# Instagram Stories & Highlights Scraper (`goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-scraper`) Actor Scrape current Instagram stories (24h tray) and all permanent highlight reels with inner items from any public profile. Get original-resolution media URLs, expirations, music, stickers, captions. No Instagram API key, no login. - **URL**: https://apify.com/goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Goutam Soni](https://apify.com/goat255) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Automation, Developer tools - **Stats:** 10 total users, 6 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $5.00 / 1,000 user scrapeds This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. 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 Stories & Highlights Scraper - Download Stories, Highlight Reels & Inner Items Scrape current Instagram stories (24h tray) and all permanent highlight reels with their inner items from any public Instagram profile. Bulk download story media URLs, expiration timestamps, music, stickers, captions, and full highlight content - without an Instagram login, cookies, or API key. ### What this Instagram Stories scraper does For each username you pass in, the actor resolves the numeric Instagram user ID, then fetches: - **Current Instagram stories** - every item in the active 24-hour story tray (images and videos). - **Highlight reels** - every saved highlight on the profile with cover image, title, item count, and creation timestamp. - **Highlight items** (optional) - every photo and video inside each highlight, expanded one request per highlight. Returns clean ordered JSON with **original-resolution media URLs**, dimensions, expirations, accessibility captions, music, stickers, and links. Multi-source failover and residential proxies keep success rates high. Perfect for **story archiving, highlight repurposing, brand monitoring, and content auditing** on Instagram. ### Why use this Instagram Stories scraper - **No login, no cookies, no API key** - works on every public Instagram account. - **Stories AND highlights** in one pass - many scrapers do only one or the other. - **Highlight expansion** - get every photo/video inside every saved highlight (not just the cover). - **Original-resolution media URLs** - 1080-wide images and full-quality video. - **Multi-source failover** - upstream rate-limited? The actor falls back automatically. - **Residential proxies** built in. - **Beat the 24-hour clock** - archive stories before they expire. ### What data you get per username ```json { "username": "example_user", "userId": "000000000", "storyCount": 4, "highlightCount": 28, "stories": [ { "id": "...", "mediaType": "video", "takenAt": 1714032018, "expiringAt": 1714118418, "imageUrl": "https://...", "videoUrl": "https://...", "originalWidth": 1080, "originalHeight": 1920, "accessibilityCaption": "..." } ], "highlights": [ { "highlightId": "highlight:17876...", "title": "Wildlife", "mediaCount": 12, "coverImageUrl": "https://...", "items": [ /* same shape as a story item */ ] } ] } ```` ### How to use the Instagram Stories Scraper 1. Click **Try for free** on the actor page. 2. Enter Instagram **usernames** in the `usernames` input (URLs, @handles, or plain usernames - all accepted). 3. Toggle what to fetch: - `includeStories` - the 24-hour story tray (default on) - `includeHighlights` - the list of highlight reels (default on) - `expandHighlightItems` - inner items in each highlight (default on) 4. Set `maxHighlightsPerUser` to cap how many highlights to expand (0 = unlimited). 5. Tune `concurrency` (default 4) and `delayBetweenRequests` (default 1s). 6. Click **Save & start**. Download JSON / CSV / Excel / XML / HTML. ### Input parameters | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `usernames` | string\[] | - | Usernames, @handles, or full Instagram URLs (mix freely, auto-deduped) | | `includeStories` | boolean | `true` | Fetch the current 24h Instagram story tray | | `includeHighlights` | boolean | `true` | Fetch the list of highlight reels | | `expandHighlightItems` | boolean | `true` | Fetch the inner items inside each highlight | | `maxHighlightsPerUser` | integer | `0` | Cap how many highlights to expand (0 = unlimited) | | `concurrency` | integer | `4` | Usernames processed in parallel | | `delayBetweenRequests` | number | `1.0` | Seconds between requests inside one username pipeline | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | residential | Apify proxy settings (residential required) | ### Top use cases - **Story archiving** - capture competitors' stories before the 24-hour expiration deletes them. - **Highlight repurposing** - bulk-pull every highlight from a brand to remix into Reels or carousels. - **Brand monitoring** - daily snapshot of what creators are posting in their stories. - **Content audits** - full inventory of a profile's saved highlights with cover images. - **OSINT and investigations** - extract media from public stories with timestamps and expiration data. - **Influencer agency vetting** - check how active a creator is by scraping recent story counts. ### Integrations #### Apify API ```bash curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/{DATASET_ID}/items?format=json" ``` #### Python ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN") run = client.actor("goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-scraper").call(run_input={ "usernames": ["example_user_1", "example_user_2"], "includeStories": True, "includeHighlights": True, "expandHighlightItems": True, }) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(f"@{item['username']}: {item['storyCount']} stories, {item['highlightCount']} highlights") ``` #### No-code integrations Send results directly to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, Amazon S3, or your own webhook via [Apify Integrations](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations). ### Pricing Pay-per-event. One charge per username scraped covers all stories + highlights for that user. | Event | Price (tiered by Apify plan) | |---|---| | User scraped (primary) | $0.005 - $0.007 | Apify subscription tiers (Bronze through Diamond) pay less per user. Apify's $5 platform free credit applies on first use. ### FAQ #### Do I need an Instagram account