Post to Instagram from Hermes Agent

Hermes Agent can schedule and publish Instagram feed posts, stories, and reels through Postiz. Once the Postiz skill is installed, you send Hermes a photo or video and a caption from Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, or the CLI. It uploads the media, chooses the post type, adds collaborators when asked, and schedules the post.

Setup Guide GitHub

Please make sure there is always a human in the loop.

Last updated: September 2026

Post to Instagram in Seconds

Setup, then just ask

# One-time setup
npx skills add gitroomhq/postiz-agent
export POSTIZ_API_KEY=your_api_key

# Then just ask Hermes Agent:
> Post the product photo to Instagram
  with a caption, tomorrow at 6pm

Hermes Agent: Done! Your Instagram post is scheduled.

Instagram-Specific Features

📷

Feed Posts

Publish photo and video posts to your Instagram feed with captions, hashtags, and location tags. Schedule for optimal engagement times.

📱

Stories

Share ephemeral content with Instagram Stories. Upload images or videos that disappear after 24 hours.

🎬

Trial Reels

Test content with trial reels that have limited initial reach. Graduate to full distribution manually or automatically based on performance.

🤝

Collaborator Tags

Tag collaborators on your posts to co-author content. The post appears on both profiles, doubling your reach.

📊

Graduation Strategy

Control how trial reels graduate to full reach. Choose MANUAL for hands-on control or SS_PERFORMANCE for automatic promotion.

📅

Scheduled Posting

Schedule posts and stories with precise timestamps. Plan your Instagram content calendar and let Postiz handle the publishing.

How to post to Instagram from Hermes Agent

You describe what you want in plain language and Hermes Agent handles the Postiz calls for you. Here is how a typical conversation goes.

Find Your Instagram Integration

Ask Hermes Agent whether your Instagram account is connected. It also checks which options the platform supports.

Example conversation

> Is my Instagram account connected to Postiz?

Hermes Agent: Yes — your Instagram account is connected
  and ready. Want me to post something?

Upload Your Media

Upload your photo or video to get a public URL. Instagram requires media to be accessible via HTTPS. Supports JPG, PNG, MP4, and more.

Example conversation

> Draft a Instagram post about our new
  feature launch

Hermes Agent: Here's a draft for Instagram:
  "We just shipped something big..."
  Want me to add media and schedule it?

Create Your Post

Schedule an Instagram post with your media, caption, hashtags, and platform-specific settings like post type, trial reels, and collaborators.

Example conversation

> Yes — add screenshot.png and schedule
  it for tomorrow at 9am

Hermes Agent: Done! Scheduled on Instagram for
  tomorrow at 9:00 AM.

Instagram Settings Reference

Mention any of these in plain language and Hermes Agent sets them for you. These are the Instagram options it can apply to any post.

Field	Type	Required	Description
`__type`	string	Yes	Must be "instagram" or "instagram-standalone"
`post_type`	string	Yes	Content type: "post" (feed) or "story"
`is_trial_reel`	boolean	No	Post as a trial reel with limited initial reach
`graduation_strategy`	string	No	Trial reel graduation: "MANUAL" or "SS_PERFORMANCE" (auto based on performance)
`collaborators`	array	No	List of collaborator objects, e.g. [{"label":"username"}]

Common Configurations

Ask Hermes Agent for any of these common Instagram scenarios and it applies the matching settings.

Simple Feed Post

Just ask

> Post it with: Simple Feed Post

Hermes Agent: Got it. Applying:
  post_type: post

Story Post

Just ask

> Post it with: Story Post

Hermes Agent: Got it. Applying:
  post_type: story

Trial Reel with Auto Graduation

Just ask

> Post it with: Trial Reel with Auto Graduation

Hermes Agent: Got it. Applying:
  post_type: post
  is_trial_reel: yes
  graduation_strategy: SS_PERFORMANCE

Collaborator Post

Just ask

> Post it with: Collaborator Post

Hermes Agent: Got it. Applying:
  post_type: post
  collaborators: cofounder, designer_jane

What is Hermes Agent?

