How to Connect Instagram to Discord

Connecting your Instagram feed directly to a Discord server can transform how you engage with your community, turning passive followers into active members. This guide will walk you through the best methods to automatically share your Instagram content on Discord. We'll cover everything from simple bot setups to a more hands-on approach using webhooks, so you can find the perfect solution for your server.

Why Connect Instagram to Your Discord Server?

Before we get into the technical steps, let's talk about the payoff. Why bother setting up this integration? For community builders, content creators, and brands, bridging the gap between Instagram and Discord offers some fantastic benefits:

• Keep Your Community in the Loop: Not everyone in your Discord server follows you on Instagram or sees your posts, thanks to ever-changing algorithms. Pushing your posts to a dedicated channel ensures your most engaged community members never miss an update.
• Boost Cross-Platform Engagement: When Discord members see a new post, it prompts them to visit your Instagram profile to like, comment, or share, driving traffic and engagement back to your main social platform.
• Centralize Your Announcements: Use Instagram as your primary visual announcement platform for new products, events, or content. The Discord integration automatically archives these announcements in your server for everyone to see.
• Streamline Your Workflow: Instead of manually sharing a link to your new Instagram post every single time, this automated workflow saves you time and effort, freeing you up to focus on creating content and engaging with your audience.

In short, it’s a simple way to create a more cohesive, informed, and engaged community by connecting two of your most important platforms seamlessly.

Method 1: Use a Discord Bot for Social Feeds (The Easiest Method)

For most users, the quickest and easiest way to connect Instagram to Discord is by using a specialized bot. These bots are designed to monitor social media accounts and post updates automatically. While some large, multi-purpose bots offer this feature, you'll often have the best experience with a bot built specifically for social media notifications.

Let's walk through the general process, which is similar for most social media feed bots (like MEE6's premium version, UnTether, or socialfeeds.info).

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a Social Feed Bot

1. Choose a Bot and Add It to Your Server

First, pick a reputable bot that offers Instagram notifications. Go to the bot's official website or a trusted Discord bot list.

• Click the "Add to Discord" or "Invite" button.
• Discord will open a prompt asking you to sign in if you haven't already.
• From the dropdown menu, select the Discord server where you want the bot to post your Instagram updates.
• Review the list of permissions the bot requires. Make sure you're comfortable with them, then click "Authorize." Reputable bots will only ask for permissions they need to function, like "Read Messages," "Send Messages," and "Manage Webhooks."

2. Configure the Instagram Feed

Once the bot is in your server, you need to tell it which Instagram account to follow and where to post the updates. Most modern bots let you do this from a web-based dashboard, which is much easier than using chat commands.

• Go to the Bot's Dashboard: Navigate to the bot's website and log in with your Discord account. You should see a list of servers you manage where the bot is installed. Select your server.
• Find the Social Feeds Plugin: Look for a section or plugin labeled "Social Media," "Notifications," "Social Feeds," or something similar.
• Add a New Feed: Click a button that says "Add Feed," "New Instagram Account," or "Create Notification."
• Enter the Details: You'll be prompted to provide two key pieces of information:
  • Instagram Username: Enter the username of the Instagram account you want to track (e.g., `nasa`). You don't need to include the "@".
  • Discord Channel: Select the channel where you want the updates to be posted. It's a good practice to create a dedicated channel like #instagram-feed or #social-updates to keep your server organized.
• Customize the Message (Optional): Many bots allow you to customize the alert message that appears with your Instagram post. You can often add a custom message like, "Hey everyone, check out our new post on Instagram!" or tag a specific role (e.g., `@everyone`) if the announcement is important. Use role tags sparingly to avoid annoying your members!

3. Save and Test

Save your configuration in the bot's dashboard. The bot will now begin checking your Instagram account for new posts. The update frequency can vary from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the bot. To test it, simply make a new post on your connected Instagram account and wait for it to appear in your designated Discord channel.

For creators, gamers, and community managers who want a "set it and forget it" solution, this method is by far the best way to go.

Method 2: Use Discord Webhooks and an Automation Service (The DIY Method)

If you prefer a more customized solution without adding another bot to your server, you can use Discord’s built-in webhooks feature. A webhook is essentially a unique URL that lets other applications send automated messages and data to a specific text channel in your server.

To connect Instagram, we'll use a service called IFTTT (If This Then That), which watches for a specific trigger (a new Instagram post) and performs an action (sends that post's information to our Discord webhook). It sounds technical, but if you follow these steps carefully, it’s quite manageable.

