Google Sheets Driven Multi-Platform Social Media Scheduler - n8n Workflow

Marketing professionals managing content calendars.
Content creators needing reliable, hands-off scheduling.
Users looking for advanced n8n templates combining image generation and social APIs.
Teams who maintain their editorial calendar primarily in Google Sheets.

Managing multi-platform social media posting often requires tedious manual steps for formatting and uploading. This powerful n8n workflow eliminates that effort by serving as a comprehensive scheduler, driven entirely by a Google Sheet.

Every four hours, the n8n trigger checks the designated Google Sheet for posts marked 'Pending'. It then branches the flow to create posts optimized for both Twitter (text-only) and Instagram (image-based). Crucially, the n8n workflow includes a sophisticated step to dynamically generate high-quality Instagram images from simple HTML and text data stored in the sheet, using the HCTI API. Finally, it ensures perfect data hygiene by marking the source row as 'Posted'. This specific n8n template demonstrates advanced flow control and external API integration, making it a highly valuable asset for any content team.

This n8n workflow executes a precise sequence of steps to manage content delivery:

1. Scheduled Execution: The automation starts with a Schedule Trigger n8n trigger, configured to run periodically (every 4 hours in this case), ensuring timely checking for new content.


2. Data Retrieval: A Google Sheets n8n node queries the specified sheet, retrieving the single oldest row where the 'Status' column is exactly 'Pending'.


3. Parallel Posting: The data splits into two paths:

1. Image Generation: A second HTTP Request n8n node sends the generated HTML payload to the hcti.io API, which returns a URL for a 1080x1080px image.


2. Instagram Publishing: Two sequential Facebook Graph API n8n nodes handle the two-step Instagram publishing process: first, creating a media container using the image URL and final caption, and second, using the container ID to publish the post live to the feed.


3. Status Update: The final Google Sheets n8n node updates the originally fetched row, changing the 'Status' to 'Posted on [current timestamp]' using the RowID from the initial n8n node execution. This prevents the n8n trigger from re-posting the same item.

To deploy this comprehensive n8n workflow, follow these steps:

1. Import the n8n workflow: Copy the provided JSON data and paste it into your n8n instance via the 'Import from JSON' function.


2. Google Sheets Credentials: Set up credentials for the Google Sheets n8n node. Replace [YOURGOOGLESHEETID] placeholders in both Google Sheets nodes (Get row(s) and Update Status) with your actual Sheet ID.


3. HCTI.io Credentials: Set up HTTP Basic Authentication credentials (API Key and Secret) for the HCTI Image n8n node.


4. Twitter (X) Credentials: Configure OAuth1 API credentials for the Post on Twitter n8n node.


5. Instagram Credentials: Configure Facebook Graph API access. This requires a Facebook Page linked to a Business Instagram Account. Replace [YOURINSTAGRAMACCOUNTID] and [YOURFACEBOOKACCESS_TOKEN] in the Instagram publishing n8n nodes.


6. Sheet Setup: Ensure your Google Sheet contains the necessary columns: RowID, Caption, Desc, Hashtags, and Status. Mark rows you wish to post with 'Pending' in the Status column.


7. Activate: Save and activate the n8n workflow. The Schedule Trigger n8n trigger will begin checking for content.

This complex n8n workflow utilizes several crucial n8n node types to achieve seamless automation. Understanding the configuration of each n8n node is key to customization.

Schedule Trigger n8n trigger:
Function: Starts the n8n workflow automatically.
Key Configuration: Runs every 4 hours.
Google Sheets (Get row(s) in sheet) n8n node:
Function: Reads content to be posted.
Key Configuration: Filters for 'Status' equal to 'Pending'. Uses 'Return First Match' to process one item at a time.
Set (Insta post caption) n8n node:
Function: Data preparation and HTML generation.
Key Configuration: Creates finalcaption using expressions to concatenate input fields. Generates custom HTML structure including dynamic fields like $json.Caption for image conversion.
HTTP Request (HCTI Image) n8n node:
Function: Converts the generated HTML into a 1080x1080 image for Instagram.
Key Configuration: Method POST, URL https://hcti.io/v1/image, sends HTML content via body parameters with specific viewport dimensions.
HTTP Request (Post on Twitter) n8n node:
Function: Publishes the text caption to Twitter (X).
Key Configuration: Method POST, uses OAuth1 authentication, sends text parameter containing $json.Caption.
Facebook Graph API (Create Insta post & Post On Instagram) n8n node:
Function: Handles the two-step Instagram Content Publishing process.
Key Configuration: Uses edge media for creation and mediapublish for final posting, requiring creation_id from the previous step. This is a crucial pair of n8n nodes for Instagram automation.
Google Sheets (Update Status Posted) n8n node:
Function: Marks the content as published.
* Key Configuration: Operation 'update', updates the 'Status' column using the RowID retrieved by the initial n8n node, setting the value to include the current timestamp.