Automating Image Uploads to Facebook Page using Python and Facebook Graph API

3 min readJan 8, 2024

Automating-Image-Uploads-to-Facebook-Page-using-Python-and-Facebook-Graph-API

In this article, we’ll explore how to automate the process of uploading images to a Facebook page using Python and the Facebook Graph API. Whether you want to share a single image or multiple images in a single post, this guide will walk you through the steps.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, make sure you have the following:

A Facebook Developer account
An App created on the Facebook Developer portal
App ID and App Secret
Page ID and Page Access Token

Note : I’m assuming you’re already familiar with the developer portal and tasks like creating an app or generating a page access token. However, if you’re not acquainted with these processes, feel free to reach out — I’d be more than happy to assist you through separate articles.

Setup

Install Required Libraries

pip install requests Pillow

2. Facebook Graph API Access

Obtain your Page Access Token.
Retrieve your Page ID.

Uploading a Single Image

Now, you need to create a function called post_single_photo. This function is crafted to simplify the process of uploading a single image to a specified Facebook page using the Facebook Graph API. It accepts crucial parameters, including the target page's ID (page_id), the page's access token (page_access_token), an optional message to accompany the photo (message), and the specific URL of the photo to be uploaded (photo_url). Refer to the Python code below for details.

import requests

def post_single_photo(page_id, page_access_token, message, photo_url):
    url = f"https://graph.facebook.com/v13.0/{page_id}/photos"
    params = {
        'access_token': page_access_token,
        'message': message,
        'url': photo_url,
    }

    try:
        response = requests.post(url, params=params)
        result = response.json()

        if 'id' in result:
            print(f"Photo posted successfully. Post ID: {result['id']}")
        else:
            print(f"Error posting photo: {result}")

    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"Request error: {e}")

# Replace with your actual values

page_id = 'YOUR_PAGE_ID'
page_access_token = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
message = 'Your message goes here'
photo_url = 'https://example.com/your-photo.jpg'

post_single_photo(page_id, page_access_token, message, photo_url)

Uploading Multiple Images Using Scheduling Posts with Unpublished Photos

Now, you need to follow a series of steps where you first upload photos with the published state set to false. Afterward, obtain the IDs of the unpublished photos and use those IDs to schedule a post to the /me/feed endpoint. Please refer to the Python code provided below for guidance.

import requests

def schedule_posts_with_unpublished_photos(page_id, page_access_token, message, photo_urls):
    # Step 1: Upload photos with published state set to false
    photo_ids = []
    for photo_url in photo_urls:
        upload_url = f'https://graph.facebook.com/v13.0/{page_id}/photos'
        params = {
            'access_token': page_access_token,
            'published': 'false',
            'url': photo_url,
        }

        try:
            response = requests.post(upload_url, params=params)
            result = response.json()

            if 'id' in result:
                photo_ids.append(result['id'])
            else:
                print(f"Error uploading photo: {result}")

        except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
            print(f"Request error: {e}")

    # Step 2: Use the IDs of unpublished photos to schedule a post
    url = f'https://graph.facebook.com/v13.0/me/feed'
    params = {
        'access_token': page_access_token,
        'message': message,
    }

    for photo_id in photo_ids:
        params[f'attached_media[{photo_id}]'] = f'{{"media_fbid":"{photo_id}"}}'

    try:
        response = requests.post(url, params=params)
        result = response.json()

        if 'id' in result:
            print(f"Post scheduled successfully. Post ID: {result['id']}")
        else:
            print(f"Error scheduling post: {result}")

    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"Request error: {e}")

# Replace with your actual values

page_id = 'YOUR_PAGE_ID'
page_access_token = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
message = 'Your message goes here'
photo_urls = [
    'https://example.com/photo1.jpg',
    'https://example.com/photo2.jpg',
]

schedule_posts_with_unpublished_photos(page_id, page_access_token, message, photo_urls)

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we covered the process of automating image uploads to a Facebook page using Python and the Facebook Graph API. Whether you have a single image or multiple images to share, you can adapt the provided code to suit your needs.