Instagram MCP Server

[](https://mseep.ai/app/7bde8131-7019-405f-89d1-cef574a8129a) [](https://mseep.ai/app/jlbadano-ig-mcp) # Instagram MCP Server A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides seamless integration with Instagram's Graph API, enabling AI applications to interact with Instagram Business accounts programmatically. ## Features ### 🔧 Tools (Model-controlled) - **Get Profile Info**: Retrieve Instagram business profile details - **Get Media Posts**: Fetch recent posts from an Instagram account - **Get Media Insights**: Retrieve engagement metrics for specific posts - **Publish Media**: Upload and publish images/videos to Instagram - **Get Account Pages**: List Facebook pages connected to the account - **Get Conversations**: List Instagram DM conversations (requires Advanced Access) - **Get Conversation Messages**: Read messages from specific conversations (requires Advanced Access) - **Send DM**: Reply to Instagram direct messages (requires Advanced Access) ### 📊 Resources (Application-controlled) - **Profile Data**: Access to profile information including follower counts, bio, etc. - **Media Feed**: Recent posts with engagement metrics - **Insights Data**: Detailed analytics for posts and account performance ### 💬 Prompts (User-controlled) - **Analyze Engagement**: Pre-built prompt for analyzing post performance - **Content Strategy**: Template for generating content recommendations - **Hashtag Analysis**: Prompt for hashtag performance evaluation ## Prerequisites 1. **Instagram Business Account**: Must be connected to a Facebook Page 2. **Facebook Developer Account**: Required for API access 3. **Access Token**: Long-lived access token with appropriate permissions 4. **Python 3.10+**: For running the MCP server (required by MCP dependencies) ### Required Instagram API Permissions **Standard Access** (available immediately): - `instagram_basic` - `instagram_content_publish` - `instagram_manage_insights` - `instagram_manage_comments` - `pages_show_list` - `pages_read_engagement` - `pages_manage_metadata` - `pages_read_user_content` - `business_management` **Advanced Access** (requires Meta App Review): - `instagram_manage_messages` - Required for Direct Messaging features > ⚠️ **Instagram DM Features**: Reading and sending Instagram direct messages requires Advanced Access approval from Meta. See [INSTAGRAM_DM_SETUP.md](INSTAGRAM_DM_SETUP.md) for the App Review process. ## 🔑 How to Get Instagram API Credentials > 📖 **Quick Start**: See [AUTHENTICATION_GUIDE.md](AUTHENTICATION_GUIDE.md) for a 5-minute setup guide! This section provides a step-by-step guide to obtain the necessary credentials for the Instagram MCP server. ### Step 1: Set Up Instagram Business Account 1. **Convert to Business Account** (if not already): - Open Instagram app → Settings → Account → Switch to Professional Account - Choose "Business" → Select a category → Complete setup 2. **Connect to Facebook Page**: - Go to Instagram Settings → Account → Linked Accounts → Facebook - Connect to an existing Facebook Page or create a new one - **Important**: The Facebook Page must be owned by you ### Step 2: Create Facebook App 1. **Go to Facebook Developers**: - Visit [developers.facebook.com](https://developers.facebook.com) - Log in with your Facebook account 2. **Create New App**: - Click "Create App" → Choose "Business" → Click "Next" - Fill in app details: - **App Name**: Choose a descriptive name (e.g., "My Instagram MCP Server") - **App Contact Email**: Your email address - Click "Create App" 3. **Add Instagram Basic Display Product**: - In your app dashboard, click "Add Product" - Find "Instagram Basic Display" → Click "Set Up" 4. **Configure Instagram Basic Display**: - Go to Instagram Basic Display → Basic Display - Click "Create New App" in the Instagram App section - Accept the terms and create the app ### Step 3: Get App Credentials 1. **Get App ID and Secret**: - In your Facebook app dashboard, go to Settings → Basic - Copy your **App ID** and **App Secret** - **Important**: Keep the App Secret secure and never share it publicly ### Step 4: Set Up Instagram Business API Access 1. **Add Instagram Graph API Product**: - In your app dashboard, click "Add Product" - Find "Instagram Graph API" → Click "Set Up" 2. **Configure Permissions**: - Go to Instagram Graph API → Permissions - Request the following permissions: - `instagram_basic` - `instagram_content_publish` - `instagram_manage_insights` - `pages_show_list` - `pages_read_engagement` ### Step 5: Generate Access Token #### Option A: Using Facebook Graph API Explorer (Recommended for Testing) 1. **Go to Graph API Explorer**: - Visit [developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer](https://developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer) 2. **Configure Explorer**: - Select your app from the dropdown - Click "Generate Access