Hermoso is a marketing MCP server: 922+ tools over one OAuth’d endpoint that let an agent research the ads already running in a market, generate finished image and video ads, publish them, and build the paid campaigns behind them. OpenClaw reaches all of it through one connection. This page covers one slice of that: what OpenClaw can actually do on Instagram, and what Instagram will not let it do.
Connect Hermoso to OpenClaw
- Install and sign in.
Your browser opens once. Nothing to create and nothing to paste: the credential is stored owner-only innpm install -g hermoso && hermoso auth login~/.hermoso/config.json. On a machine with no browser,hermoso auth login --token hmk_…takes a key from MCP & CLI → Terminal & API keys instead. - Add it to
~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. No key goes in the file, becausehermoso mcpreads the sign-in above:{ "mcp": { "servers": { "hermoso": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "hermoso", "mcp"] } } } } - Ask your agent for something. “Pull my three closest competitors’ longest-running ads and remix the best hook into a 9:16 video,” or “post this render to the channel.” The agent picks the tools; you approve the spend.
Hermoso has no special relationship with OpenClaw and does not claim one. The shape above is quoted from OpenClaw's own MCP reference at docs.openclaw.ai/cli/mcp, read on 2026-08-23; it is documented rather than run here, which is why it is the published file shape and not a bespoke install command.
Then connect Instagram itself, once, under Settings → Connectors in Hermoso. That is an OAuth consent screen, so it is the one step that needs a browser. Everything after it is a tool call.
The Instagram tools OpenClaw gets
post_to_meta: publishes to Instagram withtarget: "instagram". Instagram is a visual channel and the API agrees: a post needs an image or a video.schedule_post: queues it on the shared calendar, with a per-channel caption if the copy should differ from your Facebook or LinkedIn version.list_meta_comments / reply_to_meta_comment / moderate_meta_comment: read, reply and moderate under a post.meta_page_insights / meta_post_insights: reach, impressions, saves and engagement, per account and per post.search_instagram: keyword search across public Instagram Reels, for research rather than publishing.
Two Instagram facts worth knowing before you automate anything. There is no native Instagram scheduling in Meta’s API, so a schedule is Hermoso’s queue rather than Instagram’s, and passing Facebook’s scheduleAt for Instagram is refused rather than silently posted now. And an Instagram caption cannot be edited once the post is live: the only thing Meta lets you change on a published post is whether comments are enabled. Deleting one is supported: manage_meta_post removes ordinary posts, Stories, Reels and entire carousel albums, though never a single card out of an album.
Instagram limits worth knowing before you automate anything
| Text | An Instagram caption is capped at 2,200 characters. It is enforced when the post is created or queued, so an overlong post is refused while you are still there to fix it instead of being silently cut on the way out. |
|---|---|
| Visibility | Public only. Meta’s Content Publishing API publishes immediately or not at all, and Instagram “has no unlisted, private or draft post.” If you want a review step on Instagram, it has to happen before the call, not after. |
| Carousel | 2 to 10 slides, and images and video may be mixed. That upper bound is Meta’s own, quoted in the capability table it enforces: “Carousels are limited to 10 images, videos, or a mix of the two.” The floor of 2 is ours, because one slide is not a carousel on any platform. A single-slide ask publishes as an ordinary post rather than being refused. |
| Which account | pageId. Instagram publishes through the connected Facebook Page, so the same identity field selects it. |
Try it in OpenClaw
Ask for it in ordinary language. These are plain sentences, not a DSL:
“Research what is working in the category this week, build one 9:16 video and one 5-slide carousel, and hold both for approval before publishing.”
That walks search_instagram → plan_ad → render_ad → post_to_meta (target: "instagram"). How much a run asks you is OpenClaw’s setting, not ours.
OpenClaw on Instagram: the part that bites
An Instagram caption is final once it is live, so for an autonomous agent the caption is the thing to get right: generate freely, and let a person read the words. The post itself is removable with manage_meta_post. Everything upstream of that (research, planning, rendering, captioning) is safe to run unattended, and none of it is public until the publish tool is called.
