Instagram Media Metadata Scraper

Read public Instagram post, reel, TV, and profile metadata from page HTML, Open Graph tags, embedded public JSON, JSON-LD, and the public oEmