Instagram Comment Scraper

A fast and reliable Instagram comment scraper that extracts comments and replies from Instagram posts and reels. Built for speed with parallel processing and designed to handle large-scale comment extraction efficiently.

🚀 Features

• Fast Scraping: Parallel processing with 20 concurrent workers for rapid comment extraction
• Flexible Options: Scrape parent comments only or include all replies
• Smart Limiting: Control total output with configurable comment limits
• Rich Data: Includes usernames, profile pictures, timestamps, like counts, and more
• Cookie Authentication: Simple browser cookie-based login (no password needed)
• Multiple Posts: Process multiple Instagram posts in a single run

📋 Input

Required Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
cookies	array	Instagram session cookies from your browser (must include sessionid)
post_urls	array	List of Instagram post/reel URLs to scrape

Optional Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
comment_limit	integer	0	Maximum comments per post (0 = unlimited). Counts total including replies.
include_replies	boolean	true	Include comment replies or parent comments only

Example Input

{
  "cookies": [
    {
      "name": "sessionid",
      "value": "61854802805%3AWqlSMdeVKE7hbp%3A12%3AAYhi...",
      "domain": ".instagram.com"
    },
    {
      "name": "csrftoken",
      "value": "gNxSok0dLs17TXtgZc0ylsCuObChSEsv",
      "domain": ".instagram.com"
    }
  ],
  "post_urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/ABC123XYZ/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/reels/DEF456UVW/"
  ],
  "comment_limit": 100,
  "include_replies": true
}

📤 Output

Each comment is saved as a separate item in the dataset with the following structure:

{
  "comment_id": "18075851018258413",
  "username": "john_doe",
  "user_id": "123456789",
  "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.com/.../profile.jpg",
  "text": "Amazing content! 🔥",
  "created_at": "2024-12-18 11:24:58",
  "timestamp": 1734522298,
  "like_count": 15,
  "is_reply": false,
  "reply_count": 3,
  "media_id": "3788472140946025433"
}

Reply Comments

Replies include an additional field:

• parent_comment_id: ID of the parent comment this is replying to

Field Descriptions

Field	Type	Description
comment_id	string	Unique Instagram comment ID
username	string	Username of the commenter
user_id	string	Instagram user ID
profile_pic_url	string	URL to user's profile picture
text	string	Comment text content
created_at	string	Human-readable timestamp (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS)
timestamp	integer	Unix timestamp
like_count	integer	Number of likes on the comment
is_reply	boolean	Whether this is a reply to another comment
reply_count	integer	Number of replies (parent comments only)
parent_comment_id	string	Parent comment ID (replies only)
media_id	string	Instagram post/reel ID

🍪 How to Get Instagram Cookies

Method 1: Browser Extension (Recommended)

1. Install a cookie extension:

   • Chrome/Edge: Cookie-Editor
   • Firefox: Cookie-Editor

2. Export cookies:

   • Log into Instagram in your browser
   • Open the cookie extension
   • Click "Export" and select "JSON" format
   • Copy the entire JSON array

3. Paste into input:

   • Paste the cookies array into the cookies field in the actor input

Method 2: Manual Export

1. Open Instagram and log in
2. Open browser DevTools (F12)
3. Go to Application/Storage → Cookies → https://instagram.com
4. Find sessionid cookie and copy its value
5. Create a minimal cookies array:

{
  "cookies": [
    {
      "name": "sessionid",
      "value": "YOUR_SESSION_ID_HERE",
      "domain": ".instagram.com"
    }
  ]
}

⚠️ Important: The sessionid cookie is required. Without it, authentication will fail.

⚙️ How It Works

Comment Limit Behavior

The comment_limit parameter controls the total number of comments returned per post:

With include_replies: true

• Fetches parent comments and their replies
• Returns up to comment_limit total comments (parent + replies combined)
• Example: comment_limit: 50 might return 35 parent comments + 15 replies = 50 total

With include_replies: false

• Fetches only parent comments
• Returns up to comment_limit parent comments
• Example: comment_limit: 50 returns exactly 50 parent comments, no replies

With comment_limit: 0

• Scrapes ALL comments (no limit)
• Fetches everything available on the post

Performance

• Parent Comments: ~15-20 comments per second
• Replies: 20 concurrent workers for parallel extraction
• Typical Performance: 1,000 comments in 1-2 minutes

🔧 Use Cases

• Social Media Analytics: Track engagement and sentiment on posts
• Competitor Research: Analyze comments on competitor content
• Influencer Marketing: Gather audience feedback data
• Customer Service: Monitor brand mentions and questions
• Research: Collect data for academic or market research

⚠️ Limitations & Notes

• Cookie Expiration: Session cookies expire after some time (usually days/weeks). You'll need to refresh them periodically.
• Rate Limiting: Built-in delays to avoid Instagram's rate limits. Don't modify these.
• Private Posts: Your logged-in account must have access to private posts.
• Disabled Comments: Posts with disabled comments will return empty results.
• Large Posts: Posts with 10,000+ comments may take several minutes to complete.

🐛 Troubleshooting

"sessionid not found in cookies"

• Make sure you exported cookies correctly
• Verify the sessionid cookie is present in the array

"Login failed"

• Your cookies may have expired - export fresh cookies
• Make sure you're logged into Instagram in your browser

"Failed to extract media ID"

• Check that the URL is correct and accessible
• Ensure the post exists and hasn't been deleted

Slow Performance

• Large posts with many comments naturally take longer
• Reduce comment_limit for faster results
• Set include_replies: false to skip reply fetching

🤝 Support

For bugs, feature requests, or questions:

• Open an issue on the actor's page
• Contact Apify support
• Check the Apify documentation

📜 License

This actor is provided as-is for use on the Apify platform.

⚖️ Legal & Ethics

• Terms of Service: Use of this actor should comply with Instagram's Terms of Service
• Rate Limiting: The actor includes built-in delays to be respectful of Instagram's servers
• Data Privacy: Be mindful of user privacy when collecting and using comment data
• Responsible Use: Use this tool ethically and legally