How to Use the Instagram Auto Commenter

Before you start

• Awareness of Instagram limits:
  • We recommend a maximum of 80 comments per day, spread over multiple launches during daytime hours.

Step 1: Connect your Instagram account

To let the Phantom act on your behalf:

1. Install the PhantomBuster browser extension and connect your Instagram session in one click.
2. If you’re not using Chrome or Firefox, you can retrieve your session cookie manually (see our cookie guide).

Step 2: Provide your posts and comments

You’ll need one spreadsheet that contains both the Instagram post URLs and the comments you want to post.

Prepare your data in one of these formats:

1. Provide a Google Sheet with post URLs and comments:
   • Column A → postUrl
   • Column B → comments
   • Make sure the sheet is shared with “Anyone with the link.”
2. Upload a CSV file with post URLs and comments:
   • Column A → postUrl
   • Column B → comments
   • CSV upload is only available on paid plans.

→ The Phantom defaults to column A for post URLs and column B for comments. To use different columns, enter the column header names in the setup fields.

Step 3: Configure commenting behavior

Fine-tune how the Phantom comments:

• Number of comments to post per launch (optional):
  • Default = 10, and if left empty, the Phantom will attempt to process all your comments in one launch.
  • Stay within Instagram’s safe limit of 80 comments/day. Spread them over several launches.

Advanced settings (dropdown in setup)

1. Delay between loading each post in seconds (optional):
   • Default = 2 seconds.
   • Increases safety by spacing actions.
2. Post random comments (optional):
   • Enable this to rotate comments randomly from your comments column.
   • Useful when you want to vary engagement without writing unique comments for each post.

Result file settings (dropdown in setup)

1. Name your results file (optional)

   • You can customize the file name.

     If you rename the file between launches, the Phantom will create a new results file and start processing inputs from scratch.

2. Fields to keep (optional)
   • Export only the fields you care about by listing them (comma-separated).
   • This generates a second CSV file with just those fields.
   • Learn more in our guide: Customize how your Phantom results files are saved.

Step 4: Select launch frequency

Choose how often the Phantom should run:

1. Launch manually: Start the Phantom yourself whenever you need.
2. Launch once at a specific time: schedule a one-time run at a set date and time.
3. Launch repeatedly: schedule regular runs (e.g. once per day, several times during working hours).
4. Launch after another Phantom: chain automations together so this Phantom starts right after another finishes.
5. Advanced scheduling: customize the exact minutes, hours, days, or months when the Phantom should run.

→ For a complete walkthrough of scheduling options, see our guide to scheduling Phantoms automatically.

Step 5 (Optional): Advanced settings

Advanced settings are available if you want to fine-tune how your Phantom runs, but by default they’re already optimized for most use cases.

We recommend leaving them as they are unless a guide specifically instructs you to change something.

→ For a detailed overview of all advanced options (like execution limits, retries, email notifications, proxies, webhooks, and file management), see our Advanced settings guide.

Launch and results

When you’re ready:

1. Click Launch to start your Phantom.
2. Once it finishes, open the Results tab in the Phantom console to see the data collected.
3. Download your results as a CSV or JSON file.

→ To learn how to export your data to Google Sheets, integrate with other tools, or reuse it in more automations, check our Access and Export your Phantom Results guide.

Export and input limits on the Free plan
If you’re on the Free plan or Free trial, some features are limited:
- CSV exports include only the first 10 rows of results.
- CSV download links (for dynamic viewing in Google Sheets or integrations) are not available.
- JSON exports are not available.
- CSV upload as an input method is not supported.
To unlock all features, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

What you give (Input) and What you get (Output)

This section gives you a detailed breakdown of everything you need to provide to run this Phantom, and everything you’ll receive once it completes.

What you give (Input)

What you get (Output)

Tips and troubleshooting

Common pitfalls

• Using a private spreadsheet (make sure it’s set to “Anyone with the link”).
• Too many comments at once → leads to session expiry or warnings. Stick to ≤80/day.

If you run into errors or account issues

• Check how to troubleshoot your phantom using Logs.
• Browse the Fix Issues & Troubleshoot Errors section for solutions to common problems.
• Review our Automation Rate Limits by Platform guide.
• Check our Best Practices for Social Media Automation guide.

Suggested automations

• Instagram Profile Post Extractor → collect posts to feed into Auto Commenter.
• Instagram Auto Liker → like posts alongside comments for natural engagement.
• Advanced AI Enricher → use a tailored prompt to generate fresh, varied comment text.