# Instagram Story Scraper 📸 (`api-empire/instagram-story-scraper`) Actor 📸 Instagram Story Scraper helps you efficiently collect Instagram Story data for insights, marketing & competitor research. 🔎 Save time, streamline workflows, and boost decision-making. 🚀✨ Perfect for analysts & creators. - **URL**: https://apify.com/api-empire/instagram-story-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [API Empire](https://apify.com/api-empire) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Lead generation, Automation - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $4.99 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## 📸 Instagram Story Scraper Pull **live (24-hour) Instagram stories** for any public profile and get back the **full, structured story payload** — video & image versions, music, stickers, links, mentions, engagement flags, and optional **on-image caption text (OCR)**. Feed it bare usernames, `@handles`, or full profile URLs in bulk and watch results stream into your dataset in real time. --- ### ✨ Why Choose This Actor? - 🧱 **Complete data** — nothing stripped. Every field Instagram returns for a story is preserved, in a clean canonical order. - 👤 **Any input format** — `natgeo`, `@kyliejenner`, `instagram.com/taylorswift`, or `https://www.instagram.com/therock/`. Mix and match, in bulk. - 🛡️ **Self-healing proxy ladder** — starts direct, auto-escalates to datacenter, then a **sticky residential** proxy only when needed. Clear logs at every step. - 📝 **OCR captions** — optionally reads text burned into the story frame (titles, stickers, mentions) into `extractedCaption`. - 💾 **Live saving** — each story is pushed the moment it's ready, so a partial run never loses data. - 🗂️ **Six ready-made table views** — slice results by Media, Images, Music, Stickers, Engagement, or a quick Overview. --- ### 🔑 Key Features | Feature | Description | |--------|-------------| | 📋 Bulk input | Scrape many profiles in one run | | 🎬 Full media | `video_versions`, `video_dash_manifest`, codecs, qualities, dimensions | | 🖼️ Image versions | Every cover-frame candidate resolution | | 🎵 Music | `music_metadata` enriched from story music stickers | | 🔗 Stickers & links | Link stickers, feed-media stickers, mentions, reshares | | ⏱️ CDN expiry enrichment | Fills `url_expiration_timestamp_us` from CDN `oe=` when missing | | 📝 OCR caption | Optional `extractedCaption` per story | --- ### 📥 Input | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | `usernames` | array | ✅ | Usernames or profile URLs (bulk). | | `sessionId` | string | ✅ | Your Instagram `sessionid` cookie (stories are login-gated). | | `extractCaptionText` | boolean | ➖ | Enable OCR caption extraction. Default `false`. | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | ➖ | Proxy settings. Default: direct with auto-fallback. | #### Example ```json { "usernames": ["therock", "@kyliejenner", "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/"], "sessionId": "REDACTED_SESSIONID_COOKIE", "extractCaptionText": false, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ```` > 🍪 **Where to get `sessionId`:** Log into Instagram in your browser → DevTools → **Application → Cookies → instagram.com → `sessionid`**. Treat it like a password. *** ### 📤 Output Each dataset item is one story with the full Instagram payload. Abridged example: ```json { "scraped_username": "therock", "id": "3920998746292350747_232192182", "pk": "3920998746292350747", "code": "DZqL5Xdge8b", "taken_at": 1781637893, "expiring_at": 1781724293, "media_type": 2, "product_type": "story", "video_duration": 60.04, "has_audio": true, "video_versions": [{ "width": 720, "height": 1280, "url": "https://…" }], "image_versions2": { "candidates": [{ "width": 1080, "height": 1920, "url": "https://…" }] }, "music_metadata": { "music_asset_info": { "audio_asset_id": "18121840837670133" } }, "story_link_stickers": [{ "story_link": { "url": "https://…" } }], "extractedCaption": "" } ``` #### 🗂️ Dataset views | View | Shows | |------|-------| | 🗂️ Overview | IDs, type, timestamps, duration, OCR caption | | 🎬 Media & Video | Codecs, qualities, dimensions, video versions | | 🖼️ Image Versions | All cover-frame candidates | | 🎵 Music | Music metadata & music stickers | | 🔗 Stickers, Links & Mentions | Link stickers, feed media, mentions, reshares | | 💬 Engagement & Flags | Like/reply/reshare/save flags, paid partnership | *** ### 🚀 How to Use (Apify Console) 1. Log in at → **Actors**. 2. Open **Instagram Story Scraper**. 3. Paste usernames / URLs, add your `sessionId`, choose proxy & OCR options. 4. Click **Start**. 5. Watch the logs stream live story collection. 6. Open the **Output** tab and switch between the six section views. 7. Export to JSON / CSV / XLSX. *** ### 🤖 Use via API ```bash curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts//run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "usernames": ["therock", "@kyliejenner"], "sessionId": "YOUR_SESSIONID", "extractCaptionText": false }' ``` *** ### 🎯 Best Use Cases - 📈 Monitor competitor / influencer story activity - 🗞️ Archive brand & creator stories before they expire - 🔗 Track link stickers, promos, and product drops - 🎵 Analyze trending audio usage in stories *** ### 💸 Pricing This actor uses **pay-per-event**: you're charged per story successfully delivered to your dataset (`story-result`). Profiles with no live stories cost nothing beyond the run start. The optional OCR step runs on Apify compute and is included in the run usage. *** ### ❓ FAQ **Do I need a session cookie?