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Connect your app to Instagram Business to publish feed posts, manage comments, and answer direct messages, either from one shared account or from each person’s own Instagram account.
You need a Builder plan or higher to use connectors in your app.

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What you can do

Bring your Instagram account’s posts, comments, and messages into your app’s workflows.

Publish posts

Post photos, videos, and carousels to your feed when something happens in your app, such as a new product being added.

Manage comments

Read, reply to, and moderate comments on your posts, for example when a comment includes a keyword.

Answer direct messages

Read direct messages and reply to them from your app within 24 hours of the person’s last message.
Example prompts Describe the content, what triggers the action, and any dynamic fields in the AI chat. For example:

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Connecting Instagram Business

Connect Instagram Business so your app can publish posts, manage comments, and answer direct messages.
Before you begin: Connect with an Instagram Business or Creator account. You can switch your account type in the Instagram app’s settings.
You connect one account once, and everyone who uses your app shares that connection and its data.To add a shared Instagram Business connector:
  1. Click Connectors in your workspace sidebar.
  2. Click Add connector.
  3. Search for Instagram Business and click it.
  4. Select Shared connector, then click Next.
  5. Enter a Connection name.
  6. In Who can access, choose where the connection can be used: Apps and Super agent (the default), Apps only or Super agent only.
  7. (Optional) Select the scopes the connection gets under Permissions.
  8. Click Add connector, then sign in with the Instagram account you want to share.

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Scopes and permissions

Scopes control what your app can do in Instagram. You choose them when you set up a connector.
1

Base44 adds

These are always included, so they show as locked scopes under Permissions for a shared connector or Scopes for an app user connector.
  • instagram_business_basic: View basic information about the account, such as its username and media
  • instagram_business_manage_messages: Read and reply to direct messages
2

You configure

Select the scopes your app needs under Permissions for a shared connector or Scopes for an app user connector.
  • instagram_business_content_publish: Publish photos, videos, and carousels to the feed
  • instagram_business_manage_comments: Read, reply to, and moderate comments on the account’s posts
Access: Your app works with the Instagram account that authorizes the connection.

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Using backend functions

Once Instagram Business is connected, your backend functions can retrieve an access token and call the Instagram API directly. Base44 handles the OAuth flow and token storage.
  • For a shared connection, use getConnection() to retrieve the token.
  • For an app user connection, use getCurrentAppUserConnection() so each request uses the signed-in person’s token.
Call the Instagram API at graph.instagram.com and pass the token in the access_token query parameter:

Shared connectors

Configure, deploy, and call a shared connection from a backend function.

App user connectors

Retrieve a per-user token and call the API as the signed-in person.

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Troubleshooting

Check the connection and the timing of your replies if Instagram Business stops working in your app.
Base44 renews Instagram access in the background. If access is lost or expires, the connection shows This connection needs to be reconnected. Reconnect it and sign in with the same Instagram account to restore it for every app that uses it.
Instagram accepts replies to a direct message within 24 hours of the person’s last message. Reply within that window, or wait for the person to message you again.