Part 1: Create a Discord Webhook

1. Log into your Discord server. Navigate to the channel where you want Instagram updates to appear.
2. Click the gear icon ("Edit Channel") next to the channel name.
3. In the left-hand menu, select "Integrations."
4. Click the "Create Webhook" button. If you already have webhooks, click "New Webhook."
5. Discord will create a new webhook named something like "Spidey Bot." You can customize this!
   • Change the name to something representative, like "Instagram Feed" or your Instagram handle.
   • Upload an image to be its avatar. Using the Instagram logo is a good choice.
6. Click the "Copy Webhook URL" button. Keep this URL safe and private, anyone with this URL can post messages to your channel.

You’ve now created a direct line into your Discord channel. Next, we’ll set up IFTTT to send messages through it.

Part 2: Set Up an IFTTT Applet

IFTTT is a free web service that automates workflows between different apps. We'll create an "Applet" that says: IF I publish a new post on Instagram, THEN send a nicely formatted message to my Discord webhook.

1. Go to ifttt.com and create a free account or log in.
2. Click "Create" in the top right corner.
3. For the "If This" part, click the "Add" button.
4. Search for and select the "Instagram" service. You may need to connect your Instagram account and grant IFTTT permission to access it.
5. Choose a trigger. The most common one is "Any new photo by you." This will trigger every time you post a new image. (You can create a separate applet for videos later if you like, using the "Any new video by you" trigger.)
6. Now for the "Then That" part. Click the "Add" button.
7. Search for and select the "Webhooks" service.
8. Choose the action: "Make a web request."
9. Now you need to configure the request. This is the most important part! Fill in the fields as follows:
   • URL: Paste the Webhook URL you copied from Discord here.
   • Method: Change this to POST.
   • Content Type: Select application/json.
   • Body: This field controls what your message looks like in Discord. You can add "ingredients" (data from Instagram like the image URL and caption). To create a nice-looking embedded message, paste the following JSON code into the Body field:
   {
"username": "Your Instagram Name",
"avatar_url": "https...your_logo_url.png",
"embeds": [{
"title": "New Instagram Post!",
"description": "<<<{{Caption}}>>>",
"url": "{{Url}}",
"image": { "url": "{{SourceUrl}}" },
"color": 15258703,
"footer": {
"text": "Posted on {{CreatedAt}}"
}
}]
} Quick explanation: The <,<,<, >,>,>, around {{Caption}} removes a lot of standard IFTTT text. {{Url}} is the link to the post, and {{SourceUrl}} is the direct URL of the image itself. You can find more "ingredients" by clicking the "Add ingredient" button below the body field. Be sure to replace "Your Instagram Name" and the "avatar_url" with your actual info. The "color" is an integer representation of a hex color code.
10. Click "Create action" and then "Continue" and "Finish."

Your applet is now live! The next time you post a photo on Instagram, IFTTT will automatically format it into a beautiful embedded message and send it to your Discord channel via the webhook. It's a bit more work up front, but it gives you total control over the appearance and functionality without relying on a third-party bot.

Best Practices for Your Instagram Discord Feed

Automating your feed is great, but a little thoughtfulness goes a long way in making it a valuable part of your community space rather than just background noise.

• Designate a specific channel. Don't dump your Instagram feed into your #general chat. Create a channel like #announcements, #social-media, or #insta-feed so users can choose to engage with it or mute it if they prefer.
• Don’t just post - engage. When your auto-post shows up in Discord, use it as a conversation starter. Drop a "What do you all think of this one?" in the channel to encourage discussion.
• Customize the notification message. Whether you're using a bot or a webhook, add a sentence that gives context or adds personality. A simple "Heads up, new art piece just dropped! 🎨" feels much more personal than a plain link.
• Consider your posting frequency. If you post on Instagram ten times a day, feeding every single post into Discord might become spammy. In that case, you might be better off sticking to manual shares of your most important posts. This automation works best for those who post a few times a week or less.

Final Thoughts

Connecting your Instagram and Discord is a simple way to strengthen your community, streamline your content sharing, and boost engagement across platforms. Whether you opt for the user-friendly simplicity of a bot or the customizable power of a webhook, an automated social feed makes your Discord server feel more active and connected.

Getting your content from Instagram to Discord automatically saves a ton of time, but the core challenge of consistently creating great, well-planned content still remains. That's a huge part of why we created Postbase. We wanted a clean, fast social media tool that was built for creators today - perfect for managing short-form video for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts without the headaches. It simplifies everything from visually planning your content calendar to scheduling posts, so you can focus more on creating stuff your community will love.