How to Draft Reels and Carousels With a Manus Cue Connector for Instagram Posting

Picking between Feed, Reel and Story is where a Manus Cue connector for Instagram posting earns its keep, because "post this to Instagram" names none of the three. Cue is the personal agent app Manus launched on 28 September 2026, and as of 29 September 2026 it documents no Instagram connector and no step where you approve a post. AdaptlyPost supplies both halves: the postType field, and a Contributor key that saves drafts and cannot publish.

The short version: connect Cue to the AdaptlyPost MCP server with a Contributor key as in the pillar guide, make Cue name the postType before every draft, and upload media through upload_media or get_upload_urls. You publish from AdaptlyPost.

Why connect Cue to Instagram through AdaptlyPost?

Cue reaches Instagram through AdaptlyPost because Manus documents custom MCP servers and documents no Instagram publishing path for Cue. The AdaptlyPost MCP server gives Cue a publishing contract with named fields: instagramConnectionIds, instagramConfigs with a postType per account, scheduledAt with a timezone, and per-platform results. The pillar guide covers the Manus server form and the token role.

The draft is the part that suits Instagram most. A Reel draft sits in AdaptlyPost with its video, cover and caption, so you check what the grid will show before anything goes live. Cue's agents have their own email, phone number and wallet, and nothing in Cue's launch material describes reviewing their actions after the fact, so the review happens in AdaptlyPost instead.

What does postType control on Instagram?

postType decides which of Instagram's three surfaces a post lands on, and the AdaptlyPost spec rejects any mismatch between it and the content type with a 400. It sits in instagramConfigs[] next to the connectionId. The rules as of 29 September 2026:

Make Cue say the value before it saves anything. A vague request then produces a question instead of a guess, and the drafts-only prompt from the pillar keeps that habit in place.

Use the AdaptlyPost connector. Instagram rules for this chat:
 
1. Call list_accounts and show me the Instagram accounts and their status.
2. Before every Instagram draft, tell me the postType (FEED, REEL or STORY)
   and the contentType, and wait for my yes.
3. REEL needs a video. STORY takes one image or one video, and its caption
   will not show.
4. Save with create_post and saveAsDraft: true. Never publish.

How does Cue get my photos and videos to AdaptlyPost?

Cue gets media to AdaptlyPost through upload_media, which takes file URLs or base64 data and returns the mediaUrls a post needs, or through get_upload_urls for presigned uploads. AdaptlyPost does not accept raw bytes on the post itself, so the upload always comes first. The AdaptlyPost upload box that opens inside a chat is documented for ChatGPT and Claude, not for Cue.

That matters because Cue runs on your phone, next to your camera roll, and Manus has not documented how Cue handles file attachments as of 29 September 2026. A public link to each file works with upload_media either way. Check that Cue hands back one URL per file, in the order you want. A Contributor key covers uploads, so drafts-only costs you nothing here.

How do I draft an Instagram carousel through Cue?

A carousel goes out as contentType: CAROUSEL with postType: FEED and the media URLs in the order a reader swipes them. The spec has no per-slide setting, so the array order carries your sequence, and the carousel guide covers Instagram's own rules for mixing images and video.

mediaAltTexts takes one alt text per image in the same order as mediaUrls, up to 1,000 characters each, and AdaptlyPost sends it to Instagram. platformTexts gives Instagram its own caption when the same draft also targets LinkedIn or Threads. Ask Cue to read back the order, the alt texts and the caption before it saves.

Can Cue draft a trial Reel?

Cue drafts a trial Reel by adding trialGraduation to the Instagram config, and Instagram then shows the Reel to non-followers first and keeps it off your followers' feeds and your grid. MANUAL means you share it to followers yourself in the Instagram app. SS_PERFORMANCE means Instagram shares it if it performs well.

create_post {
  platforms: ["INSTAGRAM"], contentType: "VIDEO", timezone: "Europe/Kyiv",
  text: "...", mediaUrls: ["<publicUrl of the video>"],
  instagramConfigs: [{ connectionId: "...", postType: "REEL",
                       trialGraduation: "MANUAL" }],
  saveAsDraft: true }

A trial needs contentType: VIDEO and a postType of REEL, FEED or none, and the spec rejects images, carousels and Stories with a 400. Instagram decides which professional accounts get trial Reels and caps the number sent through the API, and a refused trial fails that platform with an error saying so. For an agent that drafts a lot, a trial is the cheap way to test a hook on strangers before your followers see it.

