A guide to understand, operate, and extend the workflow.
A guide to understand, operate, and extend the workflow. 1) What this workflow does (and why it’s useful) Goal: Turn a simple Airtable sheet into a content calendar that automatically publishes Instagram Reels via the Instagram Graph API, on a schedule you control in n8n. Why this matters: Your team plans everything in Airtable (user-friendly, collaborative). n8n** posts for you at the right time, every time. You keep full control (no third-party SaaS lock-in, no manual uploads). Later, you can reuse the same queue to post YouTube Shorts / TikTok (omnichannel). Core flow (one row = one post): Cron starts the workflow at a set time. Airtable – Search grabs due rows: status = "To Post" AND scheduled_at <= NOW() AND platform = "IG". Split Out processes each row individually. Set (Map fields) normalizes Airtable fields → video_url, caption, recordId. IG: Create Media Container registers your video as REEL. Wait 90s lets IG process the video. IG: Publish Reel publishes the container. Airtable – Update marks the row as Posted, stores ig_media_id, and timestamp. 2) Architecture at a glance [Cron] → [Airtable: Search records] → [Split Out: records] → [Set: Map fields] → [IG: Create Media Container] → [Wait 90s] → [IG: Publish Reel] → [Airtable: Update record] Sticky Notes inside the workflow explain each step (they’re rendered from parameters.content with Markdown). 3) Airtable schema (recommended) Create a table (e.g., Posts) with these fields: | Field | Type | Purpose | |---------------|-----------------|-------------------------------------------------------| | video_url | URL or Text | Directly accessible (public) URL to your MP4 | | caption | Long text | Final caption (hashtags, line breaks, emojis) | | platform | Single select | Set IG for this workflow | | status | Single select | To Post → will be picked up; Posted later | | scheduled_at| Date/Time (UTC) | When to post | | ig_media_id | Text (optional) | Filled by n8n after publishing | | posted_at | Date/Time | Filled by n8n after publishing | Filter used in the Airtable “Search records” node: AND({status}='To Post', {scheduled_at}<=NOW(), {platform}='IG') > Tip: If you localize/rename fields, update the filter accordingly. 4) Prerequisites & credentials Instagram Business/Creator* account connected to a *Facebook Page**. IG User ID** for the connected account. Long-lived IG Access Token** with permissions to create and publish content. n8n environment variables** (Settings → Environments): IG_API_VERSION (e.g., v21.0) IG_USER_ID IG_ACCESS_TOKEN Airtable credential* in n8n using a *Personal Access Token** (as in your example). A publicly accessible video_url (e.g., S3/GCS signed URL, public CDN, Drive/Dropbox direct link). The API pulls from your URL; it cannot fetch files behind logins. 5) Node-by-node deep dive (what each node expects/returns) A) Cron Trigger What it does:** Starts the workflow on a schedule (daily at 09:00 in the template). How to use:** Adjust hours/minutes to your cadence (hourly, twice a day, etc.). B) Airtable: Search records Operation:** search Base/Table:** Select from dropdowns (matches your account). Options → filterByFormula:** AND({status}='To Post', {scheduled_at}<=NOW(), {platform}='IG') Return:** An array under records[]. Each record has id and fields. C) Split Out: records What it does:** Turns the records[] array into individual items. Why:** Downstream steps can then act on each post separately. D) Set: Map fields What it does:** Normalizes data to predictable keys and keeps the recordId. Outputs:** recordId = {{$json.id}} video_url = {{$json.fields.video_url}} caption = {{$json.fields.caption}} scheduled_at = {{$json.fields.scheduled_at}} E) IG: Create Media Container (REELS) Endpoint:** POST https://graph.facebook.com/{v}/{ig-user-id}/media Body params:** video_url = {{$json.video_url}} caption = {{$json.caption}} media_type=REELS share_to_feed=true (optional) access_token=${IG_ACCESS_TOKEN} Return:* JSON with *container id** under id (this is your creation_id for publishing). F) Wait 90s Why:** IG needs time to process the video behind video_url. Tip:** If your videos are large or high bitrate, you may increase to 120–180s. G) IG: Publish Reel Endpoint:** POST https://graph.facebook.com/{v}/{ig-user-id}/media_publish Body params:** creation_id = {{$json.id}} (the container id from step E) access_token = ${IG_ACCESS_TOKEN} Return:* JSON with *id = ig_media_id** (the published media). H) Airtable: Update record What it does:** Writes results back to the same row. Fields updated (example):** status = "Posted" ig_media_id = {{$json.id}} posted_at = {{$now}} 6) First-run checklist (do this once) In both Airtable nodes, pick your Base and Table (via dropdown). Confirm filterByFormula matches your field names exactly. Add one test row in Airtable: video_url = a public MP4 URL caption = a small caption platform = IG status = To Post scheduled_at = in the past (so it’s due now) Set Cron to run in the next minute (or click Execute Workflow manually). Confirm the flow: Airtable search → returns 1 record Container created → you get an id After 90s → Publish returns a media id Airtable updated → row becomes Posted with ig_media_id and posted_at 7) Daily operations (how to use it day-to-day) Your team fills Airtable with upcoming posts. Keep status = To Post, set accurate scheduled_at in UTC. n8n’s Cron checks regularly and posts due items. After publishing, the row is marked Posted (so it won’t re-post). Backfilling: If you need to post a bunch of older content, set scheduled_at in the past for those rows and let Cron pick them up. If needed, run the workflow manually. An n8n automation workflow template by SuS.
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