Instagram

Content Types

Instagram supports multiple content types, each with different requirements:

Type	Description	Media Required
Feed Post	Standard image/video post	Yes
Carousel	Multi-image/video post (up to 10)	Yes
Story	24-hour ephemeral content	Yes
Reel	Short-form video (up to 90 sec)	Yes (video)

Image Requirements

Property	Feed Post	Story	Carousel
Max Images	1	1	10
Formats	JPEG, PNG	JPEG, PNG	JPEG, PNG
Max File Size	8 MB	8 MB	8 MB each
Recommended	1080 × 1350 px	1080 × 1920 px	1080 × 1080 px

Aspect Ratio Requirements

This is critical for Instagram! Feed posts have strict aspect ratio requirements:

Orientation	Ratio	Dimensions	Use Case
Portrait	4:5	1080 × 1350 px	Best engagement
Square	1:1	1080 × 1080 px	Standard
Landscape	1.91:1	1080 × 566 px	Minimum

Allowed range: 0.8 (4:5) to 1.91 (1.91:1)

✅ 4:5 (0.8) - Portrait
✅ 1:1 (1.0) - Square
✅ 1.91:1 (1.91) - Landscape
❌ 9:16 (0.56) - Too tall, use Story instead
❌ 16:9 (1.78) - Acceptable but cropped

Important: Images outside the 0.8-1.91 range (like 9:16 vertical videos) must be posted as Stories using contentType: "story".

Video Requirements

Feed Videos / Reels

Property	Requirement
Formats	MP4, MOV
Max File Size	300 MB (auto-compressed if larger)
Max Duration	90 seconds (Reels), 60 min (Feed)
Min Duration	3 seconds
Aspect Ratio	9:16 (Reels), 4:5 to 1.91:1 (Feed)
Resolution	1080 × 1920 px (Reels)
Frame Rate	30 fps recommended
Codec	H.264

Story Videos

Property	Requirement
Max File Size	100 MB (auto-compressed if larger)
Max Duration	60 seconds
Aspect Ratio	9:16
Resolution	1080 × 1920 px

Carousel Posts

Carousels support up to 10 items mixing images and videos:

{
  "content": "Check out these photos from my trip! 🌴",
  "mediaItems": [
    { "url": "https://example.com/photo1.jpg" },
    { "url": "https://example.com/video.mp4" },
    { "url": "https://example.com/photo2.jpg" },
    { "url": "https://example.com/photo3.jpg" }
  ],
  "platforms": [
    { "platform": "instagram", "accountId": "acc_123" }
  ]
}

Carousel Requirements

All items should have the same aspect ratio
First item determines the aspect ratio for all
Mix of images and videos is allowed
Each item: max 8 MB (images), 100 MB (videos)

Stories

To post as a Story instead of feed:

{
  "mediaItems": [
    { "url": "https://example.com/story-image.jpg" }
  ],
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "instagram",
      "accountId": "acc_123",
      "platformSpecificData": {
        "contentType": "story"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Story Notes:

Stories disappear after 24 hours
No text captions displayed (use image overlays)
9:16 aspect ratio recommended
Tappable links available for business accounts

Collaborators

Invite up to 3 collaborators on feed posts and Reels:

{
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "instagram",
      "accountId": "acc_123",
      "platformSpecificData": {
        "collaborators": ["username1", "username2"]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Automatic Compression

Late automatically compresses oversized media:

Content Type	Image Limit	Video Limit	Action
Feed/Carousel	8 MB	300 MB	Auto-compress
Story	8 MB	100 MB	Auto-compress
Reel	8 MB	300 MB	Auto-compress

Original files are preserved.

Common Issues

"Invalid aspect ratio"

Your image is outside the 0.8-1.91 range. Solutions:

Crop to 4:5 or 1:1
Use contentType: "story" for 9:16 content

Video rejected as Reel

Videos under 90 seconds with 9:16 aspect ratio automatically become Reels. If you want a feed video, use a different aspect ratio.

Carousel items showing differently

Ensure all carousel items have the same aspect ratio. The first item sets the ratio for all.

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