OpenReply
An open source ManyChat alternative: Instagram comment to DM on your server
OpenReply watches the comments on your Instagram posts and, when one matches a keyword, sends that person a private message through the official Meta API. It is MIT licensed and self hosted only, which replaces a monthly subscription for one feature.
Best for when
- you send links to people who comment a keyword on your reels
- you want to stop paying a monthly fee for comment to DM
- you want the logs and the inbox on your own infrastructure
Watch out for
- it must be publicly reachable over HTTPS, so it widens your exposure compared with a private app
- setting up your own Meta app and permissions is the slow part, and Meta's limits still apply
- it is a young project with one main developer, so expect changes between versions
One feature, without the subscription
The pattern is familiar: a creator says comment LINK and I will send it to you. Tools that automate this usually charge a monthly fee. OpenReply does the same thing as software you host: keyword campaigns per post, an optional public reply, Story reply triggers, tracked links and a log of every send and skip.
It uses Meta's official private replies API, so there is no scraping and no Instagram password involved. A common setup is Docker Compose next to Postiz, with the web app bound to 127.0.0.1 and Cloudflare Tunnel giving it the public HTTPS address Meta's webhooks need.
What running it involves
There are always two processes: the web app that receives webhooks and serves the dashboard, and a worker that actually sends the messages. Both need PostgreSQL and Redis. The footprint is modest, but if comments arrive and no message goes out, the worker is the first thing to check.
Unlike most homelab apps, this one has to be reachable from the internet, because Meta delivers events to a public HTTPS URL. You also need an Instagram professional account and either your own Meta app, with its review process, or a paid connection provider the project mentions.
