> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.levios.app/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Grow your audience with a follow gate > Offer valuable material after a follow request while explaining verification and delivery tradeoffs. ## Use this agent skill Copy the instructions below into a `SKILL.md` file in a folder named `levios-follow-gate` and add it through your client’s supported skill mechanism. If it does not load skill files, provide this content to the agent as task instructions. This does not install anything or enable tools on its own. The skill uses English for one shared instruction set and asks the agent to answer in your language. ```markdown theme={null} --- name: levios-follow-gate description: Design or review a levios follow gate that asks an Instagram contact to follow before receiving valuable material. Use for audience-growth campaigns, strict versus trusted confirmation choices, and troubleshooting a proposed gate without weakening its agreed condition. --- # Plan a follow gate Answer in the user's language. Read `get_automation_guide` topic `follow_gate` and the current account/connection capabilities. Use the existing briefing. Ask only a missing decision, following the native question lifecycle in topic `start` when a selector is usable. Recommend this path when the material and future posts support relevant follower growth. Explain that the extra step can reduce completed deliveries. Prefer direct delivery for minimum friction when that is the stated goal. Do not promise improved conversion or add a gate without the owner's chosen behavior. ## Configure the protected path 1. Use `contact_filter=anyone` for acquiring new followers unless a narrower audience is explicitly intended. `followers_only` excludes non-followers; it does not ask them to follow. 2. Plan opening `start_follow_up` button, then `ask_to_follow`, then the actual `send_message` or `send_media` delivery, and `finish`. Do not expose the protected material or a bypass URL in the opening. 3. Explain verification: `strict` checks Instagram; unknown status is not a confirmed follow. `trusted_click` trusts the contact's confirmation and must not be described as verified by Instagram. Never silently downgrade. 4. Propose the message, profile and confirmation buttons, neutral retry text, bounded attempts, recheck interval and expiration. Show the consequence of `retry_exhausted_action`: `stop` withholds delivery after failed attempts; `continue` can release it without satisfying the condition. 5. Explain that timers and gate expiration do not extend the messaging window. The initial DM alone does not open it; the eligible opening click does. This condition is not DRM: recipients may share a delivered link. 6. Do not combine follow and email/phone capture gates in this public sequence. If both are requested, explain the constraint and choose the priority with the owner rather than silently dropping one. ## Validate and review Read `get_automation_schema` for exact required fields. Call `validate_automation_configuration` with the user language and previous configuration when revising. Present its complete `preview_markdown`, including gate copy, verification, attempts, expiration, failure behavior and delivery. Add verified account and intended state separately. A valid configuration is not proof of account permissions, successful follow verification or delivery. Execute only within the authorization and confirmation flow in topic `review`, then read back. Do not troubleshoot a failure by removing the agreed gate. [Detailed gate behavior and example](https://docs.levios.app/mcp/follow-gate). ``` ## Reference and examples A follow gate can support audience growth when people want your material and are likely to value future posts. It adds a step before delivery. Discuss that cost before choosing it, especially when immediate delivery or a purchase is the main objective. Conversion gains are a hypothesis to test. ## Describe the path before creating it The contact starts the sequence through an opening button, receives the follow request, confirms, and receives the material when the configured condition is satisfied. The public configuration uses `start_follow_up`, `ask_to_follow`, a delivery action, and `finish`, in that order. Use `contact_filter` set to `anyone` when acquiring new followers. `followers_only` excludes non-followers before the gate. It is an audience filter, not a substitute for the follow request. Keep the protected link or attachment after the gate. A link in the opening message would let someone bypass the condition. Once delivered, a link can still be shared; a follow gate is not content access control. ## Choose what confirmation means | Mode | Meaning | What the agent may report | | - | - | - | | `strict` | levios checks the follow status with Instagram | A follow is verified only when the check confirms it | | `trusted_click` | levios trusts the contact's confirmation click | The contact confirmed; Instagram verification is not implied | Unknown or unavailable status is not a confirmed follow. Prefer neutral copy such as “We could not confirm the follow yet.” Do not accuse the contact of not following when the check is inconclusive. Do not silently change modes to get around an unsuccessful check. Verify the selected mode with the actual account before relying on it. A valid configuration alone does not establish plan eligibility, permissions, or a successful Instagram check. ## Decide what happens if the gate cannot complete Review the attempt limit, retry message, recheck interval, and expiration. With `retry_exhausted_action` set to `stop`, the condition remains required. With `continue`, delivery can proceed after exhausted attempts, weakening that condition. Make the choice visible in the preview. A recheck interval is not a promise of recurring reminders. Gate expiration never extends Instagram's messaging eligibility. The current public contract cannot combine this gate with email or phone capture in the same sequence. ## Example: verified follow before a guide This illustrative configuration uses `strict` and `stop`. Replace sample values with the user's decisions and actual material. Its six-hour cooldown is an example, not a universal recommendation. ```json theme={null} { "contact_filter": "anyone", "trigger": { "type": "comment", "publication": { "mode": "next_published" }, "keywords": { "mode": "specific", "match_mode": "whole_word", "values": [ "GUIDE" ] } }, "opening": { "public_reply": { "enabled": false }, "direct_message": { "delay_seconds": 0, "message": { "text": "Tap below to request your guide.", "buttons": [ { "type": "start_follow_up", "title": "Get guide" } ] } } }, "follow_up": { "actions": [ { "type": "ask_to_follow", "delay_seconds": 0, "message": "Follow this profile for the guide, then confirm below.", "buttons": { "open_profile_title": "Open profile", "confirm_title": "I followed" }, "verification_mode": "strict", "not_following_message": "We could not confirm the follow yet. Check the profile and try again.", "max_attempts": 3, "retry_exhausted_action": "stop", "recheck_after_seconds": 60, "expires_in_seconds": 86400 }, { "type": "send_message", "delay_seconds": 0, "text": "Here is your requested guide.", "buttons": [ { "type": "url", "title": "Open guide", "url": "https://example.com/guide" } ] }, { "type": "finish" } ] }, "extras": { "cooldown": { "mode": "fixed", "seconds": 21600 } } } ``` Your agent can consult `get_automation_guide` with topic `follow_gate` when the tool is available. Review [Instagram limits](/mcp/instagram-limits) and [the creation journey](/mcp/first-automation) before activation. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.