Instagram Video Downloader

Download Instagram reels, videos, carousels and photos in bulk — and get links that still work next month. Every file is fetched during the run and re-hosted, so you get a plain URL that needs no special headers and carries no expiry. Instagram's own links go dead in about a day. No login, no cookies, no browser.

Why Use This Scraper?

• Links that don't expire — Instagram signs every CDN URL with a deadline. A reel measured on 2026-08-19 expired 31 hours later. This Actor stores the actual bytes, so your URL lives as long as your Apify data retention.
• No headers, no fuss — the returned URL opens in a browser, in a spreadsheet, in curl, in your ETL job. Nothing to sign, nothing to replay.
• Every post type — reels and video posts return MP4; carousels return every slide, including any per-slide videos; photos return the full-resolution image.
• Highest resolution served — Instagram lists video and image renditions out of order, so files are picked by pixel height, not by array position.
• Audio too — reels using a licensed track can return the track as a separate MP3.
• You choose the tradeoff — leave re-hosting on for permanent files, or turn it off to get Instagram's raw links instantly and for free, with their expiry timestamp stated in the row.
• Nothing fails silently — a file that was too big, blocked or already gone writes the reason into notes rather than leaving an unexplained empty field.

Overview

This Actor takes a list of Instagram posts, downloads their media, and returns one row per post carrying permanent URLs for each file.

Files are stored in your own run's key-value store — your account, your retention, your data. Nothing is kept on our side.

Supported Inputs

Input form	Example
Reel URL	https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcBx_I1iHZW/
Post URL	https://www.instagram.com/p/DcCUKZoAS8h/
IGTV URL	https://www.instagram.com/tv/DcBx_I1iHZW/
Bare shortcode	DcBx_I1iHZW

All forms can be mixed freely in the posts list.

Not supported: profile URLs, story links, hashtag pages and explore URLs. A profile URL returns an error item telling you to paste a post URL. For stories see the sibling Actor below.

Use Cases

Audience	What they use it for
Content teams	Archive owned or licensed posts before they are edited or deleted
Agencies	Deliver client campaign assets as stable links, not expiring ones
Media & research	Preserve reels as evidence with a URL that still resolves later
AI / ML teams	Build video and image datasets from public posts
Creators	Retrieve your own reels and carousels in full resolution
Automation	Feed permanent file URLs into editing, captioning or storage pipelines

How It Works

1. Resolve — every input is normalized to a shortcode, and duplicates collapse so the same reel pasted twice is downloaded once.
2. Locate — one request returns the post's media: the video renditions, cover, audio track and every carousel slide.
3. Fetch — the bytes are pulled inside the run, largest rendition first, with a per-file size cap you control.
4. Re-host — each file is written to your run's key-value store and the row carries its permanent URL, alongside Instagram's original link and the exact timestamp that one expires.

Input Configuration

Field	Type	Default	Description
posts	array	— (required)	Instagram post, reel or IGTV URLs, or bare shortcodes.
downloadVideo	boolean	true	Download the MP4 for reels, IGTV and video posts.
downloadCover	boolean	true	Download the post's cover / thumbnail image.
downloadCarouselImages	boolean	true	Download every carousel slide, images and any per-slide videos.
downloadMusic	boolean	false	Download the licensed audio track, for reels that use one.
storeFiles	boolean	true	Re-host the media. Turn off to receive only Instagram's expiring links.
maxFileSizeMb	integer	100	Skip any single file larger than this. Skipped files are explained in notes.

Example input:

{
    "posts": [
        "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcBx_I1iHZW/",
        "https://www.instagram.com/p/DcCUKZoAS8h/"
    ],
    "downloadVideo": true,
    "downloadCover": true,
    "downloadCarouselImages": true,
    "maxFileSizeMb": 100
}

Links only — no bytes fetched, fastest and cheapest, but the URLs expire:

{
    "posts": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcBx_I1iHZW/"],
    "storeFiles": false
}

Output Overview

One row per post, carrying a permanent URL and a byte count for each file stored. Posts that cannot be delivered (private, deleted, age-restricted, or not a post URL) produce a single error item with a message explaining why — the run itself still succeeds.

Output Samples

Reel row (real row, trimmed):

{
    "postId": "3963668990156895830",
    "shortcode": "DcBx_I1iHZW",
    "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcBx_I1iHZW/",
    "postType": "reel",
    "caption": "Check out the eclipse from 50,000 feet in the air! …",
    "createdAt": "2026-08-14T16:50:37.000Z",
    "durationSeconds": 92.94,
    "authorUsername": "nasa",
    "authorFullName": "NASA",
    "videoUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/9a840473-…/records/DcBx_I1iHZW_video.mp4",
    "videoBytes": 8162771,
    "coverUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/9a840473-…/records/DcBx_I1iHZW_cover.jpg",
    "coverBytes": 111471,
    "audioUrl": null,
    "slides": [],
    "slideCount": 0,
    "sourceVideoUrl": "https://scontent-lax3-2.cdninstagram.com/…",
    "sourceUrlsExpireAt": "2026-08-20T21:27:40.000Z",
    "filesStored": true,
    "notes": null,
    "scrapedAt": "2026-08-19T12:10:12.781Z"
}

Carousel row — the slides array (trimmed to two of twenty):

{
    "shortcode": "DcCUKZoAS8h",
    "postType": "carousel",
    "slideCount": 20,
    "slides": [
        { "index": 1, "type": "image", "imageUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/…/records/DcCUKZoAS8h_slide1.jpg", "imageBytes": 72830, "videoUrl": null },
        { "index": 2, "type": "image", "imageUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/…/records/DcCUKZoAS8h_slide2.jpg", "imageBytes": 70770, "videoUrl": null }
    ]
}

