# Instagram trial reels. Schedule them from Claude.

> You can schedule Instagram trial reels without the Instagram app. Ask Claude, or turn on Trial reel in the Motion Reel dashboard, and pick a time. The reel goes to people who don't follow you first.

Motion Reel (https://motionreel.app). The page: https://motionreel.app/agents/trial-reels. Updated November 8, 2026.

## What Claude can do with trial reels.

- **Upload the video:** MP4 or MOV, up to 300 MB. Tools: `start_upload`, `finish_upload`.
- **Post it as a trial:** Now or on schedule. You choose who shares it with your followers: you, or Instagram if it does well. Tools: `create_post`.
- **Change or cancel it:** Change a scheduled post's caption or time, or cancel it, until it starts publishing. Tools: `update_post`, `cancel_post`.
- **Compare the results:** Views, reach, likes, comments, shares, saves and average watch time for each reel. Tools: `refresh_stats`, `list_posts`, `get_post`.

## Connect it

1. Connect your agent. Run this in a terminal. The first time Claude uses it, your browser opens: sign in and click Allow.

   ```
   claude mcp add --transport http motionreel https://motionreel.app/mcp
   ```

   Other clients: https://motionreel.app/agents#connect
2. Connect your Instagram account in the Motion Reel dashboard, with Instagram's own login. Your agent can't do this part.
3. Ask in plain words. Your agent shows you a preview. Nothing changes until you say yes.

## Things to ask

- "Post reel-14.mp4 as a trial reel tomorrow at 6 pm. Share it with my followers if it does well."
- "Post these three versions as trial reels, one a day. I'll share the winner myself."
- "Compare views and average watch time on my last three trial reels."

## How trial reels work.

- **Who sees it first:** People who don't follow you. Your followers see it once it's shared with them.
- **Shared by you:** It stays a trial until you share it from the Instagram app.
- **Shared by Instagram:** Instagram shares it with your followers if it does well.
- **Your account:** A professional account that Instagram has enabled for trial reels. If yours isn't, the post fails and says so.
- **What can be one:** A single video, posted as a reel. Photos and carousels can't.
- **The numbers:** Instagram's numbers can arrive up to 48 hours late, so compare trials a couple of days after they post.

## Questions

### Can you schedule Instagram trial reels?

Yes. In Motion Reel, turn on Trial reel when you schedule the reel, or ask your agent to. It's published as a trial reel at the time you pick.

### What's a trial reel?

A reel Instagram shows to people who don't follow you first, so you can see how it does. You can share it with your followers later, or let Instagram share it if it does well.

### Can Claude post trial reels?

Yes. Connect Claude to Motion Reel's MCP server and ask it to post a reel as a trial. It shows you a preview first, and you choose whether you or Instagram shares it with your followers.

### Can I test several versions of one idea?

Yes. Post each version as its own trial reel, then ask your agent to compare their views and average watch time. Share the one that did best with your followers from the Instagram app.

### Do I need the Instagram app?

Not to post one. You only need it to share a trial with your followers yourself.

### Which agents work with it?

Claude Code, the Claude app, Codex, Cursor, OpenClaw and Hermes Agent, and any other MCP client that speaks Streamable HTTP.