# Instagram Reel Scraper (`bornoo/instagram-reel-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Instagram Reels by URL and extract key data including video links, captions, view counts, likes, comments, and author details. Supports proxy rotation for reliable access, batch processing of multiple reel URLs, and structured JSON output ready for export or integration.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/bornoo/instagram-reel-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Biddut Hossain](https://apify.com/bornoo) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Agents, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Reel Scraper

Scrape Instagram Reels by URL and extract key data, including video links, captions, view counts, likes, comments, and author details. Supports proxy rotation for reliable access, batch processing of multiple reel URLs, and delivers clean, structured JSON output ready for export or integration.

### What does Instagram Reel Scraper do?

This Actor takes a list of Instagram Reel URLs and attempts to extract structured metadata from each one, such as:

- Video URL
- Caption text
- View count
- Like count
- Comment count
- Author username

Results are pushed to the Actor's default **Dataset**, which you can export as JSON, CSV, Excel, or via the API.

### Input

| Field | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| `reelUrls` | Array of strings | List of Instagram Reel URLs to scrape (e.g. `https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXXXX/`) | — (required) |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Object | Apify Proxy configuration. Residential proxies are recommended to avoid IP blocking by Instagram. | `{ "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] }` |
| `maxRequestRetries` | Integer | Max retries for a failed request before giving up on that URL | `3` |
| `requestTimeoutSecs` | Integer | Timeout in seconds for each HTTP request | `30` |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "reelUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5xk9pLtN2a/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6zT1qWvR8x/"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  },
  "maxRequestRetries": 3,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30
}
```

### Output

Each scraped reel produces one record in the dataset.

**On success:**

```json
{
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5xk9pLtN2a/",
  "raw_length": 187234,
  "extracted": {
    "shortcode": "C5xk9pLtN2a",
    "caption": "Sample caption text...",
    "video_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/...",
    "like_count": 15234,
    "comment_count": 342,
    "view_count": 98211,
    "owner_username": "example_user"
  }
}
```

**On parse failure (Instagram changed markup or requires login):**

```json
{
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6zT1qWvR8x/",
  "raw_length": 45210,
  "extracted": "Could not parse — may need login/proxy"
}
```

**On request failure:**

```json
{
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6zT1qWvR8x/",
  "error": "Timeout after 30s"
}
```

### Notes & limitations

- Instagram frequently changes its page structure and actively blocks anonymous/unauthenticated scraping. Residential proxies are strongly recommended.
- Some reels may only return partial data or fail to parse without an authenticated session.
- This Actor does not log in to Instagram and does not store or require Instagram credentials.

### Support

For issues or feature requests, open an issue on the Actor's Apify Store page or contact the Actor's author.

# Actor input Schema

## `reelUrls` (type: `array`):

List of Instagram Reel URLs to scrape (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXXXX/)

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Configure Apify Proxy to avoid IP blocking by Instagram. Residential proxies are recommended for best reliability.

## `maxRequestRetries` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of retries for a failed request before giving up on that URL.

## `requestTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Timeout in seconds for each HTTP request to Instagram.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "reelUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXXXX/"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  },
  "maxRequestRetries": 3,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30
}
```

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "reelUrls": [
        "https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXXXX/"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("bornoo/instagram-reel-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "reelUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXXXX/"],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("bornoo/instagram-reel-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 '{
  "reelUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXXXX/"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call bornoo/instagram-reel-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=bornoo/instagram-reel-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/hoGCwCcjuLrfkvPCG/builds/92DghVhTNzuggwroc/openapi.json