Facebook Reels Scraper

Extract public Facebook Reels from page/profile Reels tabs, usernames, and direct reel URLs. The Actor returns structured rows with reel URLs, IDs, visible play counts, owner/page metadata, and diagnostics for inputs that Facebook does not expose publicly.

Use it for social media research, creator monitoring, competitor content tracking, and repeatable exports to CSV, JSON, Excel, API, or automation workflows.

Quick start

Paste a public Facebook Reels tab URL, set a small result limit, and start the Actor. Open the dataset to download JSON, CSV or Excel. Facebook may expose only part of a public page. Optional fields can be null, and a blocked or empty response returns a diagnostic row, not a retrieved Reel.

{
  "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/" }],
  "maxItems": 3,
  "maxReelsPerProfile": 3
}

Prefer a video guide? This short Apify walkthrough shows you how to set up and run an Actor. It uses a different Actor, but the setup steps are the same.

Ready-to-run examples

Choose a public example to see its settings before starting a run:

• Compare Public Facebook Reels by Username
• Extract Data From a Public Facebook Reel
• Monitor Reels From a Public Facebook Page

What you get

Field	Description
inputUrl	Original URL or username submitted by the user.
normalizedUrl	Canonical Facebook URL processed by the Actor.
sourceType	profile_reels, direct_reel, username, or unknown.
status	ok for retrieved Reels. invalid_url, blocked_or_empty, or private_or_unavailable for current diagnostic paths.
reelId	Facebook reel ID when available.
reelUrl	Canonical public reel URL.
postUrl	Public post/reel URL for the same item.
text	Public reel caption/text when exposed in page metadata or the profile's Reel collection.
timestamp	Public timestamp when exposed.
ownerName	Visible owner/page name.
ownerUrl	Matched public owner URL, falling back to the profile input.
ownerId	Public owner identity. May identify a User rather than a Page.
playCount	Visible reel play count, normalized to a number.
likeCount	Explicitly labeled Reel likes only. Never total reactions.
reactionCount	Total reactions from the matched Reel feedback or labeled public title.
commentCount	Comment count when available publicly.
shareCount	Share count when available publicly.
durationSeconds	Duration when available publicly.
thumbnailUrl	Thumbnail URL when exposed publicly.
videoUrl	Best-effort public video URL when exposed. Not guaranteed archival media.
pageName	Visible page/profile name.
pageUrl	Page/profile URL.
pageId	Explicit Page identity or the matched owner's linked Page ID, not an inferred User ID.
followerCount	Visible follower count, normalized to a number.
likesCount	Visible page like count, normalized to a number.
category	Not currently resolved by the anonymous extractor. Stays null.
missingFields	Relevant optional fields not extracted for this row, including deliberately deferred fields.
error	Diagnostic message for non-ok rows.

Who is it for?

• Social-media researchers reviewing visible public Reel metadata.
• Content teams inspecting known Page or creator Reels for planning research.
• Agencies preparing source-linked short-form content comparisons.
• Data teams organizing dated exports for their own reporting.

How you can use the data

• Review a public Page's Reel sample. Use the existing 9GAGCute Reels-tab example with small total and per-profile caps. Keep reelId, reelUrl, visible playCount and owner fields together before comparing records in a spreadsheet.
• Compare supplied usernames. Request a bounded sample for each known public username and inspect the available collection order. Compare returned metrics downstream rather than treating the sample as a complete or sorted history.
• Inspect one known direct Reel. Supply a currently visible public Reel URL and check status before reading optional caption, owner, thumbnail or count fields. An unavailable diagnostic is not a retrieved Reel or a successful URL-only result.
• Identify newly seen records in your own history. Store earlier exports and compare Reel IDs or URLs in your own system. The Actor does not remember prior exports or detect new Reels automatically. Keep likes distinct from total reactions and do not infer Page IDs from User IDs.

Input settings

Setting	JSON key	Use it for	Example
Facebook URLs	startUrls	Public page/profile URLs, /reels/ tabs, and direct reel URLs.	https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/
Facebook usernames	usernames	Conveniently convert public usernames to Reels tab URLs.	9GAGCute
Maximum reels	maxItems	Cap saved reel result rows and control spend.	20
Maximum reels per profile	maxReelsPerProfile	Prevent one profile from consuming the whole run limit.	10
Include page/profile metadata	includePageProfileMetadata	Add visible page name, URL, followers, and likes when available.	true
Proxy configuration	proxyConfiguration	Choose managed or custom proxies, or explicitly opt out. See field help for defaults.	{ "useApifyProxy": false }

Example input

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/" },
    { "url": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/27749977914588421/" }
  ],
  "usernames": ["Cristiano"],
  "maxItems": 20,
  "maxReelsPerProfile": 10,
  "includePageProfileMetadata": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

Output data

Illustrative partial result. Field availability and counts vary by response.

