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The media publishing field guide

The right format for every destination.

Find image and video requirements without the guesswork. Choose a platform, review its limits, and prepare the file for the placement you want.

Editor · Bulk CSV · Google Sheets · API · MCP

DESTINATION FORMATSChoose a placementSquare1:1Portrait4:5Vertical9:16Prepare. Review. Publish.Destination preview
Workflow illustration · preview layouts vary by destination

Find your platform requirements

Instagram

These are Postly publishing allowances and destination requirements. Provider acceptance also depends on your account, content and selected placement.

ImagesVideoAPI constraints
API docs
Why this matters
Use the lower of your Postly plan allowance and the destination limit. Counts below describe files in a selection and what gets published, not a daily posting allowance. Reviewed September 30, 2026.

How many files?

Up to 10 images. Multiple images publish as one Instagram carousel. Videos publish separately as Reels. Select up to 10 files per placement; each Reel video or Story file publishes separately.

Instagram Image Carousel

One feed image creates a photo post. Two to ten feed images create one swipeable Instagram Image Carousel. Unlike Facebook Linked Carousel, there is no separate destination URL on each image. The ten-file limit applies to the selected feed media.

Mixed images and videos

Postly groups the feed images into one image post or carousel and publishes each video separately as a Reel. It does not currently combine images and videos into one mixed carousel, even though Instagram supports that format.

Reels

One video per published Reel. Select up to ten videos in the Reel selection to publish separate Reels; they are not joined into one video. Images cannot be used as Reel attachments.

Stories

One image or video per published Story. Select up to ten files in the Story selection to publish separate Stories; this is not a carousel. Story availability depends on account eligibility.

Images and attachments

Postly supports JPEG and PNG directly, up to 8 MB per image. You can also upload other supported image formats; the editor converts them when needed. Feed image ratios are 4:5–1.91:1. Use 9:16 for Stories and review each placement before publishing.

Video

MP4 or MOV. Reels: 3 seconds–15 minutes, maximum width 1920 pixels; 9:16 recommended. Postly allows up to 1 GB, subject to your plan. For reliable preparation, keep Reels at 300 MB or less: Meta’s current media reference lists 300 MB, while its example collection lists 1 GB. Stories: prepare 3–60 seconds, up to 100 MB. Videos are not automatically trimmed or compressed.

Prepare and review

Upload supported image formats, including JPEG and PNG. In the editor, Postly automatically converts supported images when a destination needs a different format, while keeping compatible images unchanged. Use Fix images in the channel preview for remaining size or aspect-ratio issues, then review the result. Repairs are checked again. Tiny originals, unreadable files and images that still exceed requirements need replacing or manual export. Enlarging cannot restore missing detail. Videos are not automatically compressed or re-encoded.

Postly checks supported media types, format, size and available duration and dimensions. A small, time-limited MP4/MOV header check can identify video encoding, reported frame rate and average bitrate. Other formats, metadata at the end of a file and unavailable headers remain unverified; codecs, audio, frame timing and peak bitrate are not fully verified. No video is converted, trimmed, cropped or re-encoded. Re-export incompatible files for the selected destination. Checks cannot guarantee provider acceptance.

Managing published content

Instagram does not allow deletion through Postly. Delete feed posts, carousels, Reels and Stories directly in Instagram.

Content management and deletion guide — all platforms
Official platform references
Need help? Visit docs.postly.ai or use Bulk Post via Google Sheets for validations and guided uploads.
Supported media formats

Image and video formats accepted by Postly

Use these formats when uploading media or adding direct media URLs. Platform APIs may still apply stricter size, duration, aspect ratio, codec, or account-level limits. iPhone photos and videos are included with HEIC/HEIF and MOV/M4V support.

Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, BMP, HEIC, HEIFVideos: MP4, MOV, M4V, WEBM
Images
Upload picker + direct image URLs
JPG
photos
JPEG
API-safe photos
PNG
transparent graphics
WEBP
modern web images
GIF
animated/static
BMP
legacy bitmap
HEIC
iPhone photos
HEIF
iPhone image format
Videos
Key formats supported across platform APIs
MP4
safest across platforms
MOV
iPhone / Apple video
M4V
Apple video format
WEBM
web video format
Recommended next

Check media upload limits before you publish

Content format tells you what each platform accepts. Media upload limits show the maximum image and video sizes allowed across Postly plans and platform APIs, helping teams avoid failed uploads, slow processing, and rejected posts.

Image & video caps
See maximum upload sizes by platform.
Plan-aware limits
Compare Starter/LTD and Pro video caps.
Fewer failures
Prepare media correctly before scheduling.
View media upload limits
100 MBPlan-aware
API rules are the source of truth
A post accepted in a native platform app can still fail through its publishing API. Postly validates media against platform API constraints.
Use stable, public media URLs
Avoid inaccessible links in bulk publishing. Use Postly Cloud or a public CDN for direct image/video URLs.
Use recommended aspect ratios
Review the shape and preview for each placement to avoid unintended framing.
Read this first

Media URL format rules

Check these URL requirements when preparing Bulk Post CSV, Google Sheets, API or MCP submissions.

Best practice: use Postly Cloud for stable public URLs.
Image URL format rules
Examples that work
  • https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Gull_portrait_ca_usa.jpg
  • https://cloud.postly.ai/media/your-image.jpg
  • https://static.cdn.example.com/banner-v3.png
Examples to avoid
  • https://www.instagram.com/p/XXXXXXXXX/
  • https://photos.google.com/share/XXXX
  • data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0K...
  • https://www.dropbox.com/s/FILE_ID/photo.png?dl=0
Use direct, public image file links (png/jpg/jpeg/webp/bmp/gif). Avoid links that require login, “share pages”, or base64 data URLs.
Video URL format rules
Examples that work
  • https://download.blender.org/peach/bigbuckbunny_movies/BigBuckBunny_320x180.mp4
  • https://cloud.postly.ai/media/your-video.mp4
Examples to avoid
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
  • https://vimeo.com/VIDEO_ID
  • https://youtube.com/shorts/XXXXXXXXXXX
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&list=PL123456789
  • https://drive.google.com/file/d/FILE_ID/view?usp=share_link
  • https://www.dropbox.com/s/FILE_ID/video.mp4?dl=0
For video uploads, use a direct public file URL in a format supported by the destination. Watch pages and share links are not downloadable video files. LinkedIn can publish supported external video links as articles.