# Instagram Profile Scraper (`mighty_monk/instagram-profile-scraper`) Actor Extract public Instagram profile metadata and recent posts for creator research, influencer lists, and competitor social intel. Includes followers, bio, verification, and optional post captions/likes. - **URL**: https://apify.com/mighty\_monk/instagram-profile-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Harsh](https://apify.com/mighty_monk) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Lead generation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $5.00 / 1,000 profile or post results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. 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/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.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/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 Profile Scraper **Extract public Instagram profile metadata and recent posts** for creator research, influencer lists, and competitor social intelligence. Built with **TypeScript**, **Crawlee CheerioCrawler** (HTTP-first, no browser), and multi-strategy extraction (meta tags, JSON-LD, embedded GraphQL/`_sharedData`, DOM). Run it on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com) for scheduling, API access, **residential proxy rotation**, monitoring, and dataset exports (JSON, CSV, Excel). > **Legal / ToS notice:** This Actor is intended for **publicly available data only**. Respect [Instagram Terms of Use](https://help.instagram.com/581066165581870), robots rules, and applicable privacy laws (GDPR/CCPA). Do not use this tool to scrape private content, bypass authentication, or harass users. You are responsible for how you use the data. ### What does Instagram Profile Scraper do? Given usernames and/or profile URLs, this Actor: 1. Deduplicates usernames (from `usernames` + `profileUrls`) 2. Loads each public profile page over HTTP (Cheerio) 3. Extracts **profile details**: username, full name, bio, followers, following, posts count, verified/business/private flags, external URL, profile picture 4. Optionally extracts **recent posts**: shortcode, URL, caption, likes, comments, timestamp, video flag, display image 5. Handles private / blocked / not-found profiles **gracefully** (dataset row with `error`) 6. Pushes dataset items (`type: "profile"` and `type: "post"`) 7. Exports **PROFILES.csv** and **SUMMARY.md** to the key-value store ### Why use this Actor? - **Influencer research** — build creator lists with follower counts and bios - **Competitor social intel** — track public brand accounts and posting patterns - **Lead generation** — collect public business profile metadata (external links) - **Automation-ready** — JSON dataset + CSV export + Apify API / webhooks ### Proxy necessity (important) **Instagram aggressively blocks scrapers**, especially datacenter IPs. For production runs: | Setting | Recommendation | | ------- | -------------- | | Proxy | **Apify Proxy RESIDENTIAL** (default in input schema) | | `maxConcurrency` | `1`–`2` | | `requestDelayMs` | `1500`–`3000`+ | | `maxRequestRetries` | `3`+ | Without residential proxies you will often see login walls, empty shells, or HTTP 429/403. The Actor detects these and writes an `error` on the profile record instead of crashing. ### How to scrape Instagram profiles 1. Open the Actor in [Apify Console](https://console.apify.com) 2. Enter usernames (e.g. `natgeo`) and/or full profile URLs 3. Choose **results type**: `details`, `posts`, or `details_and_posts` 4. Keep **residential proxy** enabled 5. Click **Start** 6. Download results from the **Dataset** tab or key-value store (`PROFILES.csv`, `SUMMARY.md`) ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | | ----- | ---- | ------- | ----------- | | `usernames` | string[] | `["natgeo","instagram"]` | Usernames without `@` | | `profileUrls` | string[] | `[]` | Full profile URLs | | `resultsType` | string | `"details"` | `details` \| `posts` \| `details_and_posts` | | `resultsLimit` | integer | `12` | Max recent posts per profile | | `maxConcurrency` | integer | `2` | Concurrent requests (keep low) | | `maxRequestRetries` | integer | `3` | HTTP retry count | | `requestDelayMs` | integer | `1500` | Used for rate limiting | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Residential on | Apify Proxy settings | Example: ```json { "usernames": ["natgeo", "instagram"], "profileUrls": [], "resultsType": "details", "resultsLimit": 12, "maxConcurrency": 2, "maxRequestRetries": 3, "requestDelayMs": 1500, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] } } ```` See [`examples/input.json`](examples/input.json). ### Output #### Profile record ```json { "type": "profile", "username": "natgeo", "fullName": "National Geographic", "biography": "Experience the world through the eyes of National Geographic photographers.", "followers": 281000000, "following": 140, "postsCount": 28500, "isVerified": true, "isBusiness": true, "isPrivate": false, "externalUrl": "https://www.nationalgeographic.com/", "profilePicUrl": "https://…/profile.jpg", "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/", "scrapedAt": "2026-07-13T12:00:00.000Z", "error": null } ``` #### Post record ```json { "type": "post", "username": "natgeo", "shortcode": "CxAbc12345", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/CxAbc12345/", "caption": "A lion rests on the savanna at sunset. #wildlife", "likes": 450000, "comments": 3200, "timestamp": "2023-09-18T02:40:00.000Z", "isVideo": false, "displayUrl": "https://…/media.jpg", "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/", "scrapedAt": "2026-07-13T12:00:00.000Z", "error": null } ``` #### Key-value store exports | Key | Description | | --- | ----------- | | `PROFILES.csv` | CSV of all `type=profile` rows | | `SUMMARY.md` | Markdown summary of profiles + sample posts | ### Extraction strategy Instagram does not offer a stable public HTML API. This Actor tries, in order: 1. **Open Graph / meta description** — often includes follower/following/posts counts 2. **JSON-LD** (`ProfilePage` / `Person`) when present 3. **Embedded page JSON** — classic `window._sharedData`, GraphQL-like user objects, timeline media edges 4. **DOM fallbacks** — private badge, verified icon, `/p/{shortcode}` anchors Optional JSON endpoints such as `?