# Instagram Post Scraper (`crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper`) Actor Scrape public Instagram posts, reels, IGTV and carousel posts from direct URLs with no login, no cookies, no browser required. Supply a list of Instagram links and receive a structured dataset with author details, caption, media URLs, engagement counts, publish date, music, location, and more. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Automation, Developer tools - **Stats:** 7 total users, 5 monthly users, 94.1% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.50 / 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. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. 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 Post Scraper Scrape public Instagram posts, reels, IGTV and carousel posts from direct URLs — no login, no cookies, no browser required. Supply a list of Instagram links (`/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, `/tv/`, or the canonical `username/p/shortcode` format) and receive a structured dataset with author details, caption, media URLs, engagement counts, publish date, music, location, and more. Handles batches of 10,000 URLs per run with per-IP proxy rotation that keeps pace fast even under rate limiting. ### What this actor does - **Scrape posts by URL** — accepts any mix of `/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, `/tv/`, and canonical `username/p/shortcode` links in a single run - **Full media extraction** — returns direct CDN URLs for every photo, video, reel and carousel item, including per-item resolution and duration - **Rich author data** — username, display name, verified status, follower count, post count, and profile picture URL - **Engagement metrics** — like count, comment count, play count, video duration, and whether likes are publicly hidden - **Captions, hashtags, and mentions** — caption text parsed with hashtags and @mentions extracted as separate arrays - **Location and music** — tagged location (name, coordinates) and reel music (artist, title, audio ID) when present - **Status tracking** — every input URL produces a record; inaccessible, deleted, age-restricted, and invalid URLs each carry a clear `status` value so no URL is silently lost - **Scale without blocks** — per-IP cooldown with exponential back-off, automatic slot recycling, and UUID-prefixed sessions that guarantee fresh IPs on every run ### Output per post record **Always present** - `status` — scrape outcome: `success`, `not_found`, `invalid_url`, `error`, or `blocked` (see Status values section below) - `post_url` — full Instagram post URL (`https://www.instagram.com/p/{shortcode}/`) - `shortcode` — the post's unique shortcode identifier - `scraped_at` — ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was scraped - `hashtags` — array of hashtags found in the caption (empty array `[]` when none) - `mentions` — array of @mentioned usernames in the caption (empty array when none) - `tagged_users` — array of usernames tagged in the post media (empty array when none) - `collaborators` — array of co-author usernames (empty array when none) - `caption` — full caption text (empty string `""` when there is no caption) - `likes_hidden` — `true` if the author has hidden like counts, `false` otherwise - `comments_disabled` — `true` if comments are turned off on the post, `false` otherwise **Present on successfully scraped posts (`status: success`)** - `post_id` — Instagram's internal numeric post ID - `username` — author's Instagram username - `full_name` — author's display name - `owner_id` — author's numeric account ID - `profile_url` — full URL to the author's Instagram profile - `is_verified` — `true` if the author has a verified badge - `owner_profile_pic_url` — CDN URL of the author's profile picture - `owner_is_business` — `true` if the account is a business account - `owner_followers` — author's follower count - `owner_post_count` — total number of posts on the author's profile - `pub_date` — ISO 8601 publish timestamp - `media_type` — one of `Photo`, `Video`, `Reel`, `IGTV`, or `Carousel` - `media_count` — number of media items (always `1` except for carousels) - `media_urls` — array of direct CDN URLs for each media item - `thumbnail_url` — CDN URL of the post thumbnail image - `like_count` — number of likes (`null` when `likes_hidden` is `true`) - `comment_count` — number of comments - `media_items` — array of per-item objects, each with `index`, `type`, `url`, `width`, `height`. Single-item array for photos, videos, reels, and IGTV; multi-item array for carousels. Video items also include `duration` and `has_audio` - `dimensions` — `{width, height}` object of the primary media item **Present only for video, reel, and IGTV posts** - `play_count` — total view / play count - `video_duration` — duration in seconds (float) - `has_audio` — `true` if the video has an audio track **Present only when location is tagged** - `location` — object with `name`, `id`, `slug`, `lat`, `lng` **Present only for reels with music attribution** - `music` — object with `artist`, `title`, `audio_id`, `is_trending` **Present only for paid partnerships** - `sponsor_tags` — array of sponsor usernames - `is_paid_partnership` — `true` if the post is a paid partnership **Present only for posts with accessibility captions** - `accessibility_caption` — auto-generated accessibility description of the image ### Status values Every input URL — whether valid or not — produces exactly one output record with a `status` field: | Status | Meaning | |---|---| | `success` | Post scraped successfully; all fields populated | | `not_found` | Post is deleted, made private, or requires login to view (includes age-restricted content) | | `invalid_url` | The URL is not a recognisable Instagram post link | | `error` | Unexpected failure after all retry attempts | | `blocked` | All proxy IPs were exhausted before the post could be fetched | #### Age-restricted content Instagram age-gates some posts (alcohol brands, adult content) at the API level. Without a logged-in session the anonymous endpoint returns a not-found response for these posts — they appear with `status: "not_found"` rather than raising an error. This is a server-side restriction; no workaround exists without authentication. ### Input | Field | Type | Required | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `post_urls` | array | yes | Instagram post, reel, or IGTV URLs. Accepts `/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, `/tv/`, and `username/p/shortcode` formats. Duplicates are silently de-duplicated. Up to 10,000 URLs per run | #### Example: scrape a single post ```json { "post_urls": [ "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/" ] } ```` #### Example: mixed batch of posts, reels, and canonical URLs ```json { "post_urls": [ "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/", "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9uzjsSpHJC/", "https://www.instagram.com/leomessi/p/DZifppZj_cB/", "https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQa7HaGlRPD/" ] } ``` #### Example: large batch ```json { "post_urls": [ "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/", "... (up to 10,000 URLs)" ] } ``` ### Example output ```json { "status": "success", "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/", "shortcode": "DUtk38cj2TA", "post_id": "3672810928374650123", "username": "natgeo", "full_name": "National Geographic", "owner_id": "787132", "profile_url": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/", "is_verified": true, "owner_profile_pic_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...", "owner_is_business": false, "owner_followers": 284000000, "owner_post_count": 32400, "caption": "The ancient forest at dawn. #nature #wildlife #photography", "hashtags": ["nature", "wildlife", "photography"], "mentions": [], "pub_date": "2025-11-12T08:30:00+00:00", "media_type": "Photo", "media_count": 1, "media_urls": ["https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...jpg"], "media_items": [ { "index": 1, "type": "Photo", "url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1350 } ], "thumbnail_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...jpg", "dimensions": { "width": 1080, "height": 1350 }, "like_count": 482910, "comment_count": 3204, "likes_hidden": false, "comments_disabled": false, "tagged_users": [], "collaborators": [], "is_paid_partnership": false, "scraped_at": "2025-11-12T09:14:33.421000+00:00" } ``` Records for inaccessible or invalid URLs look like this: ```json { "status": "not_found", "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DELETED123/", "shortcode": "DELETED123", "scraped_at": "..." } { "status": "invalid_url", "post_url": "https://www.google.com/", "scraped_at": "..." } ``` ### Age-restricted and private content Instagram does not expose age-gated content through its anonymous API. Posts from accounts that require age verification (alcohol brands, adult content) return `status: "not_found"` rather than producing a data record. Private account posts behave the same way. This is a server-side restriction enforced by Instagram and cannot be bypassed without authenticated session cookies. | Content type | `status` | Data returned | |---|---|---| | Public post | `success` | All fields | | Deleted post | `not_found` | `post_url`, `shortcode`, `scraped_at` | | Private post | `not_found` | `post_url`, `shortcode`, `scraped_at` | | Age-restricted post | `not_found` | `post_url`, `shortcode`, `scraped_at` | | Invalid URL format | `invalid_url` | `post_url`, `scraped_at` | ### Use cases - **Competitor content analysis** — track post frequency, engagement rates, media types and captions across competitor accounts to benchmark your own content strategy - **Influencer vetting** — verify follower counts, engagement ratios and posting history before signing a partnership deal - **Brand monitoring** — collect all posts tagged with your brand name or product from any source URL and feed them into a monitoring dashboard - **Social media archiving** — create a permanent structured archive of a campaign's posts before content is deleted or made private - **Research and journalism** — gather public post metadata at scale for academic studies on misinformation, trends, or audience behaviour - **Content repurposing** — extract caption text and media URLs from your own posts to migrate or republish content across platforms - **Hashtag performance tracking** — scrape posts sharing a known hashtag to measure reach and identify top-performing formats - **E-commerce product research** — collect posts from brand accounts to analyse product launches, promotions and customer response ### FAQ **Do I need an Instagram account or cookies to use this actor?