Getting started

From a fresh account to a live comment-to-DM automation in about ten minutes. You'll need an Instagram professional account (business or creator — free to switch in the Instagram app).

1. Create your account

Sign up with the Free plan — no card required. It includes 5 recipes and 25 active contacts per month, enough to see the whole loop working on a real post.

2. Connect Instagram

Go to Settings → Instagram connection and pick either flow:

  • Connect with Instagram — log in with the Instagram account directly.
  • Connect with Facebook Page — for accounts managed through a linked Facebook Page.

Approve all requested permissions; comment automation genuinely needs them (reading comments, replying, sending DMs). If something is missing later, the Settings page shows exactly which permission to re-grant — see Connect your Instagram account for details.

3. Publish a recipe

Create your first recipe in Recipes → New recipe. Two ways:

  • Type it — title, ingredients with quantities, steps, times, servings, tags, cover photo.
  • Draft it with AI import — paste the recipe text (or an Instagram post link) and Cookping structures the ingredients and steps for you to review.

Hit Publish and your recipe gets a public, mobile-first page at a short link — that's what followers will receive.

4. Create the automation

In Automations → New automation:

  1. Pick the post or Reel to watch.
  2. Choose the trigger keyword followers will comment — RECIPE, RECETTE, the dish name. Matching is case-insensitive.
  3. Pick the recipe to deliver (or a custom link).
  4. Review the messages: the public comment reply, the opening DM, and the recipe delivery message with its button label. Sensible defaults are pre-filled.
  5. Optionally enable follow-gating to ask commenters to follow you first.
  6. Activate.

5. Announce the keyword

Say it in the content and the caption: "Comment RECIPE and I'll DM it to you." From the first comment, watch Analytics for matched comments, deliveries, page visits, and click-through per recipe.

What Cookping handles without configuration

Instagram's 24-hour messaging window is enforced on every send and retry, each follower is messaged exactly once per comment, and deliveries that can no longer be sent compliantly are marked expired. If a DM ever doesn't arrive, start with Why didn't my DM send?