What breaks on Instagram specifically?

An Instagram account of the wrong type breaks first: Instagram's publishing API accepts Business and Creator accounts only, so a personal profile never shows up as a target. That is a scope and account-type question, and it is the first thing to check when list_accounts returns no Instagram account. Convert the profile in the Instagram app, then reconnect it in AdaptlyPost.

The second break is timing. A Story expires on Instagram's own 24-hour clock, counted from publish time, so a Story drafted on Monday and published on Wednesday runs from Wednesday. An account marked unauthorized refuses posts with a 400 until you reconnect it, so ask Cue for the account status before you publish a batch of older drafts. After publishing, list_post_results reports Instagram separately from the other networks, and retry_failed_platforms reruns only the failures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Cue publish to Instagram without me?

With a Contributor key, no. The Contributor role creates and edits its own drafts and cannot schedule or publish, and Manus has not documented an approval gate in Cue as of 29 September 2026. An Editor key publishes, so hand one over only when you are ready to drop the review step.

Which Instagram account types does the connector post to?

The connector posts to Instagram Business and Creator accounts, because Instagram's publishing API accepts those types only. A personal profile connects and then never appears as a target. Convert it in the Instagram app and it shows up in list_accounts.

Can Cue write a different caption for Instagram than for LinkedIn?

Yes. platformTexts holds one entry per platform, so the Instagram caption and the LinkedIn text travel in the same draft. Without it, every network gets the shared text field.

Can Cue tell me how a Reel performed?

Yes, through read-only analytics calls such as list_post_analytics, which returns per-post metrics sortable by any metric. A Contributor key reads analytics, so this needs no extra permission. Reading is the safest thing an agent with its own identity does.

How is this different from the Muse and Grok routes?

Cue connects through a custom MCP server added in Manus, Meta Muse builds its own client from the OpenAPI spec, and a Grok bot template installs from a share link. The Meta Muse connector for Instagram posting and the Grok bot template for Instagram posting cover those routes. All three send the same postType values.

How many Instagram posts can Cue queue at once?

A Contributor key saves drafts one create_post call at a time. The bulk endpoint books 1 to 100 posts in one call but requires the posts.schedule permission, which only a role such as Editor carries. The Instagram posting API page lists every Instagram field.

Does Cue have a built-in Instagram connector?

Not as of 29 September 2026. Manus documents custom MCP servers for Manus, which Cue is built on, and no Instagram connector for Cue, so you add the AdaptlyPost MCP server with a Contributor key. Cue drafts through it and you publish from AdaptlyPost.

Can Cue draft an Instagram Story with a caption?

A Story takes one image or one video, and its caption does not show. Put the text inside the media itself. Cue has to set postType to STORY and contentType to IMAGE or VIDEO.

What happens when Cue picks the wrong postType?

The AdaptlyPost spec rejects any mismatch between postType and the content type with a 400. A REEL with an image fails, for example. Making Cue state the postType and contentType before each draft catches the error before anything is saved.

Can Cue schedule an Instagram post for a later time?

A Contributor key cannot schedule or publish. Cue saves the draft and you pick the time in AdaptlyPost. An Editor key can schedule with scheduledAt and a timezone, so hand one over only when you are ready to drop the review step.

Create a Contributor token and let Cue draft your next Reel, or read the MCP setup guide first.

Sources: Manus's Introducing Manus 2.0 (28 September 2026), Manus docs on custom MCP, cue.im, Runtimewire coverage (28 September 2026), the AdaptlyPost MCP setup guide and the AdaptlyPost OpenAPI spec. Checked 29 September 2026.