Comments endpoint returns empty data[] despite comments_count>0 (Instagram Login token)

[juliocsg54]

What Happened?

getRecentMediaComments always returns an empty data: [] array for a specific media, even though the media's own comments_count field reports a non-zero count. Confirmed with direct raw fetch calls to the Graph API, bypassing the app's wrapper entirely.

Steps To Reproduce

1. Connect an Instagram professional account via Instagram Login (provider: META), with a Facebook Page linked to the IG account. App in Development mode, commenting test account added as Instagram Tester with accepted invite.
2. GET https://graph.instagram.com/v21.0/{media_id}?fields=id,permalink,caption,media_type,comments_count → 200 OK, confirms correct media (permalink matches the real post), media_type: "CAROUSEL_ALBUM", comments_count: 8.
3. GET https://graph.instagram.com/v21.0/{media_id}/comments?fields=id,text,timestamp,from,replies{from}&order=reverse_chronological&limit=50 → 200 OK, {"data":[],"paging":{"cursors":{"before":"...","after":"..."}}} — empty data despite non-empty cursors.
4. Same result with order and replies{from} removed from the query, and when querying the carousel's children (two IMAGE items) directly.
5. Comment was posted after the campaign was created, by an account with an accepted Instagram Tester invite, well within the 72h lookback window, and is still visible on the post when checked manually on instagram.com.

Expected Behavior

The comments endpoint should return the 8 comments the media itself reports having.

Actual Behavior

data: [] every time, regardless of query params, on both the album parent and its children media IDs.

What this rules out

• Wrong media ID (confirmed correct via permalink)
• Token decryption / ENCRYPTION_KEY mismatch (confirmed OK)
• Instagram Tester invite not accepted (confirmed accepted)
• Instagram's Hidden Words / comment filter (confirmed disabled on the account)
• Carousel-specific comment location (tried both album parent and children)
• Missing Facebook Page link (the IG account has a Page linked)

Environment

• OS: N/A (server-side, Railway container, Node/tsx)
• Node version: (whatever node -e "console.log(process.version)" returns, can add if needed)
• Database: Postgres (Neon)
• Account: Instagram professional account, Instagram Login, Facebook Page linked, app in Development mode

[juliocsg54]

Resolved

Root cause found: the app was still in Development mode. Publishing it (Meta for Developers → Publish) fixed everything immediately — the comments endpoint started returning real data on the very next call, no other change needed.

So it turns out Development mode in this "Instagram API with Instagram Login" product blocks more than just real webhook delivery (already documented in this repo's setup guide) — it also silently blocks reading comments via the Graph API. No error, no rate-limit response, just data: [] forever, regardless of media type, permissions, or token freshness. Ruled out along the way, for anyone hitting the same wall: media ID, token decryption, Instagram Tester status, Hidden Words filter, carousel vs single-image media, and Facebook Page linkage — none of those were the issue.

Might be worth a line in docs/setup.md's troubleshooting section, since this one's easy to miss if your app happens to pass all the Development-mode testing steps and you only invite testers instead of publishing.

Thanks for the project — closing this out.