Instagram — messaging/send

Messaging platform approval required: The Instagram Messaging API requires your Meta app to have the instagram_manage_messages permission, which requires App Review approval from Meta. You cannot send messages to users who have not previously messaged your account (outside the 24-hour standard messaging window or without additional approvals).

When to Use

Customer support response: When a user sends a DM enquiring about a product or service, trigger an automated workflow to send an acknowledgement message and a link to your support portal.
Order confirmation DM: After a customer completes a purchase that originated from Instagram (tracked via UTM or link-in-bio), send a personalised order confirmation DM as additional confirmation and brand engagement.
Lead nurturing follow-up: When a user messages your account expressing buying intent, send a follow-up DM with a personalised offer link or product recommendation after a set delay.
Giveaway winner notification: Send winner notification messages to selected accounts who entered the giveaway by messaging your account.
Appointment reminders: For service businesses, send reminder DMs to customers who booked via Instagram messaging, 24 hours before their appointment.

Configuration

Connection

Field	Required	Description
`accessToken`	Required	Long-lived Instagram access token stored in BizFirst Credentials Manager.
`igUserId`	Required	Your Instagram Business/Creator account ID (the sender account).

Operation

Field	Required	Description
`resource`	Required	Must be `messaging`.
`operation`	Required	Must be `send`.
`recipientId`	Required	The Page-Scoped ID (PSID) of the recipient. Obtained from the webhook event when the user messages your account.
`message`	Required	Text message body to send. Plain text only. Maximum ~2000 characters.

Sample Configuration JSON

{
  "resource": "messaging",
  "operation": "send",
  "accessToken": "{{ $credential.instagram.accessToken }}",
  "igUserId": "17841400000000000",
  "recipientId": "{{ $trigger.body.value.senderId }}",
  "message": "Thanks for reaching out! Our team will respond within 2 hours. In the meantime, check our FAQ at https://yourbrand.com/faq"
}

Validation Errors

Error	Cause
`accessToken is required`	`accessToken` field is missing or empty.
`igUserId is required`	`igUserId` field is missing or empty.
`recipientId is required`	`recipientId` field is missing or empty.
`message is required`	`message` field is missing or empty.
Graph API error 10	Outside 24-hour messaging window or missing platform approval.
Graph API error 551	Recipient has blocked messaging from your account.

Output

Success Port

Field	Type	Description
`status`	string	`"success"`
`messageId`	string	ID of the sent message.
`recipientId`	string	PSID of the recipient — same as input `recipientId`.
`payload`	string	Raw JSON response from the Graph API.

Error Port

Field	Type	Description
`status`	string	`"error"`
`recipientId`	string	The intended recipient ID, for error logging.
`errorCode`	string	Graph API error code.
`errorMessage`	string	Error description.
`payload`	string	Raw error response.

Sample Output JSON

{
  "status": "success",
  "messageId": "aWdfZAG9waW50ZAXJlY29yZABhc3NldABuYW1lAA==",
  "recipientId": "17858893300000001",
  "payload": "{\"recipient_id\":\"17858893300000001\",\"message_id\":\"aWdfZA...\"}"
}

Expression Reference

Expression	Value
`{{ $output.instagram.messageId }}`	Sent message ID
`{{ $output.instagram.recipientId }}`	Recipient's PSID

Node Policies & GuardRails

24-hour messaging window: Instagram only permits responses within 24 hours of the user's last message (standard window). Outside this window, you need Meta's approval for specific use cases (e.g. appointment reminders require ACCOUNT_UPDATE tag).
GDPR: Message content and recipient IDs are personal data. Do not log full message content to persistent storage beyond what is operationally necessary. Honour user deletion requests by purging message records.
Anti-spam: Sending unsolicited bulk messages violates Meta's Messaging Policy and will result in the account being flagged or banned. Only message users who have initiated contact.
Rate limit: Subject to Messenger Platform rate limits in addition to the standard 200 calls/hour. High-volume messaging may require Messenger API tier upgrades.

Examples

Auto-acknowledgement on incoming message

{
  "resource": "messaging",
  "operation": "send",
  "accessToken": "{{ $credential.instagram.accessToken }}",
  "igUserId": "{{ $env.IG_USER_ID }}",
  "recipientId": "{{ $trigger.body.value.senderId }}",
  "message": "Hi! Thanks for your message. We'll get back to you within 2 business hours. Our store hours are Mon–Fri 9am–6pm GMT."
}

Triggered by a trigger/webhook node on messages events. Immediately sends an auto-acknowledgement to the user while the CRM ticket is being created in parallel.

Order confirmation follow-up DM

{
  "resource": "messaging",
  "operation": "send",
  "accessToken": "{{ $credential.instagram.accessToken }}",
  "igUserId": "17841400000000000",
  "recipientId": "{{ $db.customers.where(orderId=$input.orderId).instagramPsid }}",
  "message": "Your order #{{ $input.orderId }} is confirmed! Expected delivery: {{ $input.deliveryDate }}. Track at https://yourbrand.com/track/{{ $input.orderId }}"
}