# Instagram Creator Lead Finder (`softreset/instagram-creator-lead-finder`) Actor Discover creator/business Instagram accounts by hashtag and extract public bio emails, follower counts and categories. - **URL**: https://apify.com/softreset/instagram-creator-lead-finder.md - **Developed by:** [Soft Reset](https://apify.com/softreset) (community) - **Categories:** Agents, Automation, Lead generation - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## 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.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.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/platform/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 Creator Lead Finder Discover creator and business Instagram accounts by hashtag, and extract their public bio/business **email**, **follower count**, **category** and **profile URL**. Give it a list of hashtags and a follower band; it pulls recent post authors for each hashtag, looks up each profile, and outputs the accounts that fall inside your band — optionally only the ones that publish a contact email. ### Input | Field | Type | Notes | |---|---|---| | `hashtags` | array | Hashtags to scan (no `#`). | | `postsPerHashtag` | integer | Recent authors to pull per hashtag (default 30). | | `followerMin` / `followerMax` | integer | Follower band to keep (default 1k–1M). | | `onlyWithEmail` | boolean | Keep only accounts with a public email (default false). | | `sessionids` | array | **Required.** Instagram `sessionid` cookies from accounts you control. | | `minDelay` / `maxDelay` | integer | Per-session request throttle, seconds (default 3–6). | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Proxy to reach Instagram. **Residential strongly recommended.** | #### Getting a `sessionid` Log into an Instagram account you own in Chrome → DevTools → Application → Cookies → `https://www.instagram.com` → copy the value of the `sessionid` cookie. Supply one or more; the Actor rotates across them and parks any that get rate-limited. ### Output One dataset item per in-band account: ```json { "username": "creatorhandle", "name": "Full Name", "followers": 24300, "email": "hello@creator.com", "bio": "...", "category": "Digital creator", "profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/creatorhandle" } ```` ### Why this Actor exists (project note) This is a publishable port of `lead-engine-2/ig_scraper.py`. Two reasons it's here: 1. **It unlocks free Apify Creator-plan credits (~$500 / 6 months).** Publishing a working Actor to the Apify Store qualifies the account for the Creator Plan. Those credits then fund the lead discovery in `../lead-engine/discover.py` from Apify's own residential infrastructure — so **no burner accounts run on your machine and nothing depends on your laptop being awake.** 2. It runs on **Apify Proxy (residential)**, which is the legitimate fix for the "datacenter IPs get IG-blocked instantly" problem that forced the old engine to run locally. ### Publish steps (one-time) ```bash npm install -g apify-cli # if not installed cd apify-actor apify login # use your ONE permanent Apify account apify push # builds + uploads the Actor to your account ``` Then in the Apify Console: open the Actor → **Publish** → set it public to qualify for the Creator Plan. Run it once from the Console to confirm a green run and a populated dataset. ### Local run ```bash cd apify-actor apify run -i '{"hashtags":["parentingcoach"],"sessionids":[""],"postsPerHashtag":10}' ``` # Actor input Schema ## `hashtags` (type: `array`): Hashtags to discover creators from (without the # symbol). ## `postsPerHashtag` (type: `integer`): How many recent post authors to pull per hashtag. ## `followerMin` (type: `integer`): Keep only accounts with at least this many followers. ## `followerMax` (type: `integer`): Keep only accounts with at most this many followers. ## `onlyWithEmail` (type: `boolean`): If on, drop accounts that have no public/business email in their bio. ## `sessionids` (type: `array`): One or more Instagram `sessionid` cookies from accounts you control. Required — Instagram's endpoints need an authenticated session. Capture from your browser: DevTools > Application > Cookies > instagram.com > sessionid. ## `minDelay` (type: `integer`): Lower bound of the per-session throttle. Higher is safer/slower. ## `maxDelay` (type: `integer`): Upper bound of the per-session throttle. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Proxy used to reach Instagram. Residential is best (datacenter IPs get blocked faster); if your plan has no residential proxy, the default Apify proxy + an authenticated sessionid is the fallback. ## Actor input object example ```json { "hashtags": [ "momcontentcreator", "parentingcoach" ], "postsPerHashtag": 30, "followerMin": 1000, "followerMax": 1000000, "onlyWithEmail": false, "minDelay": 3, "maxDelay": 6, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } } ``` # 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 = { "hashtags": [ "momcontentcreator", "parentingcoach" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("softreset/instagram-creator-lead-finder").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 = { "hashtags": [ "momcontentcreator", "parentingcoach", ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("softreset/instagram-creator-lead-finder").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 '{ "hashtags": [ "momcontentcreator", "parentingcoach" ], "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true } }' | apify call softreset/instagram-creator-lead-finder --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=softreset/instagram-creator-lead-finder", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Instagram Creator Lead Finder", "description": "Discover creator/business Instagram accounts by hashtag and extract public bio emails, follower counts and categories.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "fKdiqUd63bzkEW5E9" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/softreset~instagram-creator-lead-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-softreset-instagram-creator-lead-finder", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/softreset~instagram-creator-lead-finder/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-softreset-instagram-creator-lead-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/softreset~instagram-creator-lead-finder/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-softreset-instagram-creator-lead-finder", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "required": [ "hashtags", "sessionids" ], "properties": { "hashtags": { "title": "Hashtags", "type": "array", "description": "Hashtags to discover creators from (without the # symbol).", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "postsPerHashtag": { "title": "Posts per hashtag", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "How many recent post authors to pull per hashtag.", "default": 30 }, "followerMin": { "title": "Minimum followers", "type": "integer", "description": "Keep only accounts with at least this many followers.", "default": 1000 }, "followerMax": { "title": "Maximum followers", "type": "integer", "description": "Keep only accounts with at most this many followers.", "default": 1000000 }, "onlyWithEmail": { "title": "Only accounts with a public email", "type": "boolean", "description": "If on, drop accounts that have no public/business email in their bio.", "default": false }, "sessionids": { "title": "Instagram sessionid cookies", "type": "array", "description": "One or more Instagram `sessionid` cookies from accounts you control. Required — Instagram's endpoints need an authenticated session. Capture from your browser: DevTools > Application > Cookies > instagram.com > sessionid.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "minDelay": { "title": "Min delay between requests (seconds)", "type": "integer", "description": "Lower bound of the per-session throttle. Higher is safer/slower.", "default": 3 }, "maxDelay": { "title": "Max delay between requests (seconds)", "type": "integer", "description": "Upper bound of the per-session throttle.", "default": 6 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Proxy used to reach Instagram. Residential is best (datacenter IPs get blocked faster); if your plan has no residential proxy, the default Apify proxy + an authenticated sessionid is the fallback.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": true } } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```