Stack · Published 2026-05-29 · 4 min read
Working with Meta through Claude Code
Claude Code works with the Meta ad account directly. Let us look at three tools: the Graph API, Meta Ads MCP and Pipeboard.
MCP versus API — what the difference is
An API is a command. Claude Code sends a request to Meta and gets an answer back. MCP is a standing connection: Claude Code sees every tool the service exposes and calls them in a chain, keeping context between the steps.
For us as users it does not matter very much whether it is MCP or API. But MCP is slightly smarter, and when you are working with Meta, safety matters — MCP is safer here. MCP will not do something insane like a thousand requests in a minute. Claude Code plus the Graph API can do anything insane you like.
Meta Graph API. Type: API
Drawbacks.
- It can do something insane
Before you start you have to give Claude Code the context of the project. Without that preparation Claude Code will start firing requests at Meta — dozens or hundreds a minute. It is better to use Claude extensions such as superpowers to tell it in advance that you do not want a large number of requests.
- It requires an access token
Not very hard, but you have to create an app on developers.facebook.com. Inconvenient for buyers working with rented accounts. Update: Roman pointed out nicely in the comments that an access token also requires business verification.
Advantages.
- It can do everything
Meta Ads MCP. Type: MCP
Meta's own official solution. Public beta since April 2026.
Drawbacks.
- Video upload: no
Formally it is there, but the videos do not fit into the MCP context — base64 and so on.
Advantages.
- Free, and needs no access tokens
- Once it leaves beta we will be able to use it in Claude on the web
Pipeboard. Type: MCP, third party
Drawbacks.
- Video upload: no
- Paid
Advantages.
- Needs no access tokens
Scenario 1: analytics
Meta Ads MCP and Pipeboard. Both give you campaign, ad set and creative data with no extra setup. The Graph API copes too, but needs preparation: without limits Claude Code sends far too many requests, so the boundaries have to be set in advance.
Scenario 2: uploading creatives
Through the Graph API. An example: my Claude Code is connected to Google Drive. It picks the creatives up from the drive itself and creates the campaigns in Meta. The process is fully automatic and safe.
The hybrid approach
In practice the tools work together. A real case: I am currently on a project with a long history, where the team has already tested thousands of creatives over several years.
Step 1. Prompt: "show me the top performers across all campaigns, lifetime". That is analytics, and it goes through MCP. Step 2. Prompt: "launch a separate campaign called top performers out of them". That is an upload, and it goes through the Graph API.
Hybrid scenarios like this are where Claude Code really opens up. A task like that used to take days. With the infrastructure prepared, it takes 20 minutes.
Claude Code is fast, but most of the time — in my case — goes on doubt and worry along the lines of "this is a bit scary, that is an awful lot of stuff, maybe we should not". So the performance boost comes through getting past your own fears and prejudices.
In short
- Analytics: Meta Ads MCP or Pipeboard
- Video upload: Graph API
- Best approach: hybrid — MCP for data and images, API for video and the complicated scenarios
In the AI module of User Acquisition I go through setting up each tool from scratch: from getting the tokens to the first campaign created through Claude Code. The module can be bought on its own.
Write to me by direct message: @SiberianPaaanda