Meta Ads MCP

Production-grade operational guide for creating, managing, optimizing, and documenting Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ad campaigns via the Facebook Ads MCP. Use whenever the user mentions Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Meta campaign planning, ad budgets/spend, ad audiences (incl. Custom Audiences), retargeting, ad performance, Pixel/CAPI tracking, creative briefs, naming conventions, campaign documentation, or safe MCP-based campaign operations.

Ben Kalsky@benkalsky

Install

openclaw skills install @benkalsky/meta-ads-mcp

Meta Ads MCP — Operational Guide

Scope: How to create, manage, update, pause, and document Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ad campaigns using the Facebook Ads MCP. Covers account setup, campaign architecture, targeting, creative, tracking, retargeting, documentation, and safety guardrails.

Scope & external dependencies

This skill is the operational workflow for Meta Ads MCP (campaigns, budgets, audiences, tracking, documentation). It intentionally hands three things to systems outside its own scope — be aware these cross trust boundaries:

Google Drive — suggested for storing creative assets and per-campaign docs. That is your organization's Drive, not part of this skill; substitute your own asset store if preferred.
facebook-ads skill — full ad-copy generation (variations, headlines, CTAs).
flux-imagegen skill — ad-creative image generation.

Use them as needed, but treat any data leaving Meta Ads MCP (to Drive or another skill) under your own data-handling rules.

How to use this skill

This file is the entrypoint. Detailed playbooks live in references/. Load only the file relevant to the current task:

Task	Reference
Pick the right ad account, build campaign hierarchy, name entities	`references/campaign-architecture.md`
Set budgets, choose cold/warm/hot audiences, apply exclusions	`references/budget-and-audience.md`
Choose ad format, write copy frameworks, generate creative assets	`references/creative-and-copy.md`
Install Pixel/CAPI, define events, build retargeting structure	`references/tracking-and-retargeting.md`
Create campaigns via MCP, monitor KPIs, document decisions	`references/campaign-operations.md`
Run pre-campaign intake before launch	`references/intake-questions.md`
Follow hard safety rules and account-health guardrails	`references/safety-guardrails.md`

Core workflow — always follow this order

Verify the account — ads_get_ad_accounts, ads_get_pages_for_business, ads_get_dataset_details. Never proceed with an unverified pixel or unlinked page.
Run intake — gather goal, audience, creative, budget, timeline, and landing page. Do not invent answers.
Plan structure — pick objective, decide CBO vs ABO, draft 3–5 ad sets and 3–5 ads per set with consistent names.
Create everything PAUSED — campaign → ad set → ad, all with status: PAUSED.
Preview + verify — check pixel attachment, destination URL, ad preview, and naming in Ads Manager UI before activation.
Activate only after approval — flip status to ACTIVE only after the full review is signed off.
Document — log the campaign brief, audiences, creatives, performance, and decisions in the campaign documentation folder.

Non-negotiable safety rules

These are summarized here; full list in references/safety-guardrails.md.

PAUSE, never delete. Deletes destroy historical learning and cannot be reversed.
Always create in PAUSED status. No exceptions.
Never edit budget by more than 20% at once — larger jumps reset the Learning Phase.
Never run a campaign without a verified pixel.
Never touch a campaign in Learning Phase — first 7 days / ~50 events.
Special ad categories must be declared — housing, credit, employment, political/social issues.
Detailed interest targeting was deprecated January 2026. Use Advantage+ Audience or broad targeting + strong creative.

Key MCP tools — quick reference

text

Account & assets:
  ads_get_ad_accounts              list accessible ad accounts
  ads_get_pages_for_business       list pages under a Business Manager
  ads_catalog_get_catalogs         check product catalogs for dynamic ads
  ads_get_dataset_details          verify Pixel/dataset installation
  ads_get_dataset_quality          check Event Match Quality (target 7+/10)

Creation:
  ads_create_campaign              create campaign (always status: PAUSED)
  ads_create_ad_set                create ad set under a campaign
  ads_create_ad                    create ad under an ad set
  ads_activate_entity              flip status; use PAUSED to disable, never delete

Reporting:
  ads_get_ad_entities              pull campaign/ad set/ad performance
  ads_insights_performance_trend   analyze trends over time
  ads_insights_anomaly_signal      detect unusual patterns
  ads_get_opportunity_score        review Meta recommendations

Related skills

facebook-ads — full ad copy generation: copy variations, headlines, CTA options, and visual concepts.
image generation skills — generate ad creatives in 1:1, 4:5, and 9:16 formats.