Ig hashtag strategist

Skill sergebulaev/instagram-skills/.codex-marketplace/instagram-skills/skills/ig-hashtag-strategist

Build a sized Instagram hashtag set for a post using the 2026 reality that 3 to 5 well-chosen tags beat 30 random ones. Sizes each tag as niche (under 50k posts), mid (50k to 500k), or broad (500k+), then assembles a 2-3 niche, 1-2 mid, 0-1 broad mix that a small or mid account can actually rank in, matched to the post content and rotated to avoid spam patterns. Use to choose hashtags for a caption, carousel, or Reel. Not for writing the caption itself (use ig-caption-writer).From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add sergebulaev/instagram-skills --skill ig-hashtag-strategist

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SKILL.md

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Instagram Hashtag Strategist

Pick 3-5 hashtags that actually help, sized so the post can rank. The 30-tag wall is dead: in 2026 hashtags work as topic labels, and a small account ranks in niche tags, not in million-post broad ones. This skill builds the sized set.

When to use

User has a caption, carousel, or Reel and needs hashtags
User is still posting 20-30 generic tags and wants the 2026 approach
User wants tags sized to where their account can actually rank

The model: size, not volume

A tag's size is its total post count. The strategy is a mix so the post ranks in the small tags while touching the bigger ones.

Tier	Post count	Role	Use
Niche	under 50k	where a small/mid account can actually rank for hours	2-3
Mid	50k - 500k	enough audience, beatable competition	1-2
Broad	500k+	a brief category-label touch, ranks for minutes	0-1

Default: 3-5 total. Full reasoning in ../../references/hashtag-strategy.md.

Steps

Get the post. The caption, carousel topic, or Reel subject, plus the target audience and the account's rough size (so the niche/mid split fits).
Extract topics. Pull the 3-5 real topics the post is about (the subject, the niche community, the format, the outcome).
Generate candidates per tier. For each topic, propose niche, mid, and broad candidates. Niche tags are specific and long-tail (#notionforfreelancers); broad tags are single common words (#marketing).
Size each candidate. Estimate the tier from specificity (the API does not expose counts, so use judgment and tell the user to verify counts in the app's search). Flag any obviously generic or flag-prone tags (#follow4follow, #like4like) to drop.
Assemble the set. 2-3 niche + 1-2 mid + 0-1 broad, total 3-5. Drop the broad slot if nothing genuinely fits. Every tag must match the content.
Check the match. Reject any tag that is popular but off-topic; a mismatch mistrains the recommendation engine and lowers reach.
Rotate. Tell the user to vary the set per topic, not reuse one block on every post (identical sets across many posts read as automation).
Output. The 3-5 set, each tagged with its tier and a one-line why, plus placement guidance (end of caption or first comment).

Output format

Sized set (4 tags):
  #notionforfreelancers   niche   the exact community this post serves
  #freelanceworkflow      niche   long-tail, low churn, rankable
  #productivitytips       mid     warm relevant audience, beatable
  #notion                 broad   category label, one touch

Placement: end of the caption or the first comment. Rotate the niche tags per topic.

Hard rules

Global voice rules: see root SKILL.md Voice rules. Additional skill-specific rules:

3-5 tags total. Never output a 30-tag block.
Every tag must describe the actual content. No popular-but-off-topic tags.
At most one broad tag; drop it if nothing fits.
Flag and remove engagement-farm tags (#follow4follow, #like4like) and any known flagged tags.
Hashtags go at the end of the caption or in the first comment, never mid-sentence.
Rotate sets per topic; do not hand the user one block to paste forever.

Anti-patterns (skill will refuse)

Outputting 20-30 hashtags.
A "viral hashtag pack" of generic broad tags.
Tags that do not match the post to chase a bigger audience.
Hiding 30 tags behind dots to "look clean".
All-broad sets a small account cannot rank in.

Resources

../../references/hashtag-strategy.md - the full 2026 sizing model and recipe
../../references/algorithm-heuristics.md - why sends and saves, not hashtag feeds, drive reach

Related skills

ig-caption-writer - writes the caption the hashtags attach to
ig-carousel-planner - the carousel whose caption carries the set
ig-content-planner - rotate tag themes across a week

What ships with it: 1 file

2.2 KB alongside SKILL.md

references/

sourcing-tactics.md2.2 KB

Gives 0 of the 12 instructions most docs writing skills give in ~1.0k tokens

Counted across 1,951 of the 3,904 authors here whose files we hold, read 2026-09-06

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Said here and by no other author read

Use two to three niche tags
Use one to two mid-tier tags
Use zero to one broad tag
Ensure every tag describes the actual content
Rotate hashtag sets for every post
Place hashtags at the end of captions or first comment

Grouped from the skills themselves: near-identical wordings counted once, and counted by distinct author, so one author publishing three of these counts once. Length counted with cl100k_base; the agent that loads this file may tokenize it differently.