🎬 Instagram Single Reels Scraper with Video Hashtag Extractor

Scrape any Instagram Reel by URL, username/shortcode pair, or bare shortcode — and get the complete picture in one row: caption, every hashtag and @mention parsed out of it, likes, comments, views, video and thumbnail URLs, audio details, tagged users, co-authors, paid-partnership flags and external links pasted in the caption.

Hashtag and mention extraction costs zero extra requests — it is parsed from data already retrieved. And the whole thing runs fully logged out: no Instagram account, no cookies required.

---

What you get

🎬 Reel	🏷️ Parsed from the caption	🎵 Audio & people
Shortcode and media ID	All hashtags + hashtag count	Music asset ID and audio type
Full caption text	All mentioned usernames + count	Artist username
Publication time (ISO)	Structured mentions (tagged / co-author)	Original-audio flag
Likes, comments, views	External links found in the caption	Tagged users with position
Best-quality video URL		Co-authors
Thumbnail URL		Paid-partnership flag
Width, height, audio flag		Sponsor tags
Media type and product type		Owner: username, name, ID, verified, private, avatar

---

Key features

• Three input formats. Full reel URL, username/shortcode, or just the bare shortcode. Mix them freely — and the legacy urls key still works for existing integrations.
• Hashtag and mention extraction with no extra requests. Captions are parsed for #hashtags and @mentions during processing, so you get hashtags, hashtagCount, mentionedUsernames and mentionCount for free — no second API call, no extra cost, no extra time.
• Structured mentions. Beyond caption text, structuredMentions distinguishes accounts that are tagged in the media from accounts that are co-authors — a real distinction that matters for collaboration and sponsorship analysis.
• Filter at source. filterByHashtag keeps only reels whose caption contains a given hashtag; filterByMention keeps only reels that mention, tag or co-author a given account. Perfect for campaign tracking against a branded hashtag.
• External links from captions. Call-to-action URLs pasted into captions are extracted into externalLinks — the link creators actually want you to click.
• Sponsorship signals. isPaidPartnership and sponsorTags identify commercial content explicitly.
• Complete audio metadata. Music asset ID, audio type, artist username and whether the audio is original.
• Runs logged out by default. Tokens are taken from a public profile page rather than a session, so no account is required. An optional sessionId can be attached for your own run, and is never stored.
• Residential proxies always on. Every request goes through residential proxies for maximum reliability against rate limiting.

---

Use cases

• Campaign and hashtag tracking — filter to a branded hashtag and measure reach, engagement and who is participating.
• Influencer vetting — a reel's views, likes and comments alongside the owner's verification status, in one row.
• Sponsorship and brand-deal research — isPaidPartnership, sponsorTags and structuredMentions map creator↔brand relationships.
• Competitor content analysis — which hashtags and sounds competitors use, and what it earns them.
• Audio trend research — track which music assets are driving reach in a niche.
• UGC discovery — filter by mention to collect every reel tagging your brand.
• Content archiving — video and thumbnail URLs plus full metadata for a durable record.
• Link and funnel analysis — external links in captions show where creators send their audience.

---

How it works

1. You supply reel inputs — URLs, username/shortcode pairs, or bare shortcodes.
2. Public access tokens are obtained from a public profile page — no login, no session.
3. Each reel's data is fetched through residential proxies.
4. The caption is parsed for hashtags, mentions and external links, and structured mention data is built from the media's tagged users and co-authors.
5. Your hashtag or mention filter is applied, dropping reels that do not match.
6. Each reel is pushed to the dataset with the full field set.

---

Quick start

1. Copy a reel URL from Instagram — e.g. https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/reel/DOEMHa6iPoz/.
2. Paste it into Instagram Reel URLs / Shortcodes.
3. (Optional) Set a hashtag or mention filter.
4. Click Start, then export the Output tab as JSON (recommended) or CSV.

