jackwener/OpenCLI · error · CommandExecutionError

Instagram image preview did not appear after upload

Error message

Instagram image preview did not appear after upload

What it means

waitForPreview polls the composer after upload to confirm Instagram shows a preview thumbnail of the uploaded media. If after all attempts the preview never appears, it saves /tmp/instagram_post_preview_debug.png and throws this error. It signals the upload never took effect from Instagram's perspective.

Source

Thrown at clis/instagram/post.js:782

    })()
  `);
    return !!result?.ok;
}
async function waitForPreview(page, maxWaitSeconds = 12) {
    const attempts = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(maxWaitSeconds));
    for (let attempt = 0; attempt < attempts; attempt++) {
        const state = await inspectUploadStage(page);
        if (state.state === 'preview')
            return;
        if (state.state === 'failed') {
            await page.screenshot({ path: '/tmp/instagram_post_preview_debug.png' });
            throw makeUploadFailure('Inspect /tmp/instagram_post_preview_debug.png. ' + (state.detail || ''));
        }
        if (attempt < attempts - 1)
            await page.wait({ time: 1 });
    }
    await page.screenshot({ path: '/tmp/instagram_post_preview_debug.png' });
    throw new CommandExecutionError('Instagram image preview did not appear after upload', 'The selected file input may not match the active composer; inspect /tmp/instagram_post_preview_debug.png');
}
async function waitForPreviewMaybe(page, maxWaitSeconds = 4) {
    const attempts = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(maxWaitSeconds * 2));
    for (let attempt = 0; attempt < attempts; attempt++) {
        const state = await inspectUploadStage(page);
        if (state.state !== 'pending')
            return state;
        if (attempt < attempts - 1)
            await page.wait({ time: 0.5 });
    }
    return { state: 'pending' };
}
export function buildClickActionJs(labels, scope = 'any') {
    return `
    ((labels, scope) => {
      const isVisible = (el) => {
        if (!(el instanceof HTMLElement)) return false;
        const style = window.getComputedStyle(el);

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Inspect /tmp/instagram_post_preview_debug.png to see what the composer actually shows
2. Re-run and allow more wait time for large files or slow connections
3. Verify the media file meets Instagram's format/size limits before retrying
4. Re-resolve upload selectors in case the first selector targeted a non-composer input
5. Log in again if a session interstitial appears in the debug screenshot

Example fix

// before
await postImage(page, hugeFile); // 8MB, slow link, preview never appears
// after
const stat = fs.statSync(hugeFile);
if (stat.size > 4 * 1024 * 1024) await compressImage(hugeFile);
await postImage(page, hugeFile);

const stat = fs.statSync(filePath);
if (!/^\.(jpe?g|png)$/i.test(path.extname(filePath)) || stat.size > 8 * 1024 * 1024) {
  throw new Error('Media not Instagram-compatible: ' + filePath);
}

try {
  await postImage(page, file);
} catch (e) {
  if (String(e.message).includes('preview did not appear')) {
    // debug shot is at /tmp/instagram_post_preview_debug.png
    await page.wait({ time: 5 });
    return postImage(page, file); // one slower retry
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: executeUiInstagramPost -> waitForPreview exhausts its polling attempts with inspectUploadStage never leaving 'pending'/absent state; also thrown via makeUploadFailure path when inspectUploadStage reports a failed upload stage with detail.

Common situations: Wrong file input selected (selector matches a hidden/unused input), Instagram silently rejecting the file (format, size, aspect ratio), slow network upload not finished within the wait window, or a session/2FA interstitial blocking the composer.

Related errors

• Instagram action button not found: ${labels.join(' / ')}
• Instagram caption editor did not appear
• Failed to fill Instagram caption
• Instagram action button not found: ${labels.join(' / ')}
• settings click failed

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a38289fa508ec554. Report an issue: GitHub.