Row where a file exceeded the size cap — the cover still arrives, and notes says what happened:

{
    "shortcode": "DcBx_I1iHZW",
    "videoUrl": null,
    "coverUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/…/records/DcBx_I1iHZW_cover.jpg",
    "notes": ["The video exceeded the 1 MB per-file limit and was skipped — raise \"Max file size\" to include it."]
}

Error item (deleted post):

{
    "post": "https://www.instagram.com/p/ZZZZnotreal99/",
    "error": "post_unavailable",
    "message": "Post ZZZZnotreal99 is not available — it is private, deleted, or age-restricted."
}

Key Output Fields

Field	Meaning
videoUrl / videoBytes	Permanent re-hosted MP4 and its size. Null on photo posts.
coverUrl / coverBytes	Permanent re-hosted cover image.
audioUrl / audioBytes	Permanent re-hosted audio track, when the reel uses a licensed one and downloadMusic is on.
slides[]	One entry per carousel slide: index, type, imageUrl, imageBytes, videoUrl, videoBytes, plus the original source URLs.
sourceVideoUrl / sourceCoverUrl / sourceMusicUrl	Instagram's own links, kept for reference. These expire.
sourceUrlsExpireAt	The exact moment those source links stop working, decoded from Instagram's own signature.
filesStored	Whether re-hosting ran for this row.
notes	Why a file is missing — oversize, no longer served, blocked, or a network failure. Null when everything arrived.
postType	reel, carousel, image, video or igtv.

FAQ

Do I need to log in or provide cookies? No. The Actor never touches your Instagram account and only reads public posts.

Why re-host at all — Instagram's links work fine? They work today. Every Instagram CDN URL is signed with an expiry: the reel tested for this README expired 31 hours after it was fetched, and returns 403 afterwards. Video and image links expire on different clocks, and sourceUrlsExpireAt reports the earlier one. If you only need the file right now, set storeFiles: false and skip the download entirely.

How long do the re-hosted files last? As long as your Apify data retention — they live in your own run's key-value store, under your account. They are not deleted on our side because they were never on our side.

Does it handle carousels? Yes. Every slide is downloaded, images and per-slide videos alike. A 20-slide carousel produces 21 files including the cover. Turn downloadCarouselImages off if you only want the cover.

Why is there no audio file for my reel? Reels using original audio have no separate licensed track — the audio is already inside the MP4. audioUrl fills only for reels using a track from Instagram's music library, and only when downloadMusic is on.

What if a video is huge? Anything over maxFileSizeMb (100 MB by default) is skipped and the reason is written to notes. The rest of the post still downloads. Raise the limit to include it.

Do I pay twice if the same post appears twice in my input? No. Inputs are de-duplicated by shortcode before anything is fetched.

What happens with a private or deleted post? It returns an error item explaining why, and the run continues with your other posts.

Can I get the post's engagement stats too? This Actor focuses on the files. For full metadata — likes, comments, plays, tagged accounts, location — see the Instagram Post Scraper.

What does it cost? Pay per result: one charge per post delivered, plus a small per-run start fee. No subscription.

Support

Found a bug or need a field added? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab in Apify Console, or email muhamed.didovic@gmail.com.

Additional Services

Need a custom Instagram or social-media scraper, media pipeline, or a private version of this Actor? Custom builds available — reach out at muhamed.didovic@gmail.com.

Explore More Scrapers

• Instagram Post Scraper — full metadata for any post, reel or carousel
• Instagram Stories & Highlights Scraper — stories and highlights, with download
• Instagram Transcript Scraper — reels, posts and IGTV turned into text
• Instagram Reels Search Scraper — find viral reels by keyword
• Instagram Hashtag Scraper — top posts and reels under any hashtag
• TikTok Video Downloader — the same idea for TikTok, watermark-free

Browse the full portfolio: muhamed-didovic.github.io

🤖 For AI Agents & LLM Apps

Purpose: Download Instagram reels, videos, carousels and photos and return permanent, header-free URLs for each file, plus Instagram's original links and their expiry.

Minimal tested input:

{ "posts": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcBx_I1iHZW/"] }

Output: array of flat objects, one per post. Fields: postId, shortcode, postUrl, postType, caption, createdAt, durationSeconds, authorUsername, authorFullName, videoUrl, videoBytes, coverUrl, coverBytes, audioUrl, audioBytes, slides[] (index, type, imageUrl, imageBytes, videoUrl, videoBytes, sourceImageUrl, sourceVideoUrl), slideCount, musicTitle, musicArtist, sourceVideoUrl, sourceCoverUrl, sourceMusicUrl, sourceUrlsExpireAt, filesStored, notes, inputPost, scrapedAt.

Behavior & billing: Pay-per-event — one charge per post delivered, regardless of file count. Duplicate inputs are dropped before billing. Re-hosted URLs need no headers and do not expire; source*Url fields DO expire at sourceUrlsExpireAt. Set storeFiles: false to skip downloading entirely. Files over maxFileSizeMb are skipped with a reason in notes. Private, deleted and non-post URLs yield one error item each (error, message) instead of failing the run. No login or cookies required.

⚠️ Disclaimer

This Actor accesses publicly available data on Instagram for legitimate research, archival, and business-analysis purposes. It does not log in, bypass authentication, or access private content. Use of this Actor must comply with Instagram's Terms of Service and all applicable laws, including data-protection regulations (GDPR, CCPA, etc.). The authors are not responsible for any misuse. Users must:

• Respect rate limits and avoid overloading Instagram's infrastructure
• Not use downloaded media to violate user privacy or platform terms
• Only download content they own, have licensed, or are otherwise permitted to use
• Not republish downloaded content in violation of copyright

We do not store downloaded media; files are written directly to your own Apify key-value store for your authorized use. Instagram is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc.; this Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram or Meta.

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