** No. This actor scrapes public posts anonymously without any login, cookies, or account credentials. No authentication is required for publicly accessible content. **Why do some posts return `status: "not_found"`?** A `not_found` status means Instagram's API returned no data for that URL. This happens when a post has been deleted, made private, or when the post is from an age-restricted account (such as alcohol brands or accounts requiring age verification). These are server-side restrictions that cannot be bypassed without an authenticated session. **Why is `like_count` missing on some posts?** When an author hides their like counts, Instagram does not return the figure in the API response. The record will have `likes_hidden: true` and `like_count` will be absent from the output. **How many URLs can I submit in one run?** Up to 10,000 URLs per run. The actor automatically uses residential proxies with per-IP session rotation to handle large batches reliably — no proxy configuration is required on your end. **How fresh is the data?** Data is scraped live at the time of the run. Post metadata reflects the current state of Instagram at the moment of scraping — including the latest like and comment counts. **What URL formats are supported?** The actor accepts `/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, and `/tv/` links, as well as canonical `username/p/shortcode` URLs (e.g. `https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/p/DUtk38cj2TA/`). Duplicate URLs pointing to the same post are automatically de-duplicated. **Is this actor affiliated with Instagram or Meta?** No. This is an independent third-party tool that automates interaction with the public Instagram website. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Meta Platforms, Inc. ### Other Instagram Scrapers Want to get other data from Instagram? Check out our complete suite of Instagram scrapers: | Actor | Description | |---|---| | [Instagram Comment Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-comment-scraper) | Scrape comments from any Instagram post or reel | | [Instagram Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-profile-scraper) | Extract profile data, bio, follower counts, and more | | [Instagram Followers & Following Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-follower-scraper) | Scrape followers and following lists from any profile | | [Instagram Tagged Posts Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-tagged-posts-scraper) | Collect posts where a user has been tagged | | [Instagram Hashtag Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-hashtag-scraper) | Scrape posts and profiles by hashtag | | [Instagram Story Downloader](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-story-downloader) | Download stories from Instagram profiles | | [Instagram Downloader API](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-downloader-api) | Download photos, videos, and reels from Instagram | | [Instagram Keyword Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-keyword-scraper) | Search and scrape posts by keyword | | [Instagram Keyword Search Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-keyword-search-scraper) | Search Instagram accounts and posts by keyword | | [Instagram Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-transcript-scraper) | Extract transcripts from Instagram video content | # Actor input Schema ## `post_urls` (type: `array`): Instagram post, reel or IGTV URLs to scrape. Accepts /p/, /reel/, /reels/, /tv/, and canonical username/p/shortcode formats. Duplicates are silently de-duplicated. ## Actor input object example ```json { "post_urls": [ "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/" ] } ``` # 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 = { "post_urls": [ "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/instagram-post-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 = { "post_urls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/instagram-post-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 '{ "post_urls": [ "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/" ] }' | apify call crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Instagram Post Scraper", "description": "Scrape public Instagram posts, reels, IGTV and carousel posts from direct URLs with no login, no cookies, no browser required. Supply a list of Instagram links and receive a structured dataset with author details, caption, media URLs, engagement counts, publish date, music, location, and more.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "nJu2IHjcAgJFeUnQW" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~instagram-post-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-instagram-post-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~instagram-post-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-instagram-post-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~instagram-post-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-instagram-post-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "post_urls" ], "properties": { "post_urls": { "title": "Post URLs", "minItems": 1, "maxItems": 10000, "type": "array", "description": "Instagram post, reel or IGTV URLs to scrape. Accepts /p/, /reel/, /reels/, /tv/, and canonical username/p/shortcode formats. Duplicates are silently de-duplicated.", "items": { "type": "string" } } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```