Instagram MCP server: post, measure and automate from your AI

An Instagram MCP server lets an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT work with an Instagram account through tools. SociaHive runs a hosted one at https://www.sociahive.com/api/mcp. It schedules and publishes posts, reads your post numbers and builds comment-to-DM automations. You sign in once. There is nothing to host.

Connect Instagram How to set it up

Server addresshttps://www.sociahive.com/api/mcp

Updated 2026-10-19

Is there an official Instagram MCP server?

Not for organic posting that we could find. Meta runs an official Ads MCP server at mcp.facebook.com/ads. Its tools cover reporting, ad and campaign management, catalogs, signals, A/B tests and activity logs. That is for paid ads, not for scheduling your feed posts. If you run Meta ads, use Meta's server. For posting, analytics and DM automations on Instagram, SociaHive covers it, and the same server also covers your other social accounts.

Checked 2026-10-19.

What you can do on Instagram from Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor

Ask your AI to	MCP tool	Plan
Schedule a feed post, a carousel or a video (it publishes as a Reel)	`create_scheduled_post`	Trial and paid plans
Publish now, after you confirm	`publish_post_now`	Trial and paid plans
See what is scheduled	`get_scheduler_calendar`	Trial and paid plans
Pull a photo or video from a link	`upload_media_from_url`	Trial and paid plans
Read your own posts and their numbers	`get_post_analytics`	Trial and paid plans
Build a comment-to-DM automation from a sentence	`create_automation`	Creator and up
Check how an automation is doing	`get_flow_stats`	Creator and up

Official, open source or hosted: which Instagram MCP server to use

Compare	Official	Open source	SociaHive
Hosting	Meta hosts it (ads only)	You run it	Hosted by SociaHive
Sign-in	Facebook login	Your own Meta app and tokens	OAuth or API key
Post and schedule	No organic posting	Some servers, if you bring approved access	Feed posts, Reels, carousels
Read your post numbers	Ad reporting only	Varies; many scrape public data	Your own posts and insights
DM automations	None	Rarely	Comment-to-DM and keyword flows
Other platforms	Meta ads only	One server per platform	One server for all accounts
Price	Not listed by Meta	Free, plus your time	Trial, then from $29/mo

How to connect Instagram to your AI assistant

1
Connect your Instagram account to SociaHive
Sign up for SociaHive and connect Instagram under Connected accounts. The 7-day trial needs no card.
2
Add the SociaHive MCP server to your AI assistant
Add https://www.sociahive.com/api/mcp as a connector or MCP server in ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor or another MCP client, then sign in with SociaHive.
3
Ask for what you want
Type a request such as "Schedule this carousel for Thursday at 6pm with a caption and 3 hashtags.". Anything that goes live asks you to confirm first.

Step-by-step setup: ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor.

Things to ask about Instagram

A scheduled carousel appears on your calendar.
A ranked list of your own posts with numbers.
A draft comment-to-DM automation for you to review.
Runs, replies and collected data for that automation.

Build an Instagram MCP server or use one?

Build your own only if Instagram tooling is your product, or you need a tool nobody offers. Otherwise use a hosted one. A hosted server gets you running this week, and the hard parts are already done.

If you build, expect this checklist:

Meta app and app review. Instagram has no open write access for personal accounts. You need a Meta developer app, permissions Meta approves in app review, and a professional account connected through sign-in.
Token upkeep. Access tokens expire. A missed refresh quietly breaks every tool call until the owner reconnects.
The tools themselves. Posting, scheduling, reading numbers and DMs are separate integrations, each with its own limits and content rules.
Safety rails. An AI with write access to a live account needs confirmation before it publishes, scoped keys and an audit trail. Homegrown servers often skip this.
Transport and sign-in. A remote server needs HTTP transport, OAuth or API keys, and per-key scopes.

Our estimate is 4 to 8 weeks of work for one solid single-account server, plus upkeep as Meta changes things. With SociaHive you connect the account once and the server is ready. Publishing asks you to confirm, and it covers your other platforms too.

Instagram MCP on GitHub, Smithery and other lists: what is the difference?

Search "instagram mcp" and you mostly see three kinds of server. Knowing which is which saves a lot of time.

Scrapers. Servers such as the Apify Instagram scraper read public profiles, posts and hashtags. They are useful for research, but they do not post for you, and they work on other people's data.

Self-hosted GitHub servers. Open-source projects like insta-mcp are free and you control the code. You run them yourself and bring your own access, so setup and upkeep are on you. Check how each one signs in before you trust it with a real account.

Hosted servers. You add a URL to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and sign in. SociaHive is this kind. It works on your own professional account: scheduling, your own numbers and DM automations.

Pick by job. Researching competitors needs a scraper. Learning how MCP works suits a GitHub server. Running your own account day to day suits a hosted server. Setup pages for each assistant are under Connect your AI.

Instagram limits your AI should know

Account type	Instagram professional (business or creator) accounts only
Caption length	Up to 2,200 characters
Hashtags	At most 5 per post (Instagram limit since December 2025)
Carousels	2 to 10 images or videos
Videos	A video feed post publishes as a Reel through Instagram
DM automation	Creator plan ($29/mo) and up

What it can't do on Instagram

It does not post Stories (still in beta).
It does not read or answer your DM inbox from the AI.
It does not scrape other accounts, hashtags or competitors.
It does not follow, like or comment as you.
It does not work with personal (non-professional) accounts.
Reel-only options such as trial reels are not available to most users.

Run Instagram from your AI.

The MCP server is in the trial and every paid plan. 7-day free trial. No credit card required.

Connect Instagram

FAQ

What is an Instagram MCP server?

It is a server that gives an AI assistant tools for Instagram, using the open Model Context Protocol. The assistant picks the right tool from your chat. With SociaHive, those tools schedule posts, read your post numbers and build DM automations on your own account.

Can Claude post to Instagram?

Yes, through an MCP server connected to an Instagram professional account. Claude can schedule feed posts, carousels and videos (which publish as Reels) with SociaHive. Publishing right now asks you to confirm first, so nothing goes live by surprise.

Is there a free Instagram MCP server?

Open-source ones exist on GitHub and cost nothing, but you run them and bring your own access. SociaHive is hosted and needs the 7-day trial (no card) or a paid plan, from $29 a month. MCP is not part of the free plan.

Can an Instagram MCP server read my DMs?

SociaHive does not let the AI read or answer your DM inbox. It does build DM automations. You describe one, such as sending a link when someone comments a keyword, review the draft, then turn it on. Instagram DM automation needs the Creator plan or higher.

Does it work with a personal Instagram account?

No. Instagram only allows this for professional accounts, meaning business or creator. Switching is free in the Instagram app. Once switched, connect the account to SociaHive and your AI assistant can use it through the same server.