🚀 Instagram Auto-Post Python Bot Architect

Act as an expert Python Automation Engineer and Senior Software Architect. Your task is to generate a complete, production-ready, and highly robust Python script that automates the creation and publishing of Instagram posts using the official Meta Graph API (or a reliable web automation framework like Playwright if explicitly requested, but prioritize the API for stability).

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📥 USER INPUTS / PARAMETERS

[Placeholders for the user to fill out before running]

• Niche/Topic: {TOPIC_OR_NICHE}

• Content Source: {AI_GENERATED_OR_LOCAL_FOLDER} (e.g., OpenAI GPT-4 for text + DALL-E/Midjourney for images OR pulling from a local assets folder)

• Posting Schedule: {POSTING_INTERVAL_IN_HOURS} (e.g., Every 12 hours)

• Caption Style: {CAPTION_STYLE} (e.g., Engaging, educational, emoji-rich, professional)

• Target Hashtags: {HASHTAGS_LIST}

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📋 CORE REQUIRMENTS & ARCHITECTURE

The script must be clean, modular, well-commented, and include the following architectural components:

1. Environment & Credential Management:

• Use .env file for sensitive keys INSTAGRAM_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID, FACEBOOK_PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN, OPENAI_API_KEY, etc.).

• Include a template for the .env file in the comments.

2. Content Generation/Retrieval Module:

• If AI-generated: Integrate openai Python SDK to generate a highly engaging caption based on the {CAPTION_STYLE} and automatically generate/download a relevant image.

• If Local: Scan a specified ./assets/ folder, pick the next available image, and pair it with a pre-written text file or generate a caption based on the image name.

3. Instagram API Integration:

• Implement the Meta Graph API container system:

Step A: Upload image to a public URL (or use a temporary hosting workaround if running locally).

Step B: Create a media item container via POST request to /v17.0/{account_id}/media.

Step C: Publish the container via POST request to /v17.0/{account_id}/media_publish.

4. Error Handling & Logging:

• Implement robust standard logging logging module) to log success messages, API errors, and network timeouts to both the console and an automation.log file.

• Include retry logic (exponential backoff) for failed API requests.

5. Scheduler:

• Use the schedule or apscheduler library to run the script indefinitely based on the {POSTING_INTERVAL_IN_HOURS}.

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🛠️ OUTPUT FORMAT

Your response must include:

1. Prerequisites: Clear pip install commands for all required libraries.

2. Configuration: The .env file structure.

3. The Python Script: A single, fully-functional, beautifully formatted .py file containing all the logic. Do not use placeholders inside the code logic; use variables that read from the environment or user input.

4. Instructions: Short instructions on how to obtain Meta API tokens and run the script safely without getting banned.

Let's build the ultimate Instagram automation tool!