SETUP_INSTAGRAM.md

📸 Instagram API Setup Guide

Connect your Instagram Business account to publish Reels automatically from Apollo.

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⚠️ Important Requirements

Before starting, you must have:

• ✅ Instagram Business or Creator account (Personal accounts don't work)
• ✅ Facebook Page connected to your Instagram
• ✅ Meta Developer account (free)
• ✅ ~10 minutes for setup

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🔄 How It Works

Your Instagram Account
        ↓
   Facebook Page
        ↓
  Meta Developer App
        ↓
   Instagram API
        ↓
      Apollo

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🚀 Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Convert to Business/Creator Account

If you already have a Business account, skip this step.

1. Open Instagram app
2. Go to Settings → Account
3. Tap "Switch to Professional Account"
4. Choose Business or Creator
5. Follow the setup

Step 2: Connect to Facebook Page

1. In Instagram settings → Account
2. Tap "Linked Accounts" → Facebook
3. Connect to an existing Facebook Page or create one

Step 3: Create Meta Developer Account

1. Go to: https://developers.facebook.com/
2. Click "Get Started" (top right)
3. Log in with your Facebook account
4. Complete the developer registration
5. Verify your email and phone

Step 4: Create Meta App

1. Go to My Apps → Create App
2. Select use case: Other
3. App type: Business
4. Fill in:
   • App name: Apollo-YourName (any name)
   • App contact email: your email
   • Business account: select or create one
5. Click Create app

Step 5: Add Instagram API

1. In your app dashboard, scroll to "Add products to your app"
2. Find "Instagram" or "Instagram Graph API"
3. Click "Set up"
4. If asked for use case, select: "Manage messaging & content on Instagram"

Step 6: Configure Permissions

Required permissions:

• ✅ instagram_business_basic
• ✅ instagram_business_content_publish

Optional (for advanced features):

• instagram_business_manage_comments
• instagram_business_manage_messages

Step 7: Add Yourself as Instagram Tester

1. Go to App Roles → Instagram Testers (or Roles)
2. Click "Add Instagram Tester"
3. Enter your Instagram username (e.g., @yourusername)
4. Click Submit

Step 8: Accept Tester Invitation

On Instagram:

1. Open Instagram
2. Go to Settings → Apps and Websites → Tester Invitations
3. Accept the invitation from your Apollo app

⚠️ Without accepting this, tokens won't work!

Step 9: Generate Access Token

1. Back in Meta Developer Console
2. Go to Instagram API Setup → Generate Access Tokens
3. Select your Instagram account
4. Click Generate Token
5. Authorize the app
6. Copy the access token (starts with IGAA...)

Step 10: Get Business Account ID

Method 1 - From Instagram API Setup page:

• Your Instagram Business Account ID is displayed (e.g., 17841442678955842)

Method 2 - Using Graph API Explorer:

1. Go to Graph API Explorer
2. Query: me/accounts?fields=id,name,instagram_business_account
3. Find instagram_business_account.id in response

Step 11: Get App Secret

1. In Meta App Dashboard → App Settings → Basic
2. Find "App Secret"
3. Click "Show" and enter your Facebook password
4. Copy the secret (32 characters)

Step 12: Add to Apollo

In Apollo:

1. Open Settings (⚙️)
2. Find 📸 Instagram API section
3. Fill in:
   • Access Token: paste your IGAA... token
   • Business Account ID: paste your account ID
   • App Secret: paste your app secret
4. Click 💾 Save all settings
5. Click "Test Instagram connection" to verify

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🧪 Test Your Setup

In Apollo Settings:

1. Fill in all Instagram fields
2. Click "Test Instagram Connection"
3. Should show: "✓ connected as @yourusername"

If test fails, see Troubleshooting below.

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📊 API Limits

Development Mode (Default)

• ✅ 25 posts per day per account
• ✅ 1000 requests per hour
• ✅ Only test users can use the app

Perfect for personal use.

Live Mode (for public apps)

Requires App Review process. Not needed for personal use.

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🎥 Video Requirements

For Instagram Reels:

Property	Requirement
Format	MP4 (H.264 codec)
Aspect Ratio	9:16 (vertical)
Resolution	720x1280 or higher (1080x1920 recommended)
Duration	3 seconds to 90 seconds
File Size	Max 100 MB
Frame Rate	23-60 FPS
Audio	AAC codec, 128 kbps

Apollo automatically formats videos to meet these requirements.

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🐛 Troubleshooting

❌ "Application does not have permission"

Solution:

1. Check permissions granted during OAuth
2. Ensure instagram_business_content_publish is enabled
3. Regenerate access token

❌ "The user is not an Instagram Business"

Solution:

1. Convert Instagram to Business/Creator account
2. Reconnect to Facebook Page
3. Wait 24 hours after conversion
4. Regenerate token

❌ "Invalid OAuth access token"

Cause: Token expired or revoked.

Solution:

1. Generate new token in Meta Developer Console
2. Update in Apollo Settings
3. Save settings

❌ "API access blocked"

Causes:

• IP address blocked by Meta
• Rate limit exceeded
• Account under review

Solutions:

1. Wait 15-30 minutes
2. Try without VPN
3. Check account status in Instagram
4. Regenerate token

❌ "The user has not accepted the invitation"

Solution:

1. Open Instagram app
2. Settings → Apps and Websites → Tester Invitations
3. Accept the invitation
4. Wait 5 minutes and try again

❌ Video upload fails

Solutions:

1. Ensure video meets requirements
2. Check Cloudinary is configured (Apollo needs it)
3. Try shorter video (under 60 seconds)
4. Verify video is not corrupted

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🔒 Security Best Practices

• ✅ Never share your Access Token
• ✅ Never share your App Secret
• ✅ Never commit to Git repositories
• ✅ Rotate tokens every 60 days
• ✅ Use long-lived tokens for permanence
• ✅ Revoke unused apps regularly

Extending Token Lifetime

Access tokens expire after 60 days. Apollo automatically exchanges short-lived tokens for long-lived ones.

Manual extension:

GET https://graph.instagram.com/access_token
?grant_type=ig_exchange_token
&client_secret={app-secret}
&access_token={short-lived-token}

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📱 App Review (for Public Distribution)

For personal use, Development Mode is enough.

If you want to distribute Apollo publicly:

1. Complete Meta App Review process
2. Provide business verification documents
3. Submit permissions for review
4. Wait for approval (2-4 weeks)

Details: Meta App Review

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📚 Additional Resources

• Instagram Graph API Docs
• Meta for Developers
• Instagram Content Publishing
• Rate Limits

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💬 Need Help?

Contact us: @main_admin_tahasite on Telegram

Response time: Usually within 24 hours

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