__a=1&__d=dis` are intentionally **not required**; they are frequently blocked. The HTML/embedded-JSON approach is more resilient for public profiles when combined with residential proxies. ### Limitations - **Heavy blocking** — Instagram may return login walls, challenges, or empty app shells even with proxies - **Public data only** — private accounts yield limited metadata and no posts - **No login / no cookies** — this Actor does not authenticate as a user - **No stories, reels feed, DMs, or full archive** — recent posts from the profile page only - **Counts may be approximate** — meta descriptions sometimes use abbreviated figures (`281M`) - **Layout changes** — Instagram changes markup frequently; extraction methods may need updates - **Rate limits** — high concurrency will increase failures; prefer slow + residential - **Compliance** — bulk scraping may violate platform ToS; use responsibly and for legitimate purposes ### Pricing Charged via **Pay-per-event** on the primary dataset item (`apify-default-dataset-item`) at **$0.005 per profile or post result**, plus a small actor-start fee. ### Development ```bash cd factory/instagram-profile-scraper npm install npm test npm run build ## local run (needs APIFY_TOKEN for residential proxy): apify run ``` Fixture-based unit and integration tests live in `test/` (no live Instagram calls required for CI). ### Changelog #### 1.0.0 - Initial release: profile details + optional posts, CSV/Markdown export, residential proxy default, graceful private/block handling ### License Apache-2.0 # Actor input Schema ## `usernames` (type: `array`): Instagram usernames to scrape (without @). Combined with profileUrls and deduplicated. ## `profileUrls` (type: `array`): Full Instagram profile URLs (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/). Combined with usernames and deduplicated. ## `resultsType` (type: `string`): What to extract: profile details only, recent posts only, or both. ## `resultsLimit` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of recent posts to extract per profile when resultsType includes posts. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Maximum concurrent HTTP requests. Keep low (1–3) for Instagram; residential proxies strongly recommended. ## `maxRequestRetries` (type: `integer`): How many times to retry a failed request before giving up. ## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`): Approximate delay between requests used for rate limiting (max requests per minute). ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Apify Proxy settings. RESIDENTIAL proxies are strongly recommended — Instagram blocks datacenter IPs aggressively. ## Actor input object example ```json { "usernames": [ "natgeo", "instagram" ], "profileUrls": [], "resultsType": "details", "resultsLimit": 12, "maxConcurrency": 2, "maxRequestRetries": 3, "requestDelayMs": 1500, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ] } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `dataset` (type: `string`): No description ## `profilesCsv` (type: `string`): No description ## `summary` (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": [ "natgeo", "instagram" ], "resultsType": "details" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("mighty_monk/instagram-profile-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": [ "natgeo", "instagram", ], "resultsType": "details", } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("mighty_monk/instagram-profile-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": [ "natgeo", "instagram" ], "resultsType": "details" }' | apify call mighty_monk/instagram-profile-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=mighty_monk/instagram-profile-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Instagram Profile Scraper", "description": "Extract public Instagram profile metadata and recent posts for creator research, influencer lists, and competitor social intel. Includes followers, bio, verification, and optional post captions/likes.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "tOCIzA0hND6HAUuxb" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/mighty_monk~instagram-profile-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-mighty_monk-instagram-profile-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/mighty_monk~instagram-profile-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-mighty_monk-instagram-profile-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/mighty_monk~instagram-profile-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-mighty_monk-instagram-profile-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "properties": { "usernames": { "title": "Usernames", "type": "array", "description": "Instagram usernames to scrape (without @). Combined with profileUrls and deduplicated.", "default": [ "natgeo", "instagram" ], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "profileUrls": { "title": "Profile URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Full Instagram profile URLs (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/). Combined with usernames and deduplicated.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "resultsType": { "title": "Results type", "enum": [ "details", "posts", "details_and_posts" ], "type": "string", "description": "What to extract: profile details only, recent posts only, or both.", "default": "details" }, "resultsLimit": { "title": "Posts limit per profile", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 50, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of recent posts to extract per profile when resultsType includes posts.", "default": 12 }, "maxConcurrency": { "title": "Max concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum concurrent HTTP requests. Keep low (1–3) for Instagram; residential proxies strongly recommended.", "default": 2 }, "maxRequestRetries": { "title": "Max request retries", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 10, "type": "integer", "description": "How many times to retry a failed request before giving up.", "default": 3 }, "requestDelayMs": { "title": "Request delay (ms)", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 60000, "type": "integer", "description": "Approximate delay between requests used for rate limiting (max requests per minute).", "default": 1500 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Apify Proxy settings. RESIDENTIAL proxies are strongly recommended — Instagram blocks datacenter IPs aggressively.", "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```