How to automate posting on Meta’s new text message app Threads

Threads is an app for sharing short messages, developed by the Instagram team and owned by Meta. This guide shows how to build a bot that automates posting on Threads. The bot reads a message from a Google Sheet, opens Threads in a web browser, clicks "Create Post", enters the message, uploads an image and posts it. This Threads automation takes only a few minutes to make using our builder.

Design pattern: Post on Threads

# Create a blank Google Sheet

Create a Google Sheet add some Post to the sheet. See example below.

A B
Axiom can automate Instagram /Users/thudercloudone/Desktop/Screenshot 2024-04-05 at 12.20.24.png
Axiom can automate anything in the browser /Users/thudercloudone/Desktop/Screenshot 2024-04-05 at 12.20.24.png

# Start from blank, adding the following steps

In the Axiom.ai (opens new window) Chrome extension, click "New Automation" and then select "Start from Blank". Use the step finder to add the steps outlined below.

# Add a ‘Read data from a Google Sheet’ step

We start making our automation by fetching our post from the Google Sheet we created. To set up this step, follow these instructions.

  1. Spreadsheet - Search for the Google Sheet you created in the "Spreadsheet" field. Once found, click to select.
  2. Sheet name - Choose a sheet tab or leave blank to use the first tab.
  3. First cell - Start from a specified column and row, "A1".
  4. Last cell - End at a specified column and row, "AB1".
Tip

💡 You can adjust the number of rows read by this step to loop posting multiple messages.

# Add a ‘Loop through data’ step

We use this step to loop the automation, to post multiple messages.

  1. Loop through data - Click ‘Insert data’ select ‘google-sheet-data’.
Tip

💡 The following steps are all nested ‘Sub-steps’ inside the loop

# Add a ‘Go to page’ sub-step to load Threads

Next we load Threads into a Chrome browser ready to automate.

  1. Enter URL - Insert ‘https://www.threads.net (opens new window)’ into the URL field.

# Add a ‘Click element’ to click the "Post" button

Our next step we set up to click the ‘Message’ button that loads Direct messages with the correct Instagram user selected.

  1. Select - Click "Select" highlight the ‘Post’ button click on it.
  2. Click - "Custom" and tick "Use element text instead of HTML", followed by "Complete".

# Add an ‘Enter text’ sub-step step to input the message

Next up we use an ‘Enter text’ step to input our message into Threads.

Tip

💡 When the post dialog opens you will see the cursor is already inside the input field, we do not need to select it.

  1. Text - Click ‘Insert data’ select ‘google-sheet-data’ to pass the message from the Sheet. Select column ‘A’ in the preview.

# Add an ‘Upload a file’ sub-step step to add image to post

Now we upload an image locally by selecting and clicking the image upload icon.

  1. Select - Click "Select" highlight the ‘Image upload’ icon click on it and press complete.
  2. File Path - Click "Insert-data" and select column ‘B’ from the Google sheet.
Tip

💡 ‘Upload a file’ step has to be run on the desktop, to upload images in the cloud use the ‘Upload a file from Google Drive’ step

# Add a ‘Click element’ to click the "Post" again

Now we click "Post" to send the Thread.

  1. Select - Click "Select" highlight the ‘Post’ and click.
  2. Click - "Custom" and tick "Use element text instead of HTML", followed by "Complete".

# Add a ‘Delete rows from a Google Sheet’ sub-step

Finally, we delete the processed row that has just been completed in the Loop so the automation does not repeat the same post on the next loop.

  1. Spreadsheet - Search for the Google Sheet you created in the "Spreadsheet" field. Once found, click to select.
  2. Sheet name - Choose a sheet tab or leave blank to use the first tab.
  3. First row to delete - Leave set to 1.
  4. Last row to delete - Leave set to 1.

# Wrapping up

In just a few steps, anyone can create an automation that reads data from a Google Sheet, opens a webpage, and inputs a message into Meta's Threads app without writing any code. This template works on the desktop automation runner, We can swap the "Upload a file" step for the ‘Upload a file from Google Drive’ to run in the cloud.