# Connect X to Instagram

> Connect your X account as the source and your Instagram account as a destination in Post Once. From then on, the videos, photos and multi-photo posts you post on X go to Instagram on their own, with your caption. Long or landscape videos and text posts skip Instagram, because Instagram takes short vertical videos and photos only.

Post Once help center, Connect two apps. Source: https://postonce.com/help/connect-x-to-instagram.

## Before you start

- An X account. Any account you can sign in to works.
- An Instagram Business or Creator account. Instagram only lets apps post to professional accounts. Switch for free in the Instagram app under Settings, then **Account type and tools**.
- A Post Once account. The free plan includes 10 reposts, with no card needed.

## How to connect X to Instagram

1. Create a free account at [app.postonce.com](https://app.postonce.com/signup). After two short intro screens, Post Once asks where you post.
2. Under **Where do you post first?**, pick **X** and press **Continue**.

   (Screenshot: X picked under Where do you post first? in Post Once)

3. Under **Where else should it land?**, pick **Instagram**. Add any other apps, or a backup, then press **Continue**.
4. On **Connect your accounts.**, press **Connect** on the X row. Sign in on X's page and authorize Post Once.

   (Screenshot: The Connect your accounts screen with X as the source and Instagram as a destination)

5. Press **Connect** on the Instagram row. Sign in on Instagram's page. If you have several accounts, choose the one Post Once should post to, then allow access.
6. When both rows say **Connected**, press **Go to dashboard**.

From then on, keep posting on X as usual. Post Once checks it about every minute and reposts each new post to Instagram.

## Already using Post Once?

If X is already the source of your bridge, open **Bridge** and press **Connect** next to Instagram in the **Destinations** card, or press **Add destination** on the dashboard.

If your bridge reads from another account, add a second bridge with X as its source from the bridge switcher. Free and Solo include 1 bridge, Studio 3 and Agency as many as you need. See [bridges](https://postonce.com/help/bridges).

## What each X post becomes on Instagram

| On X | On Instagram |
|---|---|
| A video up to 3 minutes, vertical or square (the first one, if a post has several) | A Reel, if it runs from 3 seconds to 3 minutes. |
| A video over 3 minutes, or a landscape one | Skipped, with "Instagram only takes short vertical videos". |
| A photo | A feed post. A photo outside 4:5 to 1.91:1 gets white bars instead of being cropped. |
| A post with several photos | A carousel of up to 10 photos. |
| A text post | Skipped. Instagram needs a photo or a video. |

A skipped post shows the reason on your dashboard and still goes to your other destinations. See [long videos](https://postonce.com/help/long-videos) for how Post Once tells short from long.

## How your caption carries over

The post text goes with each repost, and each t.co link is turned back into the full address. Replies, reposts of other people's posts, quotes with no video or photo, polls and GIFs are not reposted.

Instagram takes captions up to 2,200 characters. Stories have no caption.

## Choose what goes to Instagram

On the **Bridge** page, the Instagram row has two settings.

- **What to post** has a switch for **Videos** and **Photos**. Switch a kind off and those posts skip Instagram, though you can still send one there by hand. Switching every kind off pauses Instagram.
- **Rewrite caption** changes the caption for Instagram only: **Remove comment, DM and link in bio prompts**, **Remove hashtags and mentions**, **Rewrite with AI to suit Instagram**, and **Add your own text** at the start or end. Each one is off until you turn it on.

## Check that it works

Post something on X as usual. Within a minute or two it shows up under **Your posts** on the dashboard, then goes to Instagram. Each post shows where it went, what was skipped and why.

If a repost fails, Post Once tries again up to 5 times over about half an hour. If it still fails, you get an email, and **Retry** sends it again to just the accounts it missed. See [a post did not repost](https://postonce.com/help/post-not-reposted).

Only posts published after you connect are reposted on their own. Older ones are listed in [Your posts](https://postonce.com/help/your-posts), where you can send any of them by hand.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is it free to repost X to Instagram?

Every account gets 10 free reposts, with no card and no watermark. One repost is one post sent to all your destinations, so it counts once however many apps it goes to. After that, paid plans start at $9 a month. See [pricing](https://postonce.com/pricing).

### How fast do X posts reach Instagram?

Post Once checks X about every minute, then reposts straight away. Long videos take a few more minutes to fetch and upload.

### What are the limits of reposting from X to Instagram?

Post Once sends at most 50 posts per Instagram account per day. Extra posts wait and go out once the limit resets. Instagram only takes vertical or square videos up to 3 minutes.

### Why was my landscape video not posted to Instagram?

Post Once only sends short vertical or square videos to Instagram, up to 3 minutes. Longer or landscape videos skip Instagram. See [long videos](https://postonce.com/help/long-videos).