{
  "inputUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "normalizedUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "sourceType": "profile_reels",
  "status": "ok",
  "reelId": "27749977914588421",
  "reelUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/27749977914588421/",
  "postUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/reel/27749977914588421/",
  "text": null,
  "timestamp": null,
  "ownerName": "9GAG Cute",
  "ownerUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "ownerId": null,
  "playCount": 58000,
  "likeCount": null,
  "reactionCount": null,
  "commentCount": null,
  "shareCount": null,
  "durationSeconds": null,
  "thumbnailUrl": null,
  "videoUrl": null,
  "pageName": "9GAG Cute",
  "pageUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/",
  "pageId": null,
  "followerCount": 3700000,
  "likesCount": null,
  "category": null,
  "missingFields": ["text", "timestamp", "ownerId", "likeCount", "reactionCount", "commentCount", "shareCount", "durationSeconds", "thumbnailUrl", "videoUrl", "pageId", "likesCount", "category"],
  "error": null
}

Download your results

Open your run's dataset, choose Export and select JSON, CSV or Excel. JSON keeps nested fields together. CSV and Excel are useful when you want to review the records in a spreadsheet.

See Apify's download and export guide for the available formats and field options.

Pricing

The one-time start event is charged when a run begins. The primary item event is charged only for successful Reel rows with status: "ok". Invalid, blocked, private, unavailable and empty-input diagnostic rows are not charged as Reel results.

See the live Pricing tab for current rates and account discounts.

Tips for best results

• Start with a small public Reels-tab sample. Inspect what Facebook exposes before expanding total or per-profile caps.
• Check status before counting rows as Reels. Keep diagnostics separate from successful records.
• Choose a currently visible direct Reel. Previously public URLs can become removed or restricted.
• Inspect missing fields before interpreting metrics. Likes are separate from total reactions, and profile collections can expose fewer fields than direct lookups.
• Choose supported connection settings explicitly. Facebook responses vary by IP, and the existing guidance recommends Residential Apify Proxy for production collection.
• Store comparisons outside the Actor. Use saved IDs or URLs from your own exports to identify newly seen records.

Limits and caveats

Only public logged-out data is supported, without account login, cookies, private profiles or groups, or access-token scraping. Public visibility can change, so a currently working input can expose fewer fields later.

Results follow the available public collection order without sorting or complete-history guarantees. Invalid, blocked, private, unavailable or empty inputs produce explicit diagnostic status rows rather than retrieved Reels. Review status before treating a row as an item.

Optional unknown or unextracted fields remain null and can appear in missingFields. Play counts are usually visible on Reels tabs, while likes, comments, shares, video URLs and timestamps can be absent. Direct lookups can expose metrics absent from profile collections. Explicit Reel likes remain separate from total reactions.

Disabling Page/profile metadata suppresses those Page fields. Follower and Page-like counts can be absent, particularly for direct inputs. Category remains null. Owner identity can be a User, while Page identity is only an explicit Page or a matched owner's linked Page ID.

Video URLs are best-effort identity-matched progressive playback or public metadata links. They can expire, and there is no media-archiving guarantee.

Automation and integrations

Save your settings for next time

Once you have an input that works for you, save it as an Apify task. This keeps your settings together so you can use them again without filling in the form from scratch.

Run on a schedule

Need fresh results regularly? You can schedule the Actor or a saved task to run at a time that suits you.

Each scheduled run collects the data again. If you want to compare results or highlight changes, add that step in your own workflow.

Send results to your other tools

Use n8n, Make or Zapier to connect this scraper to the rest of your workflow. For example, you could pass its results to an AI assistant or add records to a spreadsheet. Follow the Apify integration guides for your chosen tool.

For a custom connection, an Apify webhook can notify your app when a run finishes or fails. Your app can then fetch the results or handle the failure.

API usage

Want to collect this data from your own app or automation? The examples below send input to the scraper and show how to collect its results.

The Node.js and Python examples wait for the run to finish before reading its results. The cURL example starts the run and returns its details. Wait for that run to finish, then use its defaultDatasetId to fetch the results.

For setup instructions, see Apify's JavaScript client guide, Python client guide and Actor runs API reference.

cURL

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~facebook-reels-scraper/runs' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data @- <<'JSON'
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 3,
  "maxReelsPerProfile": 3
}
JSON

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper').call({
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 3,
  "maxReelsPerProfile": 3
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper').call(run_input={'startUrls': [{'url': 'https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/'}], 'maxItems': 3, 'maxReelsPerProfile': 3})
print(client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items)

MCP and AI agents

You can ask your AI assistant to collect data with Facebook Reels Scraper and help you work with the results. The scraper returns the data, and your assistant can then summarize it, compare records or prepare notes.

