Post to Instagram automatically

01

Connect Instagram

1. In the dashboard, open Accounts and pick Instagram.
2. Sign in with Instagram and allow Reelspan to post to your professional account.
3. The account joins the profile you had open; every post to that profile can now include it.

Posting for clients? Send them a connect link so they connect their own Instagram account without a Reelspan login.

02

Get an API key

In the dashboard, open Developers → API keys and create one. Keep it in an environment variable such as REELSPAN_KEY; never in code you share.

03

Post with one request

Send the video as a file, or as a public URL like below. Add more platform[] fields to post the same thing everywhere at once.

curl -X POST https://api.reelspan.com/v1/posts/video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $REELSPAN_KEY" \
  -F user=my-brand \
  -F "platform[]=instagram" \
  -F "video=https://example.com/clip.mp4" \
  -F "title=Your caption" \
  -F "media_type=…"

const form = new FormData();
form.append('user', 'my-brand');
form.append('platform[]', 'instagram');
form.append('video', 'https://example.com/clip.mp4');
form.append('title', 'Your caption');

const res = await fetch('https://api.reelspan.com/v1/posts/video', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.REELSPAN_KEY}` },
  body: form,
});
console.log(await res.json());

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.reelspan.com/v1/posts/video",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['REELSPAN_KEY']}"},
    files=[
        ("user", (None, "my-brand")),
        ("platform[]", (None, "instagram")),
        ("video", (None, "https://example.com/clip.mp4")),
        ("title", (None, "Your caption")),
    ],
)
print(res.json())

instagram_title sets the text for Instagram only, when it should differ from the other networks’.

04

Instagram options

media_type

REELS (the default for video) or STORIES.

collaborators

Invite collaborators to the Reel, comma-separated usernames.

cover_url

A cover image for the Reel.

user_tags

Tag accounts in photos.

first_comment

Post hashtags or a link as the first comment.

• Videos go out as Reels; photos as a post or a carousel, videos mixed in.
• Up to 30 hashtags and 20 mentions; add collaborators and a cover frame.
• Stories too, one photo at a time.

Every field, with its limits: the docs.

05

Schedule it and check the result

• Add scheduled_date (ISO 8601) and timezone to post later, or add_to_queue=true to take the next slot of your posting schedule.
• The response has Instagram’s status and the post’s link. For big files send async_upload=true and check GET /v1/posts/status?request_id=…, or get a signed webhook when it’s live.
• If Instagram refuses a post, the error says why in plain words, and you can retry just that network.

06

Without code

• n8n, Make, Zapier or Airtable: the same request from a workflow.
• Claude, ChatGPT or any MCP client: ask “post this to Instagram”.
• The dashboard: write once, check Instagram’s limits as you type, post now or schedule.

07

Ideas

• Post carousels from a folder of product photos.
• Share each Reel as a Story too.

More on Instagram: what you can post there. Other networks: all upload guides.