or API key? No. The scraper works on every public Instagram profile without auth. #### How long do Instagram stories last? 24 hours. After that they're gone unless saved to a highlight. This scraper captures them before they expire. #### Can it download Instagram highlights? Yes - every saved highlight on the profile, with cover image, title, and (optionally) every photo/video inside. #### Can it scrape private Instagram accounts' stories? No. Only public accounts are accessible. Private accounts return zero stories. #### Will Instagram block this? Multi-source failover plus rotating residential proxies handle Instagram's rate limits automatically. #### How do I download the media files? The actor returns `imageUrl` / `videoUrl` for every story and highlight item. Pipe those URLs to your own downloader, S3, or webhook. #### How fast is it? \~15-20 seconds per profile with full highlight expansion (depending on how many highlights). Disable `expandHighlightItems` for a 5x speedup if you only need the highlight list. ### Related Apify actors - 📝 [Instagram Posts Scraper](https://apify.com/goat255/instagram-posts-scraper) - bulk export Instagram posts, captions, likes, comments. - 👤 [Instagram Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/goat255/instagram-profile-scraper) - profiles with public emails and phone numbers. - 🧰 [Instagram Full Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/goat255/instagram-full-profile-scraper) - profile + posts + stories + highlights in one call. ### Support Open an issue on the actor page if something breaks or a field's missing. Reviews are read and replied to. # Actor input Schema ## `usernames` (type: `array`): List of public Instagram usernames or profile URLs. Mix formats freely: nasa, @nasa, https://instagram.com/nasa. ## `includeStories` (type: `boolean`): Fetch the user's current 24-hour stories tray. ## `includeHighlights` (type: `boolean`): Fetch the list of highlight reels for the user. ## `expandHighlightItems` (type: `boolean`): When true, fetch the inner items (videos/photos) of every highlight reel. Each highlight = one extra request. Doubles the cost on profiles with many highlights — disable if you only need cover thumbnails and titles. ## `maxHighlightsPerUser` (type: `integer`): Cap the number of highlights expanded per user. Use 0 for no limit. ## `concurrency` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of usernames processed in parallel. ## `delayBetweenRequests` (type: `number`): Seconds to wait between requests inside a single username pipeline. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Residential proxies are required to avoid blocks. Apify residential proxy is configured by default. ## Actor input object example ```json { "usernames": [ "nasa", "natgeo" ], "includeStories": true, "includeHighlights": true, "expandHighlightItems": true, "maxHighlightsPerUser": 0, "concurrency": 4, "delayBetweenRequests": 1, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # 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": [ "nasa", "natgeo" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-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": [ "nasa", "natgeo", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-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": [ "nasa", "natgeo" ] }' | apify call goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=goat255/instagram-stories-highlights-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Instagram Stories & Highlights Scraper", "description": "Scrape current Instagram stories (24h tray) and all permanent highlight reels with inner items from any public profile. Get original-resolution media URLs, expirations, music, stickers, captions. No Instagram API key, no login.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "5Ne8S8BGs2N8FViiE" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/goat255~instagram-stories-highlights-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-goat255-instagram-stories-highlights-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/goat255~instagram-stories-highlights-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-goat255-instagram-stories-highlights-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/goat255~instagram-stories-highlights-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-goat255-instagram-stories-highlights-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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" ], "properties": { "usernames": { "title": "Instagram Usernames or URLs", "type": "array", "description": "List of public Instagram usernames or profile URLs. Mix formats freely: nasa, @nasa, https://instagram.com/nasa.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "includeStories": { "title": "Include current stories", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch the user's current 24-hour stories tray.", "default": true }, "includeHighlights": { "title": "Include highlight reels", "type": "boolean", "description": "Fetch the list of highlight reels for the user.", "default": true }, "expandHighlightItems": { "title": "Expand highlight items", "type": "boolean", "description": "When true, fetch the inner items (videos/photos) of every highlight reel. Each highlight = one extra request. Doubles the cost on profiles with many highlights — disable if you only need cover thumbnails and titles.", "default": true }, "maxHighlightsPerUser": { "title": "Max highlights per user", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "Cap the number of highlights expanded per user. Use 0 for no limit.", "default": 0 }, "concurrency": { "title": "Concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 20, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of usernames processed in parallel.", "default": 4 }, "delayBetweenRequests": { "title": "Delay Between Requests (seconds)", "minimum": 0, "type": "number", "description": "Seconds to wait between requests inside a single username pipeline.", "default": 1 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy Configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Residential proxies are required to avoid blocks. Apify residential proxy is configured by default.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```