🎞️ Instagram Reels Scraper

Instagram Reels Scraper is a powerful, production-grade Apify actor built to extract public Instagram reels and comments at scale — without requiring a login session.

Whether you are a data analyst tracking influencer performance, a brand monitoring campaign engagement, a researcher studying social trends, or a developer integrating Instagram content into an application, the Instagram Reels Scraper delivers structured, clean, and immediate results.

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✨ Key Features

The Instagram Reels Scraper offers a rich set of capabilities designed for real-world production use:

Feature	Description
👤 Multiple Input Modes	Feed usernames, profile URLs, reels-tab URLs, or direct reel links
💬 Comment Extraction	Collect public comments for each reel with configurable limits
⚡ Real-Time Streaming	Each reel is pushed to the dataset immediately — no waiting
📊 Progress Logging	Comment progress is logged every 50 items (e.g. 50/500 complete 💬)
📦 Structured Output	Rich JSON dataset with reel metadata, comments, and status fields
💸 Pay-Per-Event Billing	Only charged for data actually returned — not for empty runs

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📥 Input Configuration

Configure the Instagram Reels Scraper through the Apify Console input form or by passing a JSON input object. All fields are optional — mix and match what you need.

👤 username — Instagram Username(s)

• Type: string[]
• Example: ["cristiano", "nba", "natgeo"]
• Pass one or more Instagram usernames. The Instagram Reels Scraper converts them to profile URLs and scrapes the public reels tab automatically.

🔗 instagram_urls — Instagram URLs

• Type: array of URL objects
• Supported formats:
  • Profile URL: https://www.instagram.com/nba/
  • Reels tab URL: https://www.instagram.com/nba/reels/
  • Direct reel URL: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYFIVfYM4ib/
• Profile and reels-tab URLs are paginated. Direct reel URLs are parsed from the public reel page.

🎞️ reels_count — Reels Per Profile

• Type: integer | Default: 10
• The maximum number of reels to collect per profile input. The Instagram Reels Scraper paginates until this limit is met or all available public reels are exhausted.

🌐 proxyCountry — Proxy Country

• Type: string | Default: US
• Choose the residential proxy exit country. Supported options include US, GB, AU, CA, DE, FR, NL, IT, ES, SE, NO, DK, FI, BE, AT, CH, IE, PL, PT, CZ, HU, RO, GR, JP, KR, SG, IN, BR, MX, AR, TR. The US setting is recommended for maximum Instagram public availability.

📌 skip_pinned_reels — Skip Pinned Reels

• Type: boolean | Default: false
• Why use this: Pinned reels are highlighted at the top of a profile grid and are often older content. Enabling this allows you to skip them to scan only the latest chronological reels.
• Billing: Skipped pinned reels do not count towards the requested reels_count limit and do NOT incur any pay-per-event charges (skipping them is completely free).

🧪 skip_trial_reels — Skip Trial Reels

• Type: boolean | Default: false
• Why use this: Trial reels are a specialized Instagram feature creators use to test content with non-followers temporarily before sharing them with their existing audience. Since these test videos are very rare, keeping this option enabled ensures you only collect permanent public reels.
• Billing: Skipped trial reels do not count towards the requested reels_count limit and do NOT incur any pay-per-event charges (skipping them is completely free).

📅 reels_newer_than — Extract Reels Newer Than

• Type: string (date) | Default: null
• Use the date picker to set a lower date bound. The Instagram Reels Scraper will skip any reel created before this date. Leave empty for no date filter.

💬 include_comments — Include Comments

• Type: boolean | Default: false
• Enable this to activate comment collection for each reel. The Instagram Reels Scraper fetches public comments via Instagram's GraphQL comment endpoint and nests them under comment_details in the output.
• ⚠️ Important: Comment scraping can take a significant amount of time, especially with higher limits. Please be patient while the scraper completes.

💬 comments_limit — Comments Limit Per Reel

• Type: integer | Default: 20
• The maximum number of public comments to collect per reel. Progress is logged every 50 comments (e.g. collected 100/500 complete 💬). If fewer comments are available, the output clearly states how many were requested and how many were returned.

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📤 Output Structure

Each row in the Apify dataset produced by the Instagram Reels Scraper represents one reel. The output is fully structured JSON based on real Instagram public data. Below is the complete, accurate field reference derived from actual output.

[!WARNING]

⚠️ Direct Reels vs. Profile Reels Differences

Depending on how a reel is scraped, Instagram's public API returns different levels of detail:

• Reels via Profile/Username (scraped from the reels tab): Includes views and play counts (view_count, play_count, ig_play_count), verify badges, owner details, pinned markers, and internal flags.
• Direct Reel Links (scraped directly from a single URL page): Instagram does not publish play counts (play_count, ig_play_count, view_count) on the public unauthenticated single reel HTML page. These fields are therefore not available and will be pruned from the direct reel output. Pinned status (is_pinned) is also only meaningful on the profile grid and will always be false (or omitted) for direct links.

