Hermoso is a marketing MCP server: 906+ 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. Perplexity reaches all of it through one connection. This page covers one slice of that: what Perplexity can actually do on Instagram, and what Instagram will not let it do.
Connect Hermoso to Perplexity
- Copy the connector URL.
https://app.hermoso.ai/mcp - Perplexity → Customize → Connectors. In the left sidebar open Customize, then the Connectors tab → Custom connector (top right) → Add MCP connector.
- Fill in the connector. Name it Hermoso and paste the URL as the MCP server URL. Expand Advanced: Authentication OAuth, leaving Client ID and Client Secret empty (Perplexity reads Hermoso’s OAuth endpoints from its discovery document and identifies itself with its own client metadata, so there is nothing to create or paste), Transport Streamable HTTP, Network access Public. Tick I understand custom connectors can introduce risks and press Add.
- Sign in. On the Hermoso card click + (Add connector) and approve on the Hermoso consent page with your Hermoso account.
- Switch it on in a chat. A custom connector is off until you pick it: + (Add files or tools) → Connectors → tick Hermoso.
- Ask Perplexity 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.
Custom connectors are on Perplexity’s paid plans. In an Enterprise organization, members can add their own only if an admin has switched on Allow members to add custom connectors, which is off by default, and an admin can instead add Hermoso once for everyone. We ran these steps end to end on 2026-09-28 from a Perplexity Pro account: the connector signed in and answered with the account’s credit balance and brand list. Hermoso is not affiliated with or endorsed by Perplexity.
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 Perplexity 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 Perplexity
Ask for it in ordinary language. These are plain sentences, not a DSL:
“Search Instagram Reels for what is working in plant-based protein, build a 5-slide carousel from the strongest angle, and show me the caption before posting.”
That walks search_instagram → plan_ad → render_ad → post_to_meta (target: "instagram"). How Perplexity confirms a tool call is Perplexity’s setting, not ours. Hermoso’s own gates hold either way: campaigns are born paused, spend switches and deletes need an explicit confirmation, and every render is priced before it runs.
Perplexity on Instagram: the part that bites
Read the caption before it goes out. Instagram has no draft and no edit to a live caption, only a toggle for comments; the post itself can be deleted with manage_meta_post. And search_instagram reads public Reels by keyword, which is evidence Perplexity’s own web search does not reach.
Choose Streamable HTTP, not SSE, when you add the connector. Hermoso has no SSE endpoint, so an SSE connector fails the check Perplexity runs when you save it. In an Enterprise org, a connector an admin adds does not show up for members until it is shared from the Permissions screen.
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 Perplexity 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 Perplexity, post to: Facebook · Threads · TikTok · YouTube · X · LinkedIn · Pinterest · Bluesky · Telegram. Or see everything Perplexity can publish to.
Post to Instagram from: Claude · ChatGPT · Claude Code · Cursor · Codex · Cline · OpenClaw · Grok Bot · Hermes · Gemini CLI · Le Chat · Claude Cowork · Perplexity Computer · Paperclip
Frequently asked questions
Can Perplexity post to Instagram?
Yes, through Hermoso's MCP server. In Perplexity, add https://app.hermoso.ai/mcp as a custom connector and approve it with your Hermoso account. There is no key to paste. Perplexity then has 906+ 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 Perplexity?
Two steps, once each. In Perplexity, add https://app.hermoso.ai/mcp as a custom connector and approve it with your Hermoso account. There is no key to paste. Then connect Instagram inside Hermoso under Settings → Connectors, which is an OAuth consent screen in a browser. After that Perplexity publishes to Instagram as an ordinary tool call.
Does Perplexity need my Instagram password?
No. You connect Instagram to Hermoso once through an OAuth consent screen in a browser, and Perplexity 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 Perplexity 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 ten channels that queue.
Can Perplexity 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. Perplexity 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 Perplexity?
Publishing to Instagram costs no credits; Meta charges nothing per API call. Credits go on the render itself. Plans are $19, $49 and $149 a month for 1,000, 3,000 and 10,000 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