Session 10

Instagram Agent and Lead Capture

This is the first practical step for bringing Instagram into your sales system. The goal is not mass outreach. The goal is to read DMs, review inbound interest, capture real leads into a CRM, and make follow-up cleaner.

Duration ~60 minutesIntermediate

Table of Contents

1Start Here — Claude Dangerously Skip Permissions
2Install — Install and log into the Instagram agent
3Capabilities — What it can do and how to use it
4Reality — Risks and the right long-term path
5Tests — Try the agent safely

Start Here

Claude Dangerously Skip Permissions

Open your terminal and start Claude Code

Start the workshop by opening Claude Code in Dangerously Skip Permissions so you are not approving every small step during setup.

Claude Code prompt

Start Claude Code in Dangerously Skip Permissions for this workshop session. Confirm you are in the right project folder before making changes.

Heads Up

Only use this in the project folder you actually intend to edit.

Install

Install and Log Into the Instagram Agent

Install the Instagram agent with one prompt

Public repo: https://github.com/josephtandle/instagram-agent

Use one prompt only. This should handle Mac, Windows, or Linux, install the repo, save the absolute install path, and verify whether the `instagram` command works.

Claude Code prompt

Edit before copying

Install the Instagram agent from GitHub and make sure it is callable correctly on this machine.

Repository:
https://github.com/josephtandle/instagram-agent

Do this carefully:
1. Detect whether I am on macOS, Windows, or Linux before choosing commands.
2. Resolve my home directory dynamically. Do not hard-code a username.
3. Install the repo into a Tools/Instagram folder inside my home directory.
4. If the folder already exists, pull the latest main branch. Otherwise clone the repo.
5. Run the bundled installer from inside the repo:
   - macOS/Linux: node install/install-instagram.js --target <resolved-home>/Tools/Instagram
   - Windows: node install/install-instagram.js --target <resolved-home>\Tools\Instagram
6. Let the installer create the Python virtualenv, install the Python requirements, and save the resolved absolute install path.
7. Make sure the saved install manifest exists at:
   - macOS/Linux: ~/.instagram-agent/install.json
   - Windows: $env:USERPROFILE\.instagram-agent\install.json
8. Try to make the global command available if the installer did not already do it.
9. Verify the command works:
   - preferred: instagram status
   - fallback: node <resolved-home>/Tools/Instagram/install/launcher.js status
10. Show me:
   - where the repo was installed
   - where the absolute path was saved
   - whether the global instagram command works
   - the exact fallback command if global install did not work

Important:
- This tool is mainly for reading DMs, reading comments, researching profiles, and supporting CRM capture.
- Do not frame it as a mass-DM tool.
- If anything requires manual approval or login, stop and tell me exactly what needs to happen next.

What success looks like

Saved path

The install path is saved

The installer writes the resolved absolute path into `~/.instagram-agent/install.json`.

Ready

The command works

`instagram status` returns a result, or the fallback launcher command works from the saved install directory.

Inbox access

You can read the inbox

The next useful command is `instagram read-dms --limit 20` so you can start reviewing conversations for CRM capture.

Log into the Instagram account this agent will use

Before this is actually useful, you need a live Instagram login session for the account you want the agent to read. Installation alone is not enough.

Open Instagram, log into the correct account, and then make sure the agent saves the session successfully before you try any CRM workflow.

Claude Code prompt

Edit before copying

Capabilities

What It Can Do and How to Use It

What the Instagram agent can do

Once installed, this agent gives you a practical Instagram toolbelt. The safest and most useful part is the read-and-research side.

What it can do

Can read DMs
Can read comments
Can get information from profiles
Can send DMs
Can post to your story
Can post reels
Can post carousels

Recommended first use

Start with `read-dms`, `read-comments`, and profile research. That is the cleanest path for reviewing inbound interest and moving real opportunities into your CRM.