On a long autonomous loop the hermoso CLI is the token-cheap path, because the agent shells out per command instead of carrying an 922+ tool manifest through every turn.
Research Instagram before you post
search_meta_ads covers Instagram placements as well as Facebook, since it is one library. For organic, search_instagram searches public Reels by keyword, which is the surface where the format actually moves; profile and hashtag pulls go through fetch_social_data and search_instagram_hashtag.
The paid half
Instagram placements are bought through the same Meta campaign tree as Facebook: create_meta_campaign → create_meta_adset → create_meta_ad, with placements selectable per platform and position. preview_meta_ad shows the real rendered ad per placement before you spend, and meta_insights breaks results down by age, gender, placement and country. That breakdown is what shapes the next creative.
What OpenClaw cannot do on its own
An agent with a budget is only useful if the blast radius is bounded, so the fence is in the server rather than in a prompt. Every ad campaign, ad set, ad group and ad is created paused, and the status switches that arm real money refuse to run without an explicit confirmation flag. Every render is quoted first (hermoso_capabilities publishes each model’s exact credit cost before anything spends). Credits are reserved before the first provider call and settled at the exact cost afterwards, so a failed dispatch refunds rather than leaving you billed for nothing. Deletes are confirm-gated too, and every campaign tree is read back from the ad platform before your agent tells you what it built.
One step is deliberately not headless: linking an account is an OAuth consent screen, so you connect the channel once in a browser. Everything after that is a tool call.
The rest of the matrix
From OpenClaw, post to: Facebook · Threads · TikTok · YouTube · X · LinkedIn · Pinterest · Bluesky · Telegram. Or see everything OpenClaw can publish to.
Post to Instagram from: Claude · ChatGPT · Claude Code · Cursor · Codex · Cline · Grok Bot · Hermes · Gemini CLI · Perplexity · Le Chat · Claude Cowork · Perplexity Computer · Paperclip
Frequently asked questions
Can OpenClaw post to Instagram?
Yes, through Hermoso's MCP server. Run npm install -g hermoso && hermoso auth login, then add hermoso under mcp.servers in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json with command npx and args -y hermoso mcp. The browser sign-in stores the credential, so no key goes in the file. OpenClaw then has 922+ tools, including the ones that publish to Instagram, plus the ones that research the ads already running in your market and render the creative in the first place.
How do I connect Instagram to OpenClaw?
Two steps, once each. Run npm install -g hermoso && hermoso auth login, then add hermoso under mcp.servers in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json with command npx and args -y hermoso mcp. The browser sign-in stores the credential, so no key goes in the file. Then connect Instagram inside Hermoso under Settings → Connectors, which is an OAuth consent screen in a browser. After that OpenClaw publishes to Instagram as an ordinary tool call.
Does OpenClaw need my Instagram password?
No. You connect Instagram to Hermoso once through an OAuth consent screen in a browser, and OpenClaw then reaches it as a tool call. Linking an account is the one step that is not headless; nothing after it needs a password, and no credential is ever handed to the model.
Can OpenClaw schedule a Instagram post for later?
Yes. schedule_post queues it on one calendar shared with every other channel, with a per-channel caption if the copy should differ, and list_scheduled and cancel_scheduled read and pull it back. Instagram is one of the eleven channels that queue.
Can OpenClaw post a carousel to Instagram?
Yes, 2 to 10 slides, and images and video can be mixed. Ten is Meta’s own published limit, not one Hermoso invented. OpenClaw calls the same publish tool either way, and a channel that cannot carry a carousel is refused with the real reason attached.
What does it cost to post to Instagram from OpenClaw?
Publishing to Instagram costs no credits; Meta charges nothing per API call. Credits go on the render itself. Plans are $29, $69 and $149 a month for 1,200, 3,000 and 7,000 credits, and every feature is on every plan including Free. The only exception is enterprise SSO.
Start free with 30 credits at signup and 250+ more to earn. Every feature is on every plan. Credits are spent only on AI models and Ad Spy research; posting, scheduling, ads management and analytics are free.
Start free → See pricing