Minimal input

{
  "reelUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/reel/DOEMHa6iPoz/"]
}

---

Input configuration

Field	Type	Default	Description
reelUrls	array	—	Reel inputs. Accepts full URLs (https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/reel/DOEMHa6iPoz/), username/shortcode (cristiano/DOEMHa6iPoz), or bare shortcodes (DOEMHa6iPoz). The legacy urls key is still accepted.
filterByHashtag	string	—	Keep only reels whose caption contains this hashtag, with or without the #. Example: StayedForMore.
filterByMention	string	—	Keep only reels that mention, tag or co-author this username, with or without the @. Example: visitsaudi.
sessionId	string	—	Optional. An Instagram sessionid cookie. Not required — the Actor runs fully logged out by default. When supplied it is attached to this run's requests only, and never stored.
proxyConfiguration	object	Apify Residential	The Actor always uses residential proxies regardless of selection, for reliability against rate limiting.

---

Output data

One row per reel.

Reel

Field	Type	Description
shortcode	string	Reel shortcode.
mediaId	string	Instagram media ID.
captionText	string	Full caption.
takenAtIso	string	Publication time (ISO).
likeCount, commentCount, viewCount	number	Engagement metrics (view count falls back to play count).
videoUrlBest	string	Best available video URL.
thumbnailUrl	string	Thumbnail image URL.
videoWidth, videoHeight	number	Original dimensions.
hasAudio	boolean	Whether the reel has audio.
mediaType, productType	string / number	Instagram media and product classification.

Parsed from the caption

hashtags[], hashtagCount, mentionedUsernames[], mentionCount, externalLinks[].

People

ownerUsername, ownerFullName, ownerId, ownerIsVerified, ownerIsPrivate, ownerProfilePicUrl, taggedUsers[] (with username, id, fullName, isVerified, position), coauthors[], structuredMentions[] (each with source: taggedUser or coauthor).

Commercial

isPaidPartnership, sponsorTags.

Audio

musicAssetId, musicAudioType, musicArtistUsername, musicIsOriginalAudio.

Example output (trimmed)

{
  "shortcode": "DOEMHa6iPoz",
  "mediaId": "3412345678901234567",
  "ownerUsername": "examplecreator",
  "ownerFullName": "Example Creator",
  "ownerIsVerified": true,
  "captionText": "Three days in AlUla with @visitsaudi ✨ #StayedForMore #travel — full guide: https://example.com/alula",
  "takenAtIso": "2026-08-04T14:03:22Z",
  "likeCount": 284511,
  "commentCount": 1342,
  "viewCount": 4128900,
  "hashtags": ["StayedForMore", "travel"],
  "hashtagCount": 2,
  "mentionedUsernames": ["visitsaudi"],
  "mentionCount": 1,
  "externalLinks": ["https://example.com/alula"],
  "structuredMentions": [
    { "username": "visitsaudi", "isVerified": true, "source": "coauthor" }
  ],
  "taggedUsers": [
    { "username": "visitsaudi", "fullName": "Visit Saudi", "isVerified": true, "position": [0.5, 0.5] }
  ],
  "isPaidPartnership": true,
  "videoUrlBest": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/…",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/…",
  "videoWidth": 1080,
  "videoHeight": 1920,
  "hasAudio": true,
  "musicArtistUsername": "examplecreator",
  "musicIsOriginalAudio": true
}

Illustrative values — a live run returns current Instagram data.

---

Usage examples

Bulk reels, mixed input formats

{
  "reelUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/reel/DOEMHa6iPoz/",
    "examplecreator/DAbCdEfGhIj",
    "DXyZ12345Ab"
  ]
}

Campaign tracking by hashtag

{
  "reelUrls": ["…list of reel URLs…"],
  "filterByHashtag": "StayedForMore"
}

Only reels actually carrying the campaign hashtag are kept — nothing to filter afterwards.

