Automate Instagram Reels with Free Video Generation using n8n

How it works

• Every night, fetches the latest motivational tweets by Naval.
• Filters tweets with a specific format and stores them as quotes in a sheet.
• Fetches YouTube videos and music marked as “new” and downloads them.
• Updates the sheet with file paths after successful download.
• Randomly combines a quote, video, and music to generate a 10-second Instagram reel.
• Applies animated, centered text overlay to the video.
• Uploads the final reel to Instagram with a fixed caption.
• Cleans up the local file after publishing.

Set up steps

• Requires self-hosted n8n instance with yt-dlp, ffmpeg, and access to local file system.
• Requires Google Sheets, Instagram Graph API, and RapidAPI (Twitter) credentials.
• Add your credentials (Google, RapidAPI, Instagram) in n8n before import.
• Ensure scheduled triggers are active for automation.
• Approx. setup time: 30–45 mins for someone familiar with n8n and APIs.
• Sticky notes in the workflow visually guide setup for quotes, video, music, and IG posting.