Token" - Select required permissions when prompted 3. **Get Page Access Token**: - In the explorer, make a GET request to: `/me/accounts` - Find your Facebook Page in the response - Copy the `access_token` for your page 4. **Get Instagram Business Account ID**: - Use the page access token to make a GET request to: `/{page-id}?fields=instagram_business_account` - Copy the Instagram Business Account ID from the response #### Option B: Using Facebook Login Flow (Recommended for Production) 1. **Set Up Facebook Login**: - In your app dashboard, add "Facebook Login" product - Configure Valid OAuth Redirect URIs 2. **Implement OAuth Flow**: ```python # Example OAuth URL oauth_url = f"https://www.facebook.com/v19.0/dialog/oauth?client_id={app_id}&redirect_uri={redirect_uri}&scope=pages_show_list,instagram_basic,instagram_content_publish,instagram_manage_insights" ``` 3. **Exchange Code for Token**: ```python # Exchange authorization code for access token token_url = f"https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/oauth/access_token?client_id={app_id}&redirect_uri={redirect_uri}&client_secret={app_secret}&code={auth_code}" ``` ### Step 6: Get Long-Lived Access Token Short-lived tokens expire in 1 hour. Convert to long-lived token (60 days): ```bash curl -X GET "https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/oauth/access_token?grant_type=fb_exchange_token&client_id={app_id}&client_secret={app_secret}&fb_exchange_token={short_lived_token}" ``` ### Step 7: Set Up Environment Variables Create a `.env` file in your project root: ```env # Facebook App Credentials FACEBOOK_APP_ID=your_app_id_here FACEBOOK_APP_SECRET=your_app_secret_here # Instagram Access Token (long-lived) INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_long_lived_access_token_here # Instagram Business Account ID INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID=your_instagram_business_account_id_here # Optional: API Configuration INSTAGRAM_API_VERSION=v19.0 RATE_LIMIT_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR=200 CACHE_ENABLED=true LOG_LEVEL=INFO ``` ### Step 8: Test Your Setup Run the validation script to test your credentials: ```bash python scripts/setup.py ``` Or test manually: ```python import os import requests # Test access token access_token = os.getenv('INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN') response = requests.get(f'https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/me?access_token={access_token}') print(response.json()) ``` ### 🚨 Important Security Notes 1. **Never commit credentials to version control** 2. **Use environment variables or secure secret management** 3. **Regularly rotate access tokens** 4. **Monitor token expiration dates** 5. **Use HTTPS only in production** 6. **Implement proper error handling for expired tokens** ### 🔄 Token Refresh Strategy Long-lived tokens expire after 60 days. Implement automatic refresh: ```python # Check token validity def check_token_validity(access_token): url = f"https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/me?access_token={access_token}" response = requests.get(url) return response.status_code == 200 # Refresh token before expiration def refresh_long_lived_token(access_token, app_id, app_secret): url = f"https://graph.facebook.com/v19.0/oauth/access_token" params = { 'grant_type': 'fb_exchange_token', 'client_id': app_id, 'client_secret': app_secret, 'fb_exchange_token': access_token } response = requests.get(url, params=params) return response.json().get('access_token') ``` ### 📋 Troubleshooting Common Issues **Error: "Invalid OAuth access token"** - Check if token has expired - Verify token has required permissions - Ensure Instagram account is connected to Facebook Page **Error: "Instagram account not found"** - Verify Instagram Business Account ID is correct - Check if Instagram account is properly linked to Facebook Page - Ensure account is a Business account, not Personal **Error: "Insufficient permissions"** - Review required permissions in Facebook App - Re-generate access token with correct scopes - Check if app is in Development vs Live mode **Rate Limiting Issues** - Implement exponential backoff - Cache responses when possible - Monitor rate limit headers in API responses ## Installation 1. **Clone the repository**: ```bash git clone <repository-url> cd ig-mcp ``` 2. **Install dependencies**: ```bash pip install -r requirements.txt ``` 3. **Set up environment variables**: ```bash cp .env.example .env # Edit .env with your Instagram API credentials ``` 4. **Configure the MCP server**: ```bash # Edit config.json with your specific settings ``` ## Configuration ### Environment Variables (.env) ```env INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_long_lived_access_token FACEBOOK_APP_ID=your_facebook_app_id FACEBOOK_APP_SECRET=your_facebook_app_secret INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID=your_instagram_business_account_id ``` ### MCP Client Configuration Add this to your MCP client configuration (e.g., Claude Desktop): ```json { "mcpServers": { "instagram": { "command": "python", "args": ["/path/to/ig-mcp/src/instagram_mcp_server.py"], "env": { "INSTAGRAM_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token" } } } } ``` ## Usage Examples ### Using with Claude Desktop 1. **Get Profile Information**: ``` Can you get my Instagram profile information? ``` 2. **Analyze Recent Posts**: ``` Show me my last 5 Instagram posts and their engagement metrics ``` 3. **Publish Content**: ``` Upload this image to my Instagram account with the caption "Beautiful sunset! #photography #nature" ``` ### Using with Python MCP Client ```python from mcp import ClientSession, StdioServerParameters from mcp.client.stdio import stdio_client # Connect to the Instagram MCP server server_params = StdioServerParameters( command="python", args=["src/instagram_mcp_server.py"] ) async with stdio_client(server_params) as (read, write): async with ClientSession(read, write) as session: await session.initialize() # Get profile information result = await session.call_tool("get_profile_info", {}) print(result) ``` ## API Endpoints Covered ### Profile Management - Get business profile information - Update profile details (future feature) ### Media Management - Retrieve recent posts - Get specific media details - Upload and publish new content - Delete media (future feature) ### Analytics & Insights - Post engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares) - Account insights (reach, impressions) - Hashtag performance analysis ### Account Management - List connected Facebook pages - Switch between business accounts ## Rate Limiting & Best Practices The server implements intelligent rate limiting to comply with Instagram's API limits: - **Profile requests**: 200 calls per hour - **Media requests**: 200 calls per hour - **Publishing**: 25 posts per day - **Insights**: 200 calls per hour ### Best Practices 1. Cache frequently accessed data 2. Use batch requests when possible 3. Implement exponential backoff for retries 4. Monitor rate limit headers ## Error Handling The server provides comprehensive error handling for common scenarios: - **Authentication errors**: Invalid or expired tokens - **Permission errors**: Missing required permissions - **Rate limiting**: Automatic retry with backoff - **Network errors**: Connection timeouts and retries - **API errors**: Instagram-specific error responses ## Security Considerations 1. **Token Security**: Store access tokens securely 2. **Environment Variables**: Never commit tokens to version control 3. **HTTPS Only**: All API calls use HTTPS 4. **Token Refresh**: Implement automatic token refresh 5. **Audit Logging**: Log all API interactions ## Development ### Project Structure ``` ig-mcp/ ├── src/ │ ├── instagram_mcp_server.py # Main MCP server │ ├── instagram_client.py # Instagram API client │ ├── models/ # Data models │ ├── tools/ # MCP tools implementation │ ├── resources/ # MCP resources implementation │ └── prompts/ # MCP prompts implementation ├── tests/ # Unit and integration tests ├── config/ # Configuration files ├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies ├── .env.example # Environment variables template └── README.md # This file ``` ### Running Tests ```bash # Run all tests python -m pytest tests/ # Run with coverage python -m pytest tests/ --cov=src/ # Run specific test file python -m pytest tests/test_instagram_client.py ``` ### Contributing 1. Fork the repository 2. Create a feature branch (`git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature`) 3. Commit your changes (`git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'`) 4. Push to the branch (`git push origin feature/amazing-feature`) 5. Open a Pull Request ## Troubleshooting ### Common Issues 1. **"Invalid Access Token"** - Verify token is not expired - Check token permissions - Regenerate long-lived token 2. **"Rate Limit Exceeded"** - Wait for rate limit reset - Implement request queuing - Use batch requests 3. **"Permission Denied"** - Verify Instagram Business account setup - Check Facebook page connection - Review API permissions ### Debug Mode Enable debug logging by setting: ```env LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG ``` ## License This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details. ## Support - 📧 Email: support@example.com - 🐛 Issues: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/jlbadano/ig-mcp/issues) - 📖 Documentation: [Wiki](https://github.com/jlbadano/ig-mcp/wiki) ## Acknowledgments - [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) by Anthropic - [Instagram Graph API](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api/) by Meta - [FastMCP](https://github.com/jlowin/fastmcp) for rapid MCP development