** Yes — stories are only visible to logged-in viewers, so a valid `sessionid` is required. **What if a profile has no active stories?** You'll see a friendly "no live stories" log line and no items for that profile — no charge. **Will I get blocked?** The actor starts direct and only escalates to datacenter then sticky residential proxies when Instagram pushes back, with backoff retries. For heavy use, enable Apify Proxy. **Why is `pk` sometimes huge?** It's Instagram's numeric primary key, returned as-is. *** ### ⚖️ Legal & Compliance - Data is collected only from **publicly available** profiles you have the right to view. - Do not scrape private accounts or content you aren't authorized to access. - You are responsible for compliance with GDPR, CCPA, Instagram's ToS, and local laws. *** ### 🛟 Support & Feedback Found a bug or want a new field exposed? Open an issue on the actor's **Issues** tab — real answers, fast. # Actor input Schema ## `usernames` (type: `array`): 📋 One or more Instagram usernames or profile URLs to pull stories from. Any format works — bare handle (natgeo), @handle (@kyliejenner), or full URL (https://www.instagram.com/therock/). Supports bulk input. ## `sessionId` (type: `string`): 🍪 Your Instagram `sessionid` cookie value. Stories are private to logged-in viewers, so a valid session is required. Get it from your browser DevTools → Application → Cookies → instagram.com → `sessionid`. Keep it secret — treat it like a password. ## `extractCaptionText` (type: `boolean`): 🤖 When enabled, reads visible text burned into each story frame (titles, stickers, mentions) into the `extractedCaption` field using OCR. Adds a little extra processing per story. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): 🌐 Proxy settings. By default the actor runs direct (no proxy) and only falls back to a datacenter — then a sticky residential — proxy if Instagram pushes back. Leave off for the smart auto-ladder, or pin a specific group here. ## Actor input object example ```json { "usernames": [ "therock", "@kyliejenner" ], "extractCaptionText": false, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "usernames": [ "zuck", "https://www.instagram.com/therock/", "instagram.com/taylorswift", "@kyliejenner", "http://instagram.com/natgeo" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("api-empire/instagram-story-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "usernames": [ "zuck", "https://www.instagram.com/therock/", "instagram.com/taylorswift", "@kyliejenner", "http://instagram.com/natgeo", ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("api-empire/instagram-story-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "usernames": [ "zuck", "https://www.instagram.com/therock/", "instagram.com/taylorswift", "@kyliejenner", "http://instagram.com/natgeo" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }' | apify call api-empire/instagram-story-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=api-empire/instagram-story-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Instagram Story Scraper 📸", "description": "📸 Instagram Story Scraper helps you efficiently collect Instagram Story data for insights, marketing & competitor research. 🔎 Save time, streamline workflows, and boost decision-making. 🚀✨ Perfect for analysts & creators.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "KvRYPifCu8BJvl3dN" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/api-empire~instagram-story-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-api-empire-instagram-story-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/api-empire~instagram-story-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-api-empire-instagram-story-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/api-empire~instagram-story-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-api-empire-instagram-story-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "usernames", "sessionId" ], "properties": { "usernames": { "title": "👤 Usernames or Profile URLs", "minItems": 1, "type": "array", "description": "📋 One or more Instagram usernames or profile URLs to pull stories from. Any format works — bare handle (natgeo), @handle (@kyliejenner), or full URL (https://www.instagram.com/therock/). Supports bulk input.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "sessionId": { "title": "🔑 Instagram Session ID", "type": "string", "description": "🍪 Your Instagram `sessionid` cookie value. Stories are private to logged-in viewers, so a valid session is required. Get it from your browser DevTools → Application → Cookies → instagram.com → `sessionid`. Keep it secret — treat it like a password." }, "extractCaptionText": { "title": "📝 Extract On-Image Caption Text (OCR)", "type": "boolean", "description": "🤖 When enabled, reads visible text burned into each story frame (titles, stickers, mentions) into the `extractedCaption` field using OCR. Adds a little extra processing per story.", "default": false }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "🛡️ Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "🌐 Proxy settings. By default the actor runs direct (no proxy) and only falls back to a datacenter — then a sticky residential — proxy if Instagram pushes back. Leave off for the smart auto-ladder, or pin a specific group here.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": false } } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```