Guides
Connect a Meta ad account with a system user token
· updated November 11, 2026 · 3 min read
Runads works through the Marketing API and needs one access token. This guide covers the connection itself. To make the token, see create a Meta app and a system user token.
Paste the token
In the simple mode the Connection block is at the top of the page. In the advanced mode it is the Setup step. Paste the token and click Connect. The server checks the token with one request to the Graph API.
Connecting a real account ends the demo. The demo draft is removed, and so are the sample texts, link and brief that you did not change.
Choose the ad account
If the token has one ad account, it is chosen. If it has several, none is chosen for you:
- the simple mode shows them in the Ad account list;
- the advanced mode shows a table with the name, ID, currency and status of each. Click Open next to the one to work in.
The status of the account decides what the builder allows:
| Status | The builder |
|---|---|
| Active | publishes |
| Disabled, pending closure, closed | blocks publishing and names the status |
| Any other status | warns and lets you try |
| No payment method | warns: Meta creates campaigns and ad sets, then refuses the ads |
If the list is empty, the system user has no access to an ad account.
Choose the page and the rest
- Facebook page. The list holds the first 100 pages on which the token may create ads. One page is chosen at once; with several pages you choose. If the list is empty, assign the page to the system user again.
- Pixel. Needed for sales and for leads on a website. Traffic and awareness work without one.
- Instagram account. Choose an account of the ad account, the page’s own Instagram account, or Use the Facebook page. An account marked no access from this ad account makes Meta refuse the ads: assign the ad account to it in Meta Business settings.
Ad sets with EU countries also need two names of the advertiser: see EU ads: beneficiary and payor.
The session
The session lives one hour from the first connection. A warning appears when less than 15 minutes are left. When the session ends, the builder says so and keeps the draft, the files and your choices in the tab. Paste the token again to continue, and connect the model again.
Disconnect
Disconnect deletes the cookie with the token and the model key. It does not revoke the token. To revoke it, invalidate the tokens of the system user in Meta Business settings.
Next: connect a model and upload creatives.