How to Use Ads Uploader

This guide walks through how Ads Uploader works end to end: media naming, automatic grouping, thumbnails, placements, and using an existing ad as the model for a new launch.

How Ads Uploader Thinks About a Launch

Ads Uploader is easiest to understand as a two-part workflow:

1. Upload the media you want to launch.
2. Tell Ads Uploader how that media should become ads.

In Ads Manager you usually start with campaign and ad set structure. In Ads Uploader you start with media, because a launch begins with a batch of creative assets (videos and images) that you want to turn into ads.

The key idea: Ads Uploader uses your file names to understand which files belong together. Files that share a base name and carry recognized ratio or thumbnail suffixes are grouped into the same ad automatically.

Step 1: Connect Meta and Pick the Account

Sign in, connect your Meta account, then pick the ad account you want to work on from the dropdown.

If you manage multiple client accounts, they all appear in the list. The dropdown is searchable, and you can mark frequently used accounts as favorites in Account > Defaults.

Step 2: Upload Your Media

Upload the creative files you want to launch. This can include videos, images, multiple aspect ratios, and thumbnails. Ads Uploader inspects the file names and groups related assets together before you configure the launch.

How Name Grouping Works

The most important rule: keep the base name identical, then add a suffix for the ratio or thumbnail.

For example, these three files become one ad with three variants:

BlackFriday_Hero_1x1.mp4
BlackFriday_Hero_4x5.mp4
BlackFriday_Hero_9x16.mp4

The shared base name is BlackFriday_Hero. The suffix tells Ads Uploader which aspect ratio each file is.

Good naming pattern: CreativeName_Ratio.filetype, for example BlackFriday_Hero_9x16.mp4.

Avoid changing the base name between variants. If one file is BlackFriday_Hero_1x1.mp4 and another is BlackFriday_Main_9x16.mp4, Ads Uploader treats them as separate ads, because the base names are different.

Supported Ratio Suffixes

You can group up to five ratios on a single ad: 1x1, 4x5, 9x16, 16x9, and 1.91x1. The most common setup is the 1x1, 4x5, and 9x16 trio. That covers the bulk of Meta placements with minimal cropping.

By default, Ads Uploader recognizes an underscore (_) or a hyphen (-) as the separator between the base name and the ratio token. A space is not treated as a separator, so name files like BlackFriday_Hero_9x16.mp4, not BlackFriday Hero 9x16.mp4. You can change the separator in Account > Defaults > Placements. See Aspect Ratio Variations for the full naming guide.

Each Placement Picks the Best Variant

Ads Uploader assigns each media variant to the placement it is best suited for. If the ideal variant is not available for a placement, Ads Uploader uses the next-best fallback automatically.

If you want more control, go to Account > Defaults > Placements. You will see placement rows like Feed, Reels, Stories, Right Column, and Audience Network, with ratio chips in priority order. Drag the chips to change which ratio each placement should prefer.

Thumbnails Work the Same Way

To attach a thumbnail to a video, use the same base name and add _thumbnail to the image file:

Video:     BlackFriday_Hero.mp4
Thumbnail: BlackFriday_Hero_thumbnail.jpg

Drop both files in and Ads Uploader matches them automatically. See Thumbnail Attachment for separator and suffix options.

Why this matters: without name grouping you would upload each video, wait for processing, configure each placement variant, attach each thumbnail manually, and repeat that for every creative. A consistent naming convention turns that into an automatic step. If your designer uses these suffixes from the start, the grouping step mostly disappears.

Step 3: Pick an Existing Ad as the Model

After your media is uploaded, choose an existing ad from the account. Ads Uploader uses that ad as the model for settings like campaign structure, targeting, pixel, exclusions, custom audiences, conversion event, and other configuration. This is how you set up ads from an existing ad.

This is not a global template. It is a way to reuse the setup from an ad that already works in the account you are launching into. Pick an ad that is already configured the way you want the new ads to behave, for example a prospecting ad as the model for a new prospecting launch, or a retargeting ad for a retargeting launch.

Step 4: Save the Setup as a Preset

Once you have picked the model ad, save the setup as a preset. Use a name that clearly describes the account and use case, such as:

Client Name - Prospecting
Client Name - Retargeting
Brand Name - Reels Test

A preset lets you reuse this setup next time without reselecting the same model ad and configuration. See Presets for how a preset's destination follows its model ad.

Step 5: Configure the Ad Sets

Next, decide where the new ads should go. You can launch into an existing ad set, choose how many ads should go into each ad set, split ads by file-name logic, or use the custom builder. The preview table shows how the launch will look before you create the ads.

Tip: if you are unsure, start by launching into the existing ad set the preset was built from. Use splitting when you intentionally want to separate tests by creative, naming logic, or structure.

Step 6: Review and Customize Text

By default, Ads Uploader pulls in the text from the model ad: primary text, headline, description, URL, and URL parameters. You can edit text globally, at the ad-set level, or per ad.

• Use global edits when every ad should share the same copy.
• Use ad-set edits when each group needs different copy.
• Use per-ad edits when one creative needs a specific headline, URL, or parameter.

Step 7: Review Creative Enhancements

Creative enhancement settings are inherited from the model ad by default. If the model ad already has the settings you want, you can leave this step alone. If you need to override anything, toggle individual enhancements on or off before launch.

Step 8: Create the Ads

When the preview looks right, click Create Ads. Ads Uploader sends the new ads directly to the selected Meta ad account using the configuration you reviewed.

Before you launch, check: the selected ad account, grouped media, ad set configuration, ad text, URLs, URL parameters, and creative enhancements.

Quick Troubleshooting

My files did not group together. Check that the base name is identical across files and that each file carries a recognized ratio or thumbnail suffix. The suffix should be the only meaningful difference, and the separator should be an underscore or dash (or whatever you set in Defaults), not a space.

My thumbnail did not attach. Check that the thumbnail uses the same base name as the video and includes _thumbnail in the file name.

The wrong ratio is being used for a placement. Go to Account > Defaults > Placements and adjust the ratio priority for that placement.

I am not sure which existing ad to use as the model. Ideally, choose an ad from a campaign that is already live and set up the way you want. Picture opening Ads Manager, finding the campaign you want to upload more ads into, and picking an existing ad from it. Ads Uploader uses that ad to learn how the new ads should be configured.

Want to Watch a Walkthrough Video?

These videos show the same workflow in a more visual format:

• How to Bulk Launch Meta Ads with Ads Uploader
• Claude Code + Meta Ads: How to Launch Campaigns with the Ads Uploader CLI

Using the CLI?

Ads Uploader also has a CLI built for AI-assisted workflows. It follows the same upload, grouping, configuration, and launch logic as the web application. See CLI Configuration to get started.

Need Help?

Stuck on anything? Email support@adsuploader.com and we will help you sort it.