Instagram API Reference

Publish images, videos, carousels, and Reels to Instagram via the API.

Quick reference

auth	OAuth 2.0 (Meta)
text Limit	2,200 characters
max Media	10 items (carousel)
media Rule	Media is required — no text-only posts
max Video Duration	90 s
entity Selection	None
first Comment	Supported — 1,000 bytes (UTF-8); skipped on Stories

Content types

—Text-only

Not supported — media is always required

✓Images

JPEG, PNG, WebP. Max 100 MB.

✓Video

MP4 or MOV. Max 500 MB. Up to 90 seconds.

✓Carousel

Up to 10 images/videos per carousel

✓Reels

Short-form video. Same limits as video.

Media requirements

Constraints enforced by Instagram's API. Requests that violate these limits will be rejected.

Constraint	Value
Max image size	`100 MB`
Max video size	`500 MB`
Image formats	`JPEG, PNG, WEBP`
Video formats	`MP4, QUICKTIME`
Max video duration	`1 min 30 s`
Image aspect ratio	`4:5 to 1.91:1`
Min image dimensions	`320x320 px`
Max media items	`10`
GIF support	`No`

Platform settings

Pass these fields inside platformSettings.instagram in the request body.

Name	Type	Required	Description
`postType`	`string`	Optional	Type of Instagram post.Default: `post` `poststoryreelcarousel`

postType

stringOptional

Type of Instagram post.

Default: post

poststoryreelcarousel

Code examples

Basic post

curl -X POST https://schedulala.com/api/v1/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "Beautiful sunset today #photography",
    "platforms": [
      { "platform": "instagram", "accountId": "acc_456" }
    ],
    "mediaItems": [
      { "type": "image", "url": "https://example.com/sunset.jpg" }
    ],
    "publishNow": true
  }'

Post with media

curl -X POST https://schedulala.com/api/v1/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "Travel highlights #travel",
    "platforms": [
      { "platform": "instagram", "accountId": "acc_456" }
    ],
    "mediaItems": [
      { "type": "image", "url": "https://example.com/photo1.jpg" },
      { "type": "image", "url": "https://example.com/photo2.jpg" },
      { "type": "image", "url": "https://example.com/photo3.jpg" }
    ],
    "publishNow": true
  }'

Quirks & gotchas

Media is required on every post — no text-only posts allowed.

Max 30 hashtags per caption.

Image aspect ratio must be between 4:5 (portrait) and 1.91:1 (landscape).

Minimum image dimensions: 320x320 px.

GIFs are not supported — convert to MP4 first.

Carousel posts automatically detected when multiple media items are included.

Posts API — Create and schedule posts across all platforms Media API — Platform-specific media constraints and upload limits Connecting Accounts — OAuth, App Password, and Bot Token flows All Platforms — Compatibility matrix and overview of all 12 platforms