How to post to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube 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 TikTok, Instagram and YouTube

   Open Accounts, press Connect on each network and then Continue to TikTok (or Instagram, YouTube). You sign in on the network itself and come straight back; PostWire never sees your password and you do not need your own developer app — PostWire's TikTok, Meta and Google approvals cover it. Instagram needs a Business or Creator account, connected through the Facebook Page it is linked to; if several are linked, you pick which one.

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. Install the node (self-hosted n8n)

   In n8n: Settings → Community nodes → Install, enter n8n-nodes-postwire. Add a PostWire API credential with the key. The node is not verified by n8n yet, so it installs on self-hosted n8n; on n8n Cloud use step 6b.

5. Configure Post → Publish

   Networks: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. Content: Smart Distribute: Write a Native Post per Network, with the Idea from the previous node (e.g. {{ $json.description }}). Media: URL (a public link straight to the .mp4, up to 1 GB) or Binary File (up to 50 MB through n8n). Under Options, Visibility is Public by default; Dry Run checks everything without publishing.

6. Or, on n8n Cloud, use one HTTP Request node

   POST to the REST API with your key; drafts are written server-side when you send per_platform from /api/generate, or send one text:

   POST https://postwire.io/api/post
   Authorization: Bearer pw_live_…
   Content-Type: application/json
   
   {
     "platforms": ["tiktok", "instagram", "youtube"],
     "video_url": "{{ $json.video_url }}",
     "title": "{{ $json.title }}",
     "text": "{{ $json.caption }}",
     "privacy": "public",
     "idempotency_key": "{{ $json.id }}"
   }

7. Read the result

   The node returns one result per network with its id and link. TikTok and YouTube keep processing after upload: Post → Get Status (or GET /api/post/status) tells you when it's live. To publish later, use Post → Schedule with Publish At. To react when a post lands, start a second workflow with the PostWire Trigger node: it fires on Post Published and Post Failed, one event per network, and needs n8n on a public https address.

Google Drive or Dropbox share links open a web page, not the file: in the node use Binary File after a Google Drive download step, or a direct file link. A retry with the same Idempotency Key is refused for 24 hours, so a re-run never double-posts.