Connect your assistant through the Apify MCP server. MCP gives your assistant a way to find this scraper, run it and read the results. Follow the official setup and sign-in guide for your app.

Easier setup with an Apify plugin

If you use a supported coding assistant, the official Apify plugin can set up the connection for you. It connects your assistant to Apify and includes instructions for common tasks. Follow the guide for your particular app.

Use Apify AI in Console

Prefer to keep everything in Apify? Open Apify AI in Console and ask it to find Fetch Cat's Facebook Reels Scraper. You can describe the data you want and ask questions about the results.

Apify AI is currently in beta. It asks for confirmation before starting an Actor, and normal run charges apply.

Choose your assistant

• Claude and Claude Code (Anthropic): Apify setup guide.
• ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI): Apify setup guides.
• Grok Bot (xAI): Apify plugin guide.
• Gemini CLI (Google): MCP server setup guide. Use the server URL below with the HTTP configuration supported by Gemini CLI.

Connect just this scraper

To keep your setup focused on this scraper, add this server configuration to a compatible MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Sign in to Apify when your client asks. If your client uses a Bearer token instead, follow its setup guide and keep the token in its secure configuration. Configuration formats vary by app, so use the linked guide if your client needs a different format.

Use Apify's general server

Already connected to the general Apify MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com? You can use it to find this scraper without adding another server. Ask your assistant to use Facebook Reels Scraper by Fetch Cat, or give it the identifier fetch_cat/facebook-reels-scraper.

Your assistant can check the available settings and retrieve the results from the returned run. If the run is still working, it should follow that run rather than start it again. Both connection options use Apify's hosted service.

Example requests

• “Use Fetch Cat’s Facebook Reels Scraper to collect up to 3 public Reels from https://www.facebook.com/9GAGCute/reels/, with no more than 3 from that profile. Show Reel links and available play counts, keeping diagnostics separate.”
• “Collect up to 2 Reels per username from the 2 public usernames I supply, with a total cap of 4. Show owner names and visible metrics without combining likes with total reactions or claiming complete history.”
• “Retrieve one Reel from the currently public direct URL I provide. Show status, caption and available owner or thumbnail fields, and explain unavailable diagnostics without treating them as retrieved media.”

Normal Apify charges apply. Check the live Pricing tab before asking your assistant to run a larger batch.

Pay with x402

If your AI agent has a funded wallet, it can pay for Apify usage through x402. This experimental option lets an agent use Apify without a conventional account.

Apify AGI provides a prepaid API token with a spending cap after payment. Your agent can use that token to run this scraper through the Apify API or an authenticated MCP connection.

Some MCP setups also support paying for each request directly. That is a different payment option, so check the official guide for its availability.

Follow the official guide for wallet setup, supported payment options and current terms. Apify handles the payments. Keep wallet keys and payment tokens in your agent's secure configuration.

Other ways for agents to pay

Apify also supports MPP for prepaid access through AGI and Skyfire for eligible Actors. If your agent already uses one of these, see the agentic payment guide to choose the right setup.

FAQ

Does this Actor require Facebook login?

No. It is public-only and intentionally does not accept cookies, sessions, passwords, or access tokens.

Why are some fields empty?

A response may omit a field, the anonymous extractor may not resolve it, or obtaining it may require extra lookups deliberately avoided to limit cost. Such fields stay null, not zero. missingFields lists them without claiming global unavailability.

Will blocked or invalid inputs be charged as reel results?

No. The Actor only charges the item event for successful status: "ok" reel rows.

Can I export results?

Yes. Apify datasets support JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, and API access.

Related Actors

More Facebook scrapers

• Facebook Events Scraper — Collect public event dates, venues, hosts and ticket links from event or organizer targets.
• Facebook Ads Library Scraper — Collect public Meta ad copy, advertiser details and available creative links for advertising research.
• Facebook Comments Scraper — Collect visible public post comments with text, displayed dates and available author and engagement fields.
• Facebook Marketplace Scraper — Collect visible public listing titles, prices, locations and a primary image for local inventory research.
• Facebook Pages Scraper — Collect public Page profile and contact fields, visible audience counts and optional post links.

Support and feedback

For custom additions or integrations, email hello@fetchcat.dev.

Found an error or have a feature request? Open an issue with the run URL, a non-sensitive input example and what you expected.

Need help sharing it? See Apify’s guide to sharing a run when reporting an issue. Sharing a run can give the developer access to its input, logs and results, so use a run that contains no sensitive data. Please leave out API tokens, passwords, cookies, private documents and personal data. Use a public sample URL or a redacted example instead.

Tried this scraper? We'd love to hear how it worked for you. Leave a review to help others choose the right tool and help us improve it. Your feedback means a lot to us.

Made with care for curious people, AI agents and the possibilities in data. ♥