MCP serversInstagram MCP servers in 2026.Which ones post, and which ones scrape.
Meta's official AI connector covers ads, not Instagram posts. To post, an MCP server goes through Instagram's official API with a Creator or Business account: Breakreach's hosted connector, or an open-source server like jlbadano/ig-mcp with your own Meta app. Servers on Instagram's private API and scraping services read public data, which Instagram's terms don't allow.
Claude
BreakreachScheduling on Instagramcreate_post
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Instagram MCP servers compared
| How it connects | What it does | Within Instagram's rules | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakreach | Hosted. OAuth from Claude's and ChatGPT's directories, or any MCP client by URL | Posts photos, carousels of up to 10, Reels and Stories; per-post insights; answers, hides and deletes comments; DMs | Yes, Official API |
| jlbadano/ig-mcp | Open source, runs on your machine. Your own Meta app and a long-lived token, Business account linked to a Facebook Page | Publishes images and videos, reads media and engagement | Yes, Official API |
| Other schedulers' MCP servers (Buffer, Metricool, Postiz) | Hosted. Metricool and Postiz in both directories; Buffer in Claude's, and by URL in ChatGPT | Schedule Instagram posts among their other networks; no comment or DM tools in their MCP servers | Yes, Official API |
| Bob-lance/instagram-engagement-mcp | Open source. Instagram's private API | Analyzes comments and engagement, extracts leads and demographics | No, An unofficial API, per its own README |
| Scraping services (Apify, Gumloop, Bright Data) | Hosted, API key | Public profiles, posts, Reels, followers | No, The data is collected automatically |
| Meta's official AI connector | Claude and ChatGPT | Ads: campaigns, reporting, catalogs | Yes, For ads only |
Our recommendationTo post to Instagram from an assistant, use Breakreach.We built it, so here's the case.
Connect Instagram- Within Instagram's rules: the official API, through a Meta app that passed App Review, signed in with Instagram's own login
- More than posting: carousels, Reels and Stories, per-post insights, and comments and DMs answered from the chat, which Buffer's, Metricool's and Postiz's MCP servers don't do
- Nothing to install: a sign-in from Claude's or ChatGPT's directory, or one URL in Claude Code and Cursor
When to pick something else. If you only want analytics questions answered, Metricool's connector goes deeper on the numbers. If you need first comments or Reel cover images, Breakreach doesn't set them yet.
The kinds of Instagram MCP serverHow each one gets to your account.
Official API, with your own Meta app
jlbadano/ig-mcp and similar servers call Instagram's API with a token from your own Meta app. For your own account, that works with the app in development mode. Publishing for anyone else needs Meta's App Review, and you keep the token alive yourself.
Official API, hosted
Breakreach runs the server and a Meta app that passed App Review. You connect Instagram through Instagram's own login, no Facebook Page needed, then ask Claude or ChatGPT. Scheduled posts publish from our servers with the chat closed.
Private API and scrapers
Servers like Bob-lance/instagram-engagement-mcp use Instagram's private, unofficial API (its README says so), and services like Apify, Gumloop and Bright Data sell public Instagram data through MCP. Instagram's Terms of Use don't allow collecting information in an automated way without Meta's permission.
Ads, not posts
Meta's own connector for AI assistants covers ads: campaigns, reporting and catalogs. It doesn't publish to your feed.
What Instagram's API lets a server doThe rules every server works within.
- Professional accounts onlyCreator or Business. Personal accounts can't publish through any API.
- Two ways to sign inInstagram Login, with no Facebook Page needed, or Facebook Login for an account linked to a Page. Breakreach uses Instagram Login.
- Format rulesPhotos must be JPEG at 4:5 to 1.91:1, carousels stop at 10 slides, and an account can publish 100 posts through the API per 24 hours, a carousel counting as one.
- MessagesA reply to a direct message has to come within 24 hours of the person's last message.
What Breakreach's Instagram tools doAnd what they don't, yet.
What you can ask for
- Photos, carousels, Reels and StoriesA carousel takes 2 to 10 photos and videos in order. A 3:4 phone photo is cropped to 4:5 from the centre instead of being refused.
- InsightsViews, likes, comments and shares per post, deeper numbers for Reels and Stories, and 28-day reach, views and profile views for the account.
- CommentsRead, answer, hide or delete them from the chat.
- Direct messagesRead conversations and reply within Instagram's 24-hour window.
Not yet, or not possible
- Personal accounts: Creator or Business only
- First comments and Reel cover images
- Carousels of more than 10 slides, which only the app allows
Set it up in Claude.6 steps, once. ChatGPT works the same way.
- Claude· Customize › ConnectorsConnectorsSearchConnectBreakreachSchedule and publish to 12 social networks
Connectors let Claude use outside tools for you. You can disconnect them at any time.
Claude· Customize › ConnectorsConnectors let Claude use outside tools for you. You can disconnect them at any time.
In Claude Code, Cursor or any MCP clientOne hosted server, OAuth or an API key.
The server lives at https://api.breakreach.com/mcp and speaks Streamable HTTP, so there is nothing to install. Clients that handle OAuth sign you in; others send an API key from Settings → API & MCP.
claude mcp add --transport http breakreach https://api.breakreach.com/mcp{
"mcpServers": {
"breakreach": {
"url": "https://api.breakreach.com/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer br_YOUR_API_KEY" }
}
}
}What to askThree requests that work on Instagram today.
- “Post these four photos as one carousel tonight at 6 PM with a short caption”
- “How did yesterday's Reel do compared with my average post?”
- “Show me today's comments and draft a reply to each question”
Questions, answered.
Short answers about Instagram MCP servers.
Not for posting. Meta's official connector for AI assistants covers ads (campaigns, reporting, catalogs). Instagram MCP servers that post are built by third parties on Instagram's API.
Not with Instagram Login, which Breakreach uses: a Creator or Business account is enough. Servers that use Facebook Login, like jlbadano/ig-mcp, need the account linked to a Page.
Yes, up to 10 photos and videos through the API. Breakreach crops every photo to the first one's shape, as Instagram shows them.
In Claude: Customize → Connectors → Discover, search Breakreach, Connect. In ChatGPT: Settings → Plugins, search Breakreach, Connect. In Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http breakreach https://api.breakreach.com/mcp, then /mcp to sign in. Then connect Instagram in Breakreach and ask.
Yes. Breakreach reads, answers, hides and deletes comments, and replies to DMs within Instagram's 24-hour window.
Creating a Breakreach account and connecting your first social account is free. Scheduling and publishing need a plan, from $29 a month ($23 billed yearly) for 5 accounts.
Keep reading
Post to Instagram from ClaudeTwo-minute setup guide.
Post to Instagram from ChatGPTTwo-minute setup guide.Instagram post sizeWhat the API accepts, in pixels.
TikTok MCP serversPosting, ads and scrapers.
Best MCP servers for social mediaSeven servers, what each one does.Breakreach for developersREST API, MCP server, webhooks.
Put your socials on autopilot.Live in two minutes.
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