Hermes Agent is an open-source AI agent from Nous Research, released under the MIT license. It runs on your own machine or server, you talk to it from Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, or the CLI, and it executes tools such as the Postiz skill to post to Instagram and other channels. It works with Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI, or your own model endpoint.

💬

Message From Anywhere

Talk to Hermes from Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, email, or the terminal. Ask for a Instagram post from whichever app you already have open.

⏰

Built-in Cron Scheduler

Create recurring jobs in plain language, such as weekdays at 9am. Hermes drafts and schedules Instagram content through Postiz and reports back to your chat.

🔧

Open Source, Any Model

Hermes Agent is MIT licensed and self-hosted. Run it on Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI, or your own endpoint, and extend it with MCP servers or skills like Postiz.

How Postiz Works with Hermes Agent

Postiz ships as an agent skill in the agentskills.io SKILL.md format that Hermes Agent reads. The skill documents every Postiz CLI command, the credentials it needs, and the Instagram settings, so Hermes knows how to list your channels, upload media, and create posts without any custom code.

✓Install the Postiz CLI (npm install -g postiz) and add the skill with npx skills add gitroomhq/postiz-agent
✓Hermes loads skills from ~/.hermes/skills and shows them with hermes skills list
✓Authenticate with POSTIZ_API_KEY, or run postiz auth:login for an OAuth device flow
✓Every Postiz command returns JSON, so Hermes can chain discovery, upload, and posting
✓Prefer MCP? Add https://mcp.postiz.com/mcp-oauth-dynamic under mcp_servers in ~/.hermes/config.yaml

Install Postiz

# Install the Postiz CLI and skill
npm install -g postiz
npx skills add gitroomhq/postiz-agent

# Authenticate: API key or OAuth device flow
export POSTIZ_API_KEY=your_api_key
# or: postiz auth:login

# Confirm Hermes can see the skill
hermes skills list

Instagram Posting with Hermes Agent

Hermes Agent reads Postiz commands through its tool system, discovers your integrations, and handles the entire posting workflow — from content creation to scheduling.

🧠

From Any Chat App

Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal

Send a message to Hermes Agent from your favorite chat app. Its gateway runs in the background, so it picks up your message, discovers your Instagram account via Postiz, uploads the photo, and schedules the post — all while you go about your day.

Hermes Agent

You: Post to Instagram about our new
  feature launch, schedule for tomorrow
  at 9am

Hermes: I'll handle that! Let me:
  1. Find your Instagram integration
  2. Compose your post content
  3. Schedule for tomorrow 9:00 AM

  Done! Post scheduled successfully.
  Post ID: abc-123

🧠

Scheduled & Proactive

Built-in Hermes cron jobs

Hermes Agent has a built-in cron scheduler. Create a recurring job in plain language and Hermes drafts and schedules your Instagram content through Postiz on that schedule, then reports back to whichever chat you use.

Hermes cron job

# From the terminal
hermes cron create "weekdays at 9am" \
  "Check ~/content/instagram for new posts.
   Upload any media with postiz upload,
   then schedule each one to Instagram
   for noon today via Postiz. Move posted
   files to ~/content/published."

# Or from any chat with Hermes
/cron add "weekdays at 9am" "Schedule
  today's Instagram post via Postiz"

Why Hermes Agent + Postiz for Instagram

Hermes Agent makes Postiz a natural fit for your Instagram workflow. The agent discovers all available commands and autonomously chains them together.

✓Hermes Agent is MIT licensed and Postiz has a public API, so nothing is locked in
✓Chat-first: ask for a Instagram post from Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, or Signal
✓Cron jobs in plain language for hands-free recurring Instagram posts
✓Cross-post to Instagram and other channels in one request, each with its own settings
✓Model-agnostic: run Hermes on Nous Portal, OpenRouter, OpenAI, or your own endpoint
✓Credentials stay in Postiz; Hermes only holds a Postiz API key or OAuth session

SKILL.md (what Hermes reads)

---
name: postiz
description: Postiz is a tool to schedule
  social media and chat posts to 28+
  channels including Instagram
homepage: https://docs.postiz.com/public-api/introduction
---

# Commands Hermes can run
postiz auth:status
postiz integrations:list
postiz integrations:settings <id>
postiz upload <file>
postiz posts:create -i <id> -c "..." -s <iso>
postiz posts:list
postiz analytics:platform <id>

# Instagram settings
post_type, is_trial_reel, graduation_strategy, collaborators

Using a different agent for Instagram?

