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:

TaskReferencePick the right ad account, build campaign hierarchy, name entitiesreferences/campaign-architecture.mdSet budgets, choose cold/warm/hot audiences, apply exclusionsreferences/budget-and-audience.mdChoose ad format, write copy frameworks, generate creative assetsreferences/creative-and-copy.mdInstall Pixel/CAPI, define events, build retargeting structurereferences/tracking-and-retargeting.mdCreate campaigns via MCP, monitor KPIs, document decisionsreferences/campaign-operations.mdRun pre-campaign intake before launchreferences/intake-questions.mdFollow hard safety rules and account-health guardrailsreferences/safety-guardrails.md

Core workflow — always follow this order#

1. 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.
2. Run intake — gather goal, audience, creative, budget, timeline, and landing page. Do not invent answers.
3. Plan structure — pick objective, decide CBO vs ABO, draft 3–5 ad sets and 3–5 ads per set with consistent names.
4. Create everything PAUSED — campaign → ad set → ad, all with status: PAUSED.
5. Preview + verify — check pixel attachment, destination URL, ad preview, and naming in Ads Manager UI before activation.
6. Activate only after approval — flip status to ACTIVE only after the full review is signed off.
7. 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.