Recommended uses and recommended non-uses

Recommended uses

read Instagram DM threads
review comments and interest signals
research profiles before a reply or sales call
capture leads into your CRM
prepare better follow-up notes
review inbound activity before a launch or offer push

Recommended non-uses

do not use it for mass DMs
do not blast outbound automation
do not send large-volume campaigns from this setup
if you send anything, keep it to only a couple per day
do not use it as your permanent production integration
do not assume this is risk-free just because it works technically

Reality

Risks and the Right Long-Term Path

Reality and dangers

This agent uses an unofficial private API. That means it can be useful, but it is not the same as having a clean, officially supported Meta integration.

Heads Up

Treat this as a first-step workflow for visibility and CRM capture, not as the final production system.

Main risks

account restrictions or rate limits if you act too aggressively
fragile behavior because unofficial APIs can change without notice
false confidence if you mistake a first-step tool for a production-safe system
operational mess if you mix research, outreach, and automation without clear boundaries

The right long-term way to do it

The proper production path is the official Meta API. That is the real route if you want a stable, compliant, long-term Instagram integration.

This is not a quick workshop task. It is a real integration project, and it can take days to months to get fully working depending on your accounts, business structure, permissions, review requirements, and how far you want to take it.

What that process usually involves

1. Convert to the right professional Instagram and Facebook business setup.
2. Create or configure a Meta app in the Meta developer environment.
3. Connect the correct Instagram Business account and Facebook Page.
4. Request the right permissions for messaging, comments, and account access.
5. Handle Meta app review, verification, and any required business verification steps.
6. Set up secure authentication, token handling, and refresh behavior.
7. Build the actual ingestion layer that reads the events you want.
8. Map Instagram data cleanly into your CRM and internal workflow.
9. Test failure cases, rate limits, retries, and permission changes.
10. Only then use it as a real production integration.

Pro Tip

Recommendation: work toward the official Meta API over time, but use this agent now as the first practical step for reading conversations and capturing leads into your CRM.

Tests

Try the Agent Safely

Go read and tell me what the last direct message was

This is the safest first test. It verifies the login session and confirms the agent can read your inbox without taking action.

Claude Code prompt

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Go read the last 20 messages and capture real leads into the CRM

This is the actual sales workflow. Review inbound conversations, decide which ones are real opportunities, and organize them properly.

Claude Code prompt

Edit before copying

Use my Instagram agent and CRM together in a safe test run.

Goal:
Read the last 20 DM conversations, identify which ones are actual leads, and add only the real leads into my CRM with useful information filled in.

Tasks:
1. First verify the Instagram agent works on this machine.
2. If the global command works, use it. If not, find the saved install path and use the fallback launcher command.
3. Read the last 20 DM conversations.
4. For each conversation, decide whether it is:
   - a real lead
   - not a lead
   - unclear / needs manual review
5. Treat someone as a lead only if there is real business intent, such as:
   - asking about working together
   - asking about services, pricing, availability, or booking
   - showing serious interest that could reasonably become a sales conversation
6. Ignore obvious spam, friends chatting casually, low-signal reactions, and anything that is not a real business opportunity.
7. For each real lead, add a CRM contact or lead record with as much of this as you can find:
   - Instagram username
   - display name
   - lead source = Instagram DM
   - short summary of what they want
   - current stage = New Lead or Interested, whichever fits better
   - next step
   - notes from the conversation
8. If a lead already exists in the CRM, do not create a duplicate. Update the existing record instead.
9. At the end, give me:
   - how many DMs were reviewed
   - which conversations were treated as real leads
   - which ones were unclear
   - exactly what was added or updated in the CRM

Rules:
- Read and capture only.
- No outreach.
- No posting.
- If CRM write access fails, stop and explain the blocker.

Go look at my last post, read the comments, tell me how many there were, and give me all the comments

This tests comment-reading in a safe way. If the agent cannot identify your latest post URL by itself, it should ask you for the link.

Claude Code prompt

Edit before copying

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