Stream to Instagram (beta)

Instagram Live works through a manual RTMP setup. Because Instagram stream keys expire quickly, you need to refresh the key each time you go live.

Before you start

• Your Instagram account must be eligible for live streaming.
• You need a stream key from Instagram. This is usually found in the Instagram creator tools or through a third-party encoder workflow.
• Instagram is portrait-first, so a 9:16 output works best.

Add Instagram as a destination

1. In your ApexStream dashboard, go to Integrations.
2. Click the Instagram tile.
3. Enter the RTMP URL and the current stream key.
4. Enable the Crop to 9:16 Vertical option if you want portrait output.
5. Save the connection.

Before each stream

Instagram stream keys do not last long, and ApexStream does not show an automatic pre-flight key popup. Open your Instagram live creation flow, copy a fresh stream key, then remove and re-add the Instagram destination in Integrations with the new key before going live.

Go live

1. Enter Web Studio or start your encoder.
2. Enable the Instagram destination.
3. Click Go Live.

Good to know: Instagram streams must be 9:16 vertical for the best experience. Turning on Crop to 9:16 Vertical currently requires the Scale plan or higher.