jackwener/OpenCLI · error · CommandExecutionError

Instagram private publish upload failed for ${prepared.asset

Error message

Instagram private publish upload failed for ${prepared.asset.fileName}

What it means

For photo assets, the rupload_igphoto upload response must contain status 'ok'; otherwise this error is thrown at clis/instagram/_shared/private-publish.js:811. The HTTP call and JSON parse succeeded, but Instagram rejected the upload contents or metadata at the application level.

Source

Thrown at clis/instagram/_shared/private-publish.js:811

        }
        for (const cleanupPath of prepared.asset.cleanupPaths || []) {
            fs.rmSync(cleanupPath, { force: true });
        }
        if (prepared.asset.coverImage.cleanupPath) {
            fs.rmSync(prepared.asset.coverImage.cleanupPath, { force: true });
        }
    }
}
async function uploadPreparedMediaAsset(fetcher, prepared, uploadId, context, mode = 'feed') {
    if (prepared.type === 'image') {
        const response = await fetchPrivateUploadWithRetry(fetcher, `https://i.instagram.com/rupload_igphoto/fb_uploader_${uploadId}`, {
            method: 'POST',
            headers: buildRuploadHeaders(prepared.asset, uploadId, context),
            body: prepared.asset.bytes,
        });
        const json = await parseJsonResponse(response, 'upload');
        if (String(json?.status || '') !== 'ok') {
            throw new CommandExecutionError(`Instagram private publish upload failed for ${prepared.asset.fileName}`);
        }
        return;
    }
    const videoResponse = await fetchPrivateUploadWithRetry(fetcher, `https://i.instagram.com/rupload_igvideo/fb_uploader_${uploadId}`, {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: mode === 'story'
            ? buildStoryVideoRuploadHeaders(prepared.asset, uploadId, context)
            : buildVideoRuploadHeaders(prepared.asset, uploadId, context),
        body: prepared.asset.bytes,
    });
    const videoJson = await parseJsonResponse(videoResponse, 'video upload');
    if (String(videoJson?.status || '') !== 'ok') {
        throw new CommandExecutionError(`Instagram private publish video upload failed for ${prepared.asset.fileName}`);
    }
    const coverResponse = await fetchPrivateUploadWithRetry(fetcher, `https://i.instagram.com/rupload_igphoto/fb_uploader_${uploadId}`, {
        method: 'POST',
        headers: buildVideoCoverRuploadHeaders(prepared.asset, uploadId, context),
        body: prepared.asset.coverImage.bytes,

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

Inspect the parsed response body for a `message` field explaining why status !== 'ok' (add logging around the upload call if needed)
Re-encode the image to a standard JPEG/PNG within Instagram's dimension limits and retry
Refresh session cookies and restart the publish so a fresh uploadId is generated
Verify the file was fully read (no truncation) before upload

Example fix

// before
const bytes = fs.readFileSync(maybePartialFile);
// after
const stat = fs.statSync(imgPath);
if (stat.size === 0) throw new Error('image file is empty');
const bytes = fs.readFileSync(imgPath);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const stat = fs.statSync(imagePath);
if (stat.size === 0) throw new Error('image bytes are empty');
if (stat.size > 8 * 1024 * 1024) throw new Error('image exceeds Instagram upload limits');

Try / catch

try { await publish(input); }
catch (e) {
  if (/upload failed for/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error('Instagram rejected the photo upload; check format/dimensions and refresh session');
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

Convert images to standard JPEG/PNG within Instagram dimension limits
Ensure the full file is read into memory before upload (no truncation)
Re-authenticate when uploads repeatedly fail with non-ok status

When it happens

Trigger: POST to https://i.instagram.com/rupload_igphoto/fb_uploader_<uploadId> returns JSON with status other than 'ok' — e.g. invalid image bytes, wrong Content-Length/rupload headers, media violating policies, or an expired upload session.

Common situations: Uploading images with unsupported formats or oversized dimensions; photo bytes truncated before upload; session/entity-id headers stale; account restricted from posting.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f1203ec1f0ee5b0b. Report an issue: GitHub.