// HOW-TO · SHORT-FORM

How to use Instagram First Draft to edit a Reel (2026)

How to use Instagram First Draft: select your clips, auto-trim them into a rough-cut Reel, then refine the timeline, add music, and post — step by step.

Last verified · 2026-08-26 · by Moe Ameen

Instagram First Draft, announced August 25, 2026, does the tedious part of making a Reel for you: you hand it your raw clips and it trims the pauses, cuts the dead space, and lays the trimmed pieces onto an editable timeline in under 10 seconds. It is a rough cut, not a finished export — every decision is reversible, so the point is to get past the blank timeline fast and then refine. For anyone who avoids editing software, it removes the single most annoying step of posting a Reel.

This guide walks the feature end to end: where to find it, how to select clips so the auto-cut has something good to work with, what to check the moment it hands you the timeline, and how to finish and post. It also covers the honest boundary — First Draft makes one Reel for Instagram and nothing else — and the fastest way to turn that same footage into posts for every other platform. For the background on what the feature is and is not, see the [Instagram First Draft breakdown](/ai-tools/instagram-first-draft) and the [launch news](/news/instagram-first-draft).

The steps

Update Instagram on your iPhone and gather your clips. First Draft is rolling out on iPhone first, so update to the latest Instagram app and confirm you are on iOS. Have your raw clips ready — several short pieces of the same subject work best, since the tool is built to trim and stitch multiple clips into one Reel. If the feature has not reached your account yet, it is a staged rollout; check again in a few days.
Open First Draft from the camera or the Reels gallery. You can reach First Draft two ways: from the Instagram camera while recording, or from the Reels gallery afterward once you have footage saved. Tap into Reel creation, select multiple clips you want in the edit, and look for the First Draft option. It only earns its keep with more than one clip — a single clip has little for it to trim and arrange.
Tap First Draft and let it auto-trim. With your clips selected, tap First Draft. Instagram analyzes the footage, cuts silent pauses and dead space, and assembles the trimmed clips onto a timeline — a first pass it produces in under 10 seconds. In one Instagram example it condensed nearly five minutes of footage into a roughly 17-second Reel, so expect it to be aggressive about tightening.
Review the auto-assembled timeline before touching anything. Watch the rough cut through once. First Draft is good at removing dead air, but it does not know which moment is your hook or what your story is, so check that the opening lands, the order makes sense, and it has not trimmed a beat you needed. Treat this pass as a diagnosis: note what to fix, then fix it in the next steps.
Reorder clips and adjust the cuts. Every cut is reversible, so drag clips into the right order and trim or extend individual cuts on the timeline. The most common fix is moving your strongest moment to the front — a Reel is won or lost in the first second, and an auto-cut arranges clips chronologically, not by hook strength. Lengthen anything it clipped too tight and tighten anything that drags.
Add music, text, and captions. Layer in a track from Instagram's music library and any on-screen text or stickers. Add captions here too — First Draft trims and arranges footage but does not burn in synced captions for the sound-off feed, so use Instagram's captions sticker or add text overlays yourself. Most people scroll muted, so a Reel without on-screen words reaches far fewer of them.
Do a final pacing and hook check. Play the whole thing once more at full speed. Confirm the first frame stops the scroll, the pacing stays tight, the captions are accurate (check names and terms), and the music hits with the cuts. This is the judgment First Draft cannot do for you — it assembled the clips; you decide whether the result is actually good.
Post to Instagram — and plan the rest of the footage. Add your caption and cover, then share the Reel. Remember the boundary: First Draft has made one Reel for Instagram only. The same footage still needs reframing and re-captioning for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and anywhere else you post — which is the manual grind First Draft does not touch. The next section is how to remove that grind.

Common gotchas

It is iPhone-only at launch — Android and desktop editors do not get it yet.
It is a rough draft, not a final edit. Pacing, hook order, and brand styling are still your job.
It does not burn in synced captions for the sound-off feed automatically; add them yourself.
It arranges clips chronologically, not by hook strength — you usually have to move your best moment to the front.
It can over-trim. Watch for a needed pause or beat it cut, and extend it back on the timeline.
It makes one Reel for Instagram only — no reframing, per-platform caption, or other format for anywhere else.
It edits footage you shot; it cannot generate video you did not film.

Where Kompozy fits

First Draft solves the first 10 seconds of making a Reel and stops there: you get one polished video for one platform. The work it does not touch is the part that actually eats your week — taking that same footage and rebuilding it as a TikTok with its own hook, a YouTube Short with its own caption, a LinkedIn clip, a carousel, and everything else you post. That re-cut-and-re-caption-for-every-platform grind is exactly what [Kompozy](/) removes. Drop the raw footage — or the Reel First Draft just assembled — into Kompozy as a source, and its [Clipped Shorts](/glossary/content-repurposing) cut it into several separate vertical hooks with accurate burned-in captions, each reframed to 9:16, 1:1, or 16:9 for the platform it is headed to. The captioning step you had to do by hand in First Draft is automatic here, across every clip.

Because Kompozy is a full generation and publishing engine, one shoot does not stop at video. The same source becomes a brand-exact [Carousel](/glossary/hyperframes), a [Persona Short](/glossary/persona-shorts) where a face-locked avatar re-delivers the message, quote graphics, a blog write-up, and an email newsletter, all held to one voice by a [Persona Brief](/glossary/persona-brief) so nothing reads like generic filler. Then [Autopilot](/glossary/autopilot) spaces and schedules the whole set across the eight social platforms plus blog and email, with a per-post review gate where you sharpen a hook or fix a name before anything ships.

The honest boundary: Kompozy does not give you an in-app timeline to nudge frame by frame, and it will not decide which moment of your footage is the one worth leading with — that editorial judgment, and the fast in-app trim, are where First Draft is the right tool. What Kompozy removes is the mechanical repetition of turning every Reel into a full, captioned, on-brand, cross-platform post set on a cadence. Creator ($49/mo for 2,500 credits) fits a solo creator turning each shoot into a week of posts; Pro ($299/mo for 18,000 credits) suits a team or agency running many accounts across platforms; Enterprise is custom.

Frequently asked questions

What is Instagram First Draft?

First Draft is an Instagram editing feature announced August 25, 2026 that automatically assembles a rough cut of a Reel from your selected clips. It trims pauses and dead space and lays the clips onto an editable timeline in under 10 seconds, leaving every cut reversible before you post. It is rolling out on iPhone first.

How do I access First Draft?

Select multiple clips — from the Instagram camera while recording, or from the Reels gallery afterward — and tap the First Draft option in Reel creation. It works best with more than one clip. If you do not see it yet, it is a staged rollout on iPhone first, so check again in a few days.

Does First Draft use AI?

Instagram has not branded First Draft as an AI feature; reporting indicates Meta classifies the technology as machine learning. In practice it is automated editing — smart trimming and assembly of footage you shot — not a generative model that creates new video.

Can I undo what First Draft did?

Yes. Everything First Draft does is reversible. Once it hands you the timeline you can reorder clips, adjust or undo individual cuts, add music, and keep editing before anything posts. It is a starting point, not a locked export.

Does First Draft post to TikTok or YouTube Shorts too?

No. First Draft makes one Reel for Instagram and publishes only there. It does not reframe the video for TikTok or YouTube Shorts, write a per-platform caption, or schedule across channels. Turning one piece of footage into posts everywhere is a separate, cross-platform job.