configs.

2. Sign in with your email

   The first time the agent uses a PostWire tool, a sign-in window asks for your email and a 6-digit code; that also creates a free PostWire account if you have none. No password and no card. Agents that cannot do OAuth send an API key instead (dashboard → API & MCP → Copy key).

3. Connect Instagram

   Ask "connect my Instagram". The agent calls create_connect_link and gives you a one-hour link; open it and choose Log in with Instagram (no Facebook Page needed) or connect through a Facebook Page you manage. Instagram's API publishes only from Business or Creator accounts — switching a personal account is done in the Instagram app's settings. PostWire never sees your password.

4. Give the post a photo or a video

   Instagram refuses text-only posts. Pass a public https link as photo_url or video_url, or ask for an upload link: create_upload_link returns a 24-hour page where you pick the file on any device (JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, MP4, MOV or WebM, up to 1 GB), and get_uploaded_file hands its media_url to the post. Chat attachments never reach an MCP server, so this is how a file on your phone gets there.

5. Let PostWire write the caption

   "Write an Instagram caption for this, and a LinkedIn post too." generate_posts returns one draft per network and publishes nothing. Instagram's draft follows Reels rules — a hook in the first line, a short caption, at most 5 hashtags at the end — within Instagram's 2,200-character limit.

6. Publish, or schedule it

   After you approve the draft, the agent calls post_to_social (or schedule_post with a run_at time, or "next_slot" for your next free queue slot). Two or more items in media make a carousel:

   {
     "name": "post_to_social",
     "arguments": {
       "platforms": ["instagram"],
       "per_platform": { "instagram": { "text": "3 onboarding fixes 👇 …" } },
       "media": [
         { "url": "https://postwire.io/m/…/slide-1.png", "type": "image" },
         { "url": "https://postwire.io/m/…/slide-2.jpg", "type": "image" },
         { "url": "https://postwire.io/m/…/demo.mp4",    "type": "video" }
       ]
     }
   }

7. Check that it went out

   Instagram processes video before it can be published. If it takes longer than the call can wait, the result says processing and PostWire publishes it on its own a few minutes later; get_post_status or list_scheduled_posts shows when it is live.

Stories and trial reels are set through the REST API today: POST /api/post with "options": {"instagram": {"post_type": "story"}} for a Story (Instagram's API takes no caption on Stories), or {"trial_reel": true} to show a Reel first to people who don't follow you; if the account cannot use trial reels, PostWire posts it as a normal Reel.