# Carousel flow (/docs/carousel-flow)



A carousel flow is a carousel DM where each card's buttons can open a link or **another carousel**. People tap through your offers right inside the chat: a first carousel of categories, then the products in the one they picked, then the details. Growth and up.

It sits next to the regular **Carousel** format. Use Carousel for one set of cards with one link each, and Carousel flow when you want people to browse.

## Build one [#build-one]

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Create or edit an automation and open the 

    **DM**

     step.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Pick 

    **Inline message**

    , then the 

    **Carousel flow**

     format.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    On the board, tap a card to edit it. 

    **Cover**

    : the card title, an image (upload or paste an https link) and an optional subtitle. 

    **Buttons**

    : up to 3 per card.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    For each button, choose 

    **Open a link**

     and paste the link, or 

    **Next carousel**

    . Next carousel adds a new carousel to the board under that card. Tap it and fill in its cards the same way.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Use 

    **Add card**

     on any carousel for more cards, up to 10 per carousel. Drag cards to reorder them.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Next stays locked until every card on every carousel has a title, an image and a working button.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Limits [#limits]

* Up to **10 cards** per carousel and **3 buttons** per card, Instagram's limits.
* Up to **3 carousels deep**: the first carousel, then two more levels. Buttons on the third level can only open links.
* Each Next carousel button opens its own carousel. Removing the button, or the card it is on, removes that carousel and everything under it.
* The board's **Tidy** button lines the carousels up again after you drag them around.

## What people see [#what-people-see]

The first carousel arrives as your DM, after the welcome, follow check and questions you turned on in [DM funnel and audience](/docs/dm-and-audience). When someone taps a Next carousel button, the next carousel arrives in the chat right away. Earlier carousels stay in the chat, and their buttons keep working.

Every link is tracked like any other DM link, so opens show on the automation page. Each button on a card gets its own link. The unopened-link follow-up works as usual when the flow has links.

## Plans [#plans]

Carousel flow is on Growth, Pro and Scale. On Free and Starter the format shows Growth+ and Upgrade needed. If you move to a plan without it, the automation keeps sending its first carousel with one card, and Next carousel buttons stop opening more carousels until you upgrade.

## Related [#related]

* [DM funnel and audience](/docs/dm-and-audience)
* [Post and Reel automations](/docs/post-reel)
* [Edit an automation](/docs/edit-automation)