InstaBot

InstaBot is a Python-based automation tool that publishes images to Instagram using the official Facebook / Instagram Graph API.

Images are temporarily hosted using imgbb so Instagram can access them via a public URL.
After posting, images can optionally be moved to an archive directory.

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Configuration

All configuration is done via a single JSON file.

config.json

{
    "authentication": {
        "APP_ID": "",
        "APP_SECRET": "",
        "IG_USER_ID": "",
        "SHORT_LIVED_TOKEN": "",
        "LONG_LIVED_TOKEN": "",
        "URL": "https://graph.facebook.com/v24.0/oauth/access_token",
        "IMGBB_API_KEY": ""
    },
    "data": {
        "image_dir": "./images/post",
        "used_image_dir": "./images/posted",
        "corrupted_image_dir": "./images/corrupted"
    },
    "settings": {
        "deleteUsedPictures": false,
        "moveUsedPictures": true,
        "maxAttempts": 5
    }
}

Authentication

The following fields are required to authenticate with the Facebook / Instagram Graph API.

Required fields

APP_ID

Facebook App ID
Location: Facebook Developer Portal → Your App → Settings → Basic

APP_SECRET

Facebook App Secret
Location: Facebook Developer Portal → Your App → Settings → Basic

IG_USER_ID

Instagram Business or Creator account ID.
The Instagram account must be connected to a Facebook Page.

SHORT_LIVED_TOKEN

Short-lived User Access Token generated via the Graph API Explorer.

This token must be provided once to generate the long-lived token.

LONG_LIVED_TOKEN

Leave this field empty.

The application automatically exchanges the short-lived token for a long-lived token and stores it internally.
You do not need to manually refresh or update this token.

URL

OAuth endpoint used to exchange access tokens.
Default value is correct and should not be changed.

IMGBB_API_KEY

API key from https://api.imgbb.com
Used to temporarily host images so Instagram can access them.

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Data directories

These paths control where images are read from, where used images are stored, and where corrupted files are moved.

image_dir

Directory containing images that are eligible for posting.

Default: ./images/post

used_image_dir

Directory where images are moved after they have been posted (if enabled).

Default: ./images/posted

corrupted_image_dir

Directory where invalid/corrupted images are moved when the bot detects a problem (e.g. unreadable file, unsupported format, repeated upload failures).

Default: ./images/corrupted

All paths can be absolute or relative to the project root.

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Settings

General behavior settings for the application.

deleteUsedPictures

This is not yet implemented! All images are moved to corrupted or posted

Controls whether successfully posted images are deleted after posting.

• true
  Images are deleted after they have been posted.

• false
  Images are not deleted after posting.

Recommended: keep false if you want an archive.

moveUsedPictures

Controls whether successfully posted images are moved after posting.

• true
  Images are moved to used_image_dir after they have been posted.

• false
  Images remain in image_dir after posting.

Recommended: set to true if you want a clean post folder.

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maxAttempts

Controls how many times InstaBot will retry processing/posting an image before treating it as failed.

• Example: 5
  The bot retries up to 5 times before giving up. After that, the image may be moved to corrupted_image_dir.

Recommended: 5 is a good default.