Postiz works with any AI agent that can run CLI commands or call MCP tools, and the Instagram settings on this page are the same for every agent. Read the same guide for Claude Code, OpenClaw, Codex. Or see the guide for any AI agent and the Postiz MCP server.

Instagram + Other Platforms

Schedule the same content to Instagram and other platforms in a single request. Each platform gets its own settings.

Example

> Post "Excited to announce our new feature!" to
  Instagram and LinkedIn tomorrow at 9am, then schedule
  a daily tip on Instagram every weekday at 10am

Hermes Agent: Done! Scheduled:
  - Instagram + LinkedIn: tomorrow 9:00 AM
  - Daily tips on Instagram: Mon-Fri 10:00 AM

Post Types

Feed Post

post

Story

story

What can you ask Hermes Agent to do on Instagram?

You can ask Hermes Agent to create, schedule, cancel, and measure Instagram posts in plain language. These are the kinds of requests it handles through Postiz.

Ask Hermes Agent

> Post product.jpg to Instagram with this caption and three hashtags, tomorrow at 6pm.

Hermes uploads the image with postiz upload, sets post_type: post, writes the caption, and schedules it.

Ask Hermes Agent

> Share teaser.mp4 as an Instagram story right now.

Hermes uploads the video, sets post_type: story, and publishes immediately.

Ask Hermes Agent

> Post this reel as a trial reel with automatic graduation and tag @designpartner as a collaborator.

Hermes sets is_trial_reel: true, graduation_strategy: SS_PERFORMANCE, and adds the collaborator.

Instagram rules Hermes Agent has to follow

Postiz validates every Instagram post before it is scheduled, so these limits and required settings decide whether a request succeeds.

▸Instagram requires media. A text-only request cannot be published, so always give Hermes an image or video.
▸Captions are limited to 2,200 characters and up to 30 hashtags. Hermes should keep captions within both limits.
▸Media must be uploaded through postiz upload. Instagram rejects raw file paths and external URLs when the post is published.
▸Postiz supports two Instagram channel types: instagram (via a Facebook Page) and instagram-standalone. Hermes must use the matching __type value.

Hermes Agent and Instagram: frequently asked questions

Can Hermes Agent post to Instagram?

Yes. With the Postiz skill, Hermes Agent uploads your image or video, writes the caption, picks feed post or story, and schedules it on your connected Instagram Business or Creator account. It can also flag a reel as a trial reel and add collaborators. Everything runs through Postiz CLI commands Hermes executes for you.

How do I connect Instagram to Hermes Agent?

Connect Instagram in the Postiz dashboard first, either through your Facebook Page or as a standalone account. Then install the Postiz skill in Hermes with npx skills add gitroomhq/postiz-agent and set POSTIZ_API_KEY. Hermes finds the Instagram channel with postiz integrations:list and never touches your Instagram password.

Can Hermes Agent post Instagram stories and reels?

Yes. Ask for a story and Hermes sets post_type to story; send a video to the feed and Instagram publishes it as a reel. You can also request a trial reel, which limits initial reach, and choose whether it graduates manually or automatically based on performance.

Why does Instagram reject the image Hermes Agent attached?

Instagram only accepts media that went through postiz upload. If Hermes passes a local file path or an external URL directly, the publish step fails. The Postiz skill instructs Hermes to upload first and use the returned path, so remind it to upload if you see this error.

Can Hermes Agent schedule Instagram posts automatically every day?

Yes. Create a cron job with hermes cron create "daily at 5pm" and a prompt such as "pick the newest image in ~/content/instagram, write a caption, and schedule it with Postiz for 7pm". Hermes runs it unattended and reports back to your chat when the post is scheduled.