Managing an Instagram Business or Creator account isn’t just about posting content — it’s also about controlling your profile data, automating publishing, and analyzing performance. The Instagram Graph API provides everything you need to make this possible.

In this guide, we’ll walk through three key areas:

Retrieving profile and account details

Publishing posts (photos and videos)

Fetching insights for media content

Retrieving Profile Details

Every Instagram Business or Creator account is represented in the Graph API with a unique user ID. Using this ID, you can request profile-level information such as the account’s username, profile picture, follower stats, and the number of posts they’ve published.

Endpoint:

GET /{ig-user-id}?fields=id,username,profile_picture_url,followers_count,follows_count,media_count

This request returns:

The account ID and username

Profile picture URL

Follower and following counts

The total number of media objects (photos, videos, reels, stories)

Use cases

Show profile stats inside your dashboard.

Verify that you connected the right account.

Compare follower growth over time.

Display profile info (profile picture, username) in your app.

Key notes for profile details:

Always use the Instagram user ID, not the connected Page ID.

If you’re using media URLs, they must be publicly accessible. Private links or local files will not work.

You cannot publish posts directly; Instagram requires a container-based approach.

The access token must include the instagram_content_publish permission if you plan to create posts.

Sample Image:

This request returns:

The account ID and username

Profile picture URL

Follower and following counts

The total number of media objects (photos, videos, reels, stories)

Publishing Content on Instagram

Instagram’s Graph API requires a container-based workflow for publishing posts. This means you first create a media container and then publish it.

Step 1: Create a Media Container

Unlike other platforms, Instagram doesn’t allow you to upload content in a single step. Instead, the Graph API uses a two-step process:

Create a media container with your image, video, or caption.

Publish that container as an Instagram post.

Endpoint:

POST /{user-id}/media

Replace {user-id} with your Instagram Business/Creator account ID (not the Page ID).

This is the first step before publishing any post.

Purpose:

The media container stores your image, video, or caption

temporarily in Instagram. You cannot publish directly without creating a container first.

Required Parameters:

When you create a media container, you’ll need to include the following details:

image_url – the direct link to the image you want to publish. This must be a publicly accessible URL because Instagram cannot pull files from your local computer.

caption – the text you want to add as the caption for your post.

media_type – the type of content you’re uploading, such as IMAGE or VIDEO.

access_token – your long-lived token that has the instagram_content_publish permission enabled.

Example Response:

{
  "id": "17901234567890123"
}

Sample Image:

Step 2: Publish the Post

Once the media container is ready, you can publish it.

Endpoint:

POST /{user-id}/media_publish

In this call, you pass the creation_id (the container ID from Step 1). A successful response includes the final Instagram post ID.

This two-step workflow ensures Instagram validates the media before publishing and prevents issues with unsupported files or incorrect configurations.

Fetching Media Insights

Publishing is only half the story. To understand performance, you need insights. The Graph API lets you pull engagement metrics for individual posts using their media ID.

Endpoint:

GET /{media_id}/insights?metric=reach,shares,saved,comments,likes&access_token={token}

Here’s what each metric means:

Reach – the number of unique accounts that saw your post.

Shares – how many times the post was shared.

Saved – how many users saved it.

Comments – the total number of comments.

Likes – the total likes received.

Key Notes

Always use the Instagram User ID, not the connected Page ID.

Media must be stored at a publicly accessible URL — local files won’t work.

Posting requires a two-step process: first create a media container, then publish it.

The instagram_content_publish permission is required for publishing.

Insights can only be retrieved for your own posts (not for other accounts).

To fetch insights, you must have the instagram_manage_insights permission.

Metrics like reach, likes, shares, and saves are lifetime values, not session-based.

Conclusion:

The Instagram Graph API makes it possible to fully manage your account at scale. You can pull profile details, publish posts through the container-based workflow, and analyze engagement with post-level insights. This allows businesses and creators to automate their workflows, track performance, and make data-driven content decisions.

Whether you’re building a custom dashboard, a content scheduling tool, or an analytics platform, these API endpoints are the foundation for managing Instagram accounts effectively.

Solo Developer guide to automate and manage Pictures, Reels and Stories on Instagram Platform