Automations

Keyword automations on Instagram and Facebook. Two triggers are supported:

Trigger	When it runs	Response
`comment`	A comment matches your keywords	Optional public reply + private DM to the commenter
`story_reply`	Someone replies to your story with matching text	Direct message via the Messaging Send API

Live ingestion

Comment and story-reply automations run automatically from Meta webhooks. Use POST /automations/comment-to-dm/:id/test to validate without waiting for a live event.

Create a comment automation

curl -X POST https://api.aetherhq.dev/v1/automations/comment-to-dm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AETHER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "profileId": "prof_ig123",
    "name": "Guide keyword DM",
    "trigger": "comment",
    "keywords": ["guide", "ebook"],
    "matchMode": "contains",
    "dmMessage": "Thanks for commenting! Here is your guide: https://example.com/guide",
    "commentReply": "Check your DMs!"
  }'

DM buttons in private replies

Attach 1–3 inline buttons to the private DM (url opens a link; postback sends a payload back to your webhook). Button titles are limited to 20 characters.

When buttons are set, dmMessage must be 640 characters or fewer (Meta button template limit).

curl -X POST https://api.aetherhq.dev/v1/automations/comment-to-dm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AETHER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "profileId": "prof_ig123",
    "name": "Guide with CTA",
    "keywords": ["guide"],
    "matchMode": "contains",
    "dmMessage": "Thanks! Tap below for your guide:",
    "buttons": [
      { "type": "url", "title": "Get guide", "url": "https://example.com/guide" }
    ]
  }'

Facebook reconnect

Private replies use the Messenger /messages API. Facebook profiles connected before this feature need OAuth reconnect to grant pages_messaging. See Facebook platform guide.

Create a story-reply automation

Set "trigger": "story_reply". Do not set commentReply — story replies are answered with a DM only.

curl -X POST https://api.aetherhq.dev/v1/automations/comment-to-dm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AETHER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "profileId": "prof_ig123",
    "name": "Story link DM",
    "trigger": "story_reply",
    "platformPostId": "1791234567890",
    "keywords": ["link"],
    "matchMode": "contains",
    "dmMessage": "Here is the link: https://example.com"
  }'

Omit platformPostId to match story replies on any active story for the profile. Set it to scope the rule to one story media ID.

Facebook story replies

Instagram webhooks reliably include reply_to.story.id. Facebook Page messaging may omit story metadata, so auto-triggering story_reply automations on Facebook is best-effort. Manual tests with recipientId always work.

const automation = await client.automations.createCommentToDm({
  profileId: "prof_ig123",
  name: "Story link DM",
  trigger: "story_reply",
  keywords: ["link"],
  matchMode: "contains",
  dmMessage: "Here is your link: https://example.com",
});

Match modes

Mode	Behavior
`contains`	Text contains any keyword (case-insensitive)
`exact`	Text exactly matches a keyword

Scope to a post or story

Set platformPostId to run the automation only for a specific post (comments) or story media ID (story replies). Omit to match account-wide.

Test manually

Comment trigger — requires commentId:

curl -X POST https://api.aetherhq.dev/v1/automations/comment-to-dm/{id}/test \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AETHER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "platformPostId": "1791234567890",
    "commentId": "1789876543210",
    "commentText": "I want the guide"
  }'

Story-reply trigger — requires recipientId (IGSID or Facebook PSID), not commentId:

curl -X POST https://api.aetherhq.dev/v1/automations/comment-to-dm/{id}/test \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AETHER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "platformPostId": "1791234567890",
    "commentText": "send me the link",
    "recipientId": "1234567890"
  }'

Private reply API

For one-off private replies without an automation rule (comment trigger only):

curl -X POST https://api.aetherhq.dev/v1/inbox/comments/{platformPostId}/{commentId}/private-reply \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AETHER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "profileId": "prof_ig123",
    "message": "Thanks for reaching out!"
  }'

Webhook events

Event	When
`inbox.comment_received`	A comment is ingested
`inbox.story_reply_received`	A story reply is ingested
`automation.triggered`	An automation runs successfully (includes `trigger` field)

See Automations API.

Automations

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