Find UGC that tags your brand

{
  "reelUrls": ["…list of reel URLs…"],
  "filterByMention": "yourbrand"
}

This matches captions and tagged/co-author relationships, so it catches mentions a text search would miss.

Map creator↔brand relationships

Run without filters and pivot the export on structuredMentions and isPaidPartnership to see which creators are working with which brands.

Audio trend analysis

Group your export by musicAssetId and compare viewCount — the sounds pulling the most reach in your niche become obvious.

---

Run it from your own code

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>")

run = client.actor("scraperx/instagram-single-reels-scraper").call(run_input={
    "reelUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/reel/DOEMHa6iPoz/"],
})

for reel in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(reel["ownerUsername"], reel["viewCount"], reel["hashtags"])

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>' });

const run = await client.actor('scraperx/instagram-single-reels-scraper').call({
    reelUrls: ['https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/reel/DOEMHa6iPoz/'],
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scraperx~instagram-single-reels-scraper/runs?token=<YOUR_APIFY_API_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"reelUrls":["https://www.instagram.com/cristiano/reel/DOEMHa6iPoz/"]}'

Integrations

Send reels into Google Sheets, Airtable, Slack, Make, Zapier, Google Drive or your own endpoint via webhooks, and use Schedules to track a campaign hashtag over time.

---

Pricing

Pricing for this Actor is shown on its Pricing tab on the Actor page, and Apify displays the applicable cost before you run it. Free Apify accounts include monthly platform credit that is enough to trial it.

Because the Actor always routes through Apify Residential proxies, that proxy traffic is billed separately by the platform according to your plan.

---

Limits & good to know

• This Actor targets individual reels. You supply the reel identifiers; it does not crawl a profile to discover them. Pair it with a profile or hashtag scraper to build the input list.
• Public content only. Reels from private accounts are not accessible.
• Filters drop rows, they do not search. filterByHashtag and filterByMention narrow the reels you supplied — they do not find new ones.
• Media URLs expire. Video and thumbnail URLs point at Instagram's CDN — download assets promptly if you need the files.
• viewCount falls back to play count when Instagram does not expose a view count for that reel.
• Some fields depend on what Instagram publishes: sponsor tags, tagged users and music details are not present on every reel.
• The optional sessionId is used only for the current run's requests and is never stored.
• Default run options are 4 GB memory and a 1-hour timeout — raise the timeout for long input lists.

---

FAQ

Do I need an Instagram account or cookies? No. The Actor runs fully logged out by default, taking public tokens from a public profile page.

What can I paste as input? Full reel URLs, username/shortcode pairs, or bare shortcodes — mixed freely in the same list.

How do hashtags get extracted? From the caption, during processing — no extra request and no extra cost. You get both the list and the count.

What is the difference between mentionedUsernames and structuredMentions? mentionedUsernames comes from the caption text. structuredMentions comes from Instagram's own data and tells you whether an account is a tagged user or a co-author.

Can I filter to one campaign hashtag? Yes — filterByHashtag keeps only reels whose caption contains it.

Does it download the video? No, it returns the best available video URL. Fetch the file yourself if you need it.

Why is a field empty? Instagram does not publish it for that reel — sponsor tags and music details in particular vary by post.

Which export format should I use? JSON — hashtags, taggedUsers, structuredMentions and externalLinks are arrays. CSV works if you only need metrics.

---

Legal & responsible use

This Actor collects only publicly available Instagram reel data — the same content any visitor can view without logging in. It does not log in by default, follow accounts, or access private content. Videos, captions and images remain the property of their creators, and usernames, avatars and tagged identities are personal data. Ensure your use complies with Instagram's terms, copyright, and GDPR or comparable regulations. If you supply a sessionId, you are responsible for that account, including Instagram's restrictions on automated access.

Support

Need profile-wide reel discovery, extra fields, or a custom Instagram pipeline? Open an issue on the Issues tab of this Actor.