How to post to Instagram from n8n

Step by step

1. Create a free PostWire account

   Open postwire.io/dashboard.html, type your email and press Create my free account. PostWire emails you a link to confirm the address; connecting accounts and publishing unlock once it is confirmed. No password and no card (free plan: 1 business, 20 posts a month, 5 AI drafts a day (about 20 a month), 2 networks per post, 3 scheduled posts at a time — every network connects free, no card).

2. Connect Instagram

   Accounts → Connect on Instagram, keep Through a Facebook Page and press Continue to Instagram. On Facebook's screen, tick your Instagram account and the Page it is linked to. If several Instagram accounts are linked to your Pages, you pick which one PostWire posts to. A direct Instagram login without a Page is coming once Meta approves it. PostWire's Meta App Review was approved on July 14, 2026, so you don't submit your own. Details.

3. Copy your API key

   In the dashboard, open API & MCP and press Copy key on the API key card. It is sent as Authorization: Bearer pw_live_… (the X-API-Key header also works). Keep it server-side.

4. Add the PostWire node (self-hosted) or an HTTP Request (Cloud)

   Self-hosted: Settings → Community nodes → Install → n8n-nodes-postwire, credential PostWire API. n8n Cloud: an HTTP Request node, POST https://postwire.io/api/post with header Authorization: Bearer pw_live_….

5. Send the photo or video

   With the node: Networks = Instagram, Media = URL or Binary File, Content = Smart Distribute (writes the caption) or Same Text on Every Network. With HTTP Request:

   // A Reel
   { "platforms": ["instagram"], "text": "{{ $json.caption }}", "video_url": "{{ $json.video_url }}" }
   
   // A carousel (2–10 photos or videos)
   { "platforms": ["instagram"], "text": "…", "media": ["https://…/1.jpg", "https://…/2.jpg", "https://…/3.jpg"] }
   
   // A Story (no caption on Stories)
   { "platforms": ["instagram"], "photo_url": "https://…/story.jpg", "options": { "instagram": { "post_type": "story" } } }

6. Handle the result

   Each network returns its id and link. A long video can come back as processing; PostWire finishes it on a later run, and the post status shows when it is live. Captions are limited to 2,200 characters and 30 hashtags (extra hashtags are dropped, with a notice).

PNG and WebP images are converted to JPEG for Instagram, because Instagram's API only takes JPEG. The media URL must be public and point at the file itself, not at a Google Drive page.