📄 Top-Level Reel Fields

Field	Type	Description
number	integer	Sequential index of the reel in this run (1-based)
profile_url	string	The source profile or URL provided as input
reel_url	string	The canonical public reel URL (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZN0A4Mgx8-/)
post_url	string	Same as reel_url — included for compatibility
shortcode	string	Instagram's unique alphanumeric reel identifier (e.g. DZN0A4Mgx8-)
media_id	string	Instagram's internal numeric media ID
post_type	string	Always "video" for reels
reel_type	string	Always "video" for reels
is_pinned	boolean	Whether this reel is pinned on the profile
caption	string	The full caption text of the reel (always present, defaults to "" if empty)
caption_is_edited	boolean	Whether the original caption was later edited
caption_data	object	Full caption metadata including text, user, created_at, media_id, pk, status
like_count	integer	Total public likes on the reel
comment_count	integer	Total comments as reported by Instagram
view_count	integer	Total public view count / play count
play_count	integer	Same as view_count (Instagram internal field)
ig_play_count	integer	Instagram-specific play count field
share_count	integer	Total public share count (see note below; usually 0 for public profiles)
taken_at	integer	Unix epoch timestamp of when the reel was posted
created_at	string	ISO 8601 UTC timestamp of the reel creation
product_type	string	Always "clips" for Instagram Reels
original_width	integer	Original video width in pixels (e.g. 1080)
original_height	integer	Original video height in pixels (e.g. 1920)
video_duration	integer	Duration of the reel video in seconds
has_audio	boolean	Whether the reel has an audio track
is_video	boolean	Always true for reels
is_dash_eligible	integer	Whether DASH adaptive streaming is available (1 = yes)
video_url	object	An object {"value": "..."} containing the primary MP4 download URL
video_versions	array	Array of video quality variants — each has url, width, height, bandwidth, type, id
video_dash_manifest	string	MPEG-DASH XML manifest for adaptive streaming
display_url	string	URL of the reel's full cover thumbnail image
display_uri	string	URL of the reel's cropped/square cover thumbnail
image_versions2	object	All available thumbnail sizes
user	object	Creator profile object — see User Object below
usertags	object	Tagged users in the reel
comments_disabled	boolean	Whether the creator has disabled comments on this reel
commenting_disabled_for_viewer	boolean	Whether comments are locked for the scraper session
engagement_counts_hidden	boolean	Whether like/view counts are hidden on this post
is_paid_partnership	boolean	Whether the reel is marked as a paid partnership
media_repost_count	integer	Number of public reposts
carousel_media_count	integer	Always 0 for single reels
audio_type	string	The audio type label (e.g. "ORIGINAL_SOUNDS", "LICENSED_MUSIC")
transcript	string	Auto-generated transcript or caption text when available (defaults to "")
music_info	object	Metadata about the audio track, song title, artist, and license details
audio_reattribution_info	object	Info about original audio ownership
strong_id	string	Full unified ID code
comment_details	object	Nested comment data (only present when include_comments = true)

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👤 User Object (user field)

The user field contains the reel creator's public profile data:

Sub-field	Type	Description
pk / pk_id / id	string	Instagram user ID
username	string	Instagram handle (e.g. "cristiano")
full_name	string	Display name (e.g. "Cristiano Ronaldo")
is_verified	boolean	Whether the account has a verification badge
is_private	boolean	Whether the account is private
account_type	integer	Account type code (3 = creator/business)
profile_pic_url	string	150×150 profile picture URL
hd_profile_pic_url	string	Full-resolution (1080×1080) profile picture URL
hd_profile_pic_versions	array	Profile picture in multiple sizes (320px, 640px)
fbid_v2	string	Facebook cross-linked ID
third_party_downloads_enabled	integer	Whether downloads are allowed by the creator

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🎬 video_versions Array

Each item in video_versions represents a different quality encode:

Field	Description
bandwidth	Bitrate in bits per second
width / height	Video dimensions in pixels
type	Quality variant code (101, 102, 103...)
url	Direct MP4 download URL

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💬 Comment Object Fields (inside all_comments)

Field	Type	Description
comment_id	string	Unique comment identifier (same as pk)
pk	string	Instagram internal comment primary key
text	string	The full comment text
created_at	integer	Unix epoch timestamp of the comment
like_count	integer	Number of likes on the comment
comment_like_count	integer	Duplicate of like_count (Instagram internal)
child_comment_count	integer	Number of replies this comment has on Instagram
is_edited	boolean	Whether the comment was edited after posting
is_covered	boolean	Whether the comment is hidden/covered by Instagram
did_report_as_spam	boolean	Whether this comment was flagged as spam
has_liked_comment	boolean	Always false (scraper has no session)
__typename	string	Always "XDTCommentDict" for comments
user	object	Commenter's profile — id, username, is_verified, profile_pic_url, fbid_v2

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💸 Billing Model

The Instagram Reels Scraper uses the Apify PAY_PER_EVENT billing model. You are only charged for data that is actually returned:

Event	Charged When
reel	A complete reel row is successfully pushed to the dataset
comment	A comment is successfully collected and included in output

You are not charged for:

• Reels skipped due to date filters, pin settings, or trial reel filters
• Proxy retries and failed requests

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Instagram Reels Scraper require a login?

No. The Instagram Reels Scraper operates entirely on public endpoints. No login credentials are needed or used.

Why do some reels have 0 comments collected even though Instagram shows comments?

Instagram's public API comment endpoint may return fewer comments than the app displays, particularly for private accounts or accounts where comment visibility is restricted. The Instagram Reels Scraper can only access data that Instagram makes publicly available without authentication.

Can I scrape private accounts?

No. The Instagram Reels Scraper only works on public Instagram accounts and publicly visible reels. Private account data is not accessible without authentication, which this actor does not support.

Is this Instagram Reels Scraper compliant with Apify terms?

Yes. The Instagram Reels Scraper scrapes only publicly visible data, uses Apify's residential proxy infrastructure, and is designed for the Apify marketplace in full compliance with Apify's usage policies.

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📞 Support

If you encounter an issue with the Instagram Reels Scraper, please open a support request through the Apify Console. Include:

• Your run ID
• A description of the issue
• The log output from the failed run

The Instagram Reels Scraper is actively maintained and updated to keep pace with Instagram's public API changes.

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The Instagram Reels Scraper is built for scale, resilience, and professional-grade data collection. Deploy it today for your social media intelligence, market research, and content monitoring needs.