🌟 Instagram Reels Downloader

Download Instagram Reels — fast, secure, and production-ready.

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📖 One-line summary

A plug-and-play Apify Console Actor that extracts and optionally downloads Instagram Reels (only /reel/ links), delivering clean, production-ready datasets and downloadable media with configurable resolution and safe proxy support.

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💡 Use cases / When to use

• Quickly archive public Reels for editorial review or content moderation.
• Bulk-download Reels for media analysis or offline processing.
• Integrate Reel extraction into ETL pipelines that need consistent metadata and file outputs.
• Run scheduled checks for newly published Reels from a curated list of links.

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⚡ Quick Start (Console — one-click)

1. Open this Actor in Apify Console.
2. Paste a list of Instagram /reel/ links into the Start URLs input.
3. (Optional) Add a cookie file path for private Reels, select desired resolution, and enable Download.
4. Click Run Actor — results appear in the Dataset in seconds.

Instant results, minimal setup — designed for non-developers and teams.

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⚙️ Quick Start (CLI + API)

The examples below show how to run this Actor from the CLI and using the Apify client (replace placeholders with your values).

CLI

$apify run --actor <ACTOR_ID> --input input.example.json

Python (apify-client)

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient('<APIFY_TOKEN>')
run = client.actor('your-username/instagram-reels-downloader').call(input=input_json)
print(run)

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📝 Inputs (fields & schema)

This Actor accepts a JSON input with the following key fields (see input.example.json for a copy):

• startUrls — array of Instagram /reel/ links (required)
• desired_resolution — one of 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p (default: 1080p)
• download — boolean: if true, saves files to Actor storage (default: true)
• merge_if_ffmpeg — boolean: if true, merges separated audio + video (default: true)
• cookie_file — optional string path for cookies to access private Reels
• proxyConfiguration — optional proxy settings object (Console editor provided)

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⚙️ Configuration

🔑 Name	📝 Type	❓ Required	⚙️ Default	📌 Example	🧠 Notes
startUrls	array	✅ Yes	—	["https://www.instagram.com/reel/ABC123/"]	Provide only /reel/ links; others are skipped
desired_resolution	string	⚙️ Optional	1080p	720p	Picks closest available format if exact match unavailable
download	boolean	⚙️ Optional	true	false	When false, actor only extracts metadata and direct URLs
merge_if_ffmpeg	boolean	⚙️ Optional	true	true	Requires platform FFmpeg support to merge files
cookie_file	string	⚙️ Optional	null	/path/to/cookies.txt	Use for private or age-gated Reels
proxyConfiguration	object	⚙️ Optional	{}	{ "useApifyProxy": true }	Use Console proxy editor for secure credentials

Example Console setup: Paste reel links into Start URLs, set desired_resolution to 1080p, then click Run Actor.

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📄 Outputs (Dataset / KV examples)

After each run, results are saved to the Actor Dataset as JSON objects. Example dataset entry:

{
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5xAbCdE123/",
  "title": "A short clip",
  "uploader": "creator_handle",
  "thumbnail": "https://.../thumb.jpg",
  "duration": 15,
  "requested_resolution": "1080p",
  "download_links": {
    "merged_video": "https://.../media.mp4",
    "video_without_audio": "https://.../video.mp4",
    "audio": "https://.../audio.mp4"
  },
  "downloaded_file": "A_short_clip_merged.mp4"
}

Non-reel URLs are skipped silently — only Reel entries appear in the final dataset.

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🔑 Environment Variables

Store secrets as platform secrets or in the Console UI — never place them in plaintext input.

• APIFY_TOKEN — your Apify account token (used by CLI/API)
• Use the Console proxy editor to store proxy credentials securely (recommended)

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▶️ How to Run (Console, CLI, API)

Console — paste Reel links and Run. CLI — apify run with input.example.json (see example above). API — call .actor('your-username/instagram-reels-downloader').call(input) using your Apify client.

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⏰ Scheduling & Webhooks

• Schedule regular runs in the Console using the Scheduler tab.
• Add a webhook to receive run-complete notifications and process new dataset items downstream.

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🕾️ Logs & Troubleshooting

• The Actor is designed to be quiet in logs for easier scanning; errors are surfaced as dataset items rather than noisy stack traces.
• If results are missing: ensure the links are valid /reel/ URLs and that your proxy (if any) is functioning.
• For private Reels, provide a valid cookie file path in cookie_file.

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🔒 Permissions & Storage Notes

• Files saved by the Actor are stored in the run’s storage and can be downloaded from the Console.
• Keep cookies and proxy credentials in secure storage only (Platform secrets or Console editor).
• This Actor respects platform usage policies — use responsibly and avoid abusive scraping.

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🔟 Changelog / Versioning

• v0.2 — Reels-only labeling, refined inputs, clearer proxy guidance
• v0.1 — Initial release

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🖌 Notes / TODOs

• TODO: Add optional bulk profile scraping mode (requires additional consent).
• TODO: Add built-in cookie uploader in the Console for easier private Reel access.

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🌍 Proxy Configuration

Enable Apify Proxy in the Console with one click: use Proxy configuration and select the RESIDENTIAL group for best reliability.

Custom proxy example (store as secret, do not paste in inputs):

<PROXY_USER:PASS@HOST:PORT>

Env examples (when using external clients):

export HTTP_PROXY=http://<PROXY_USER:PASS@HOST:PORT>
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://<PROXY_USER:PASS@HOST:PORT>

Security note: Store proxy credentials as secrets using the Console’s secure fields — do not embed them in run inputs.

TODO: Consider proxy rotation for large-scale runs to minimize rate-limits.

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📚 References

1. Apify Actor README guidelines — https://docs.apify.com/actors
2. Apify Input/Output schema docs — https://docs.apify.com/actors/input-output
3. Apify CLI & API usage — https://docs.apify.com/actors/cli

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🤔 What I inferred from main.py

• This Actor exclusively processes Instagram reel URLs and skips other post types.
• It supports optional cookie-based access for private Reels and optional merging of separate audio/video files.
• The Actor prefers a default resolution of 1080p and provides retry/backoff behavior for robustness.

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input.example.json

{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPAtiRgEy9D/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN0TD6u5MhM/"
  ],
  "desired_resolution": "1080p",
  "download": true,
  "merge_if_ffmpeg": true,
  "cookie_file": "",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}

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CONFIG.md (optional)

# Configuration notes
- Use the Console to set proxy and cookie_file values.  
- If you need private Reel access, export cookies from your browser as a `cookies.txt` file and provide its path in `cookie_file`.  
- If you see missing entries, re-run after 1-2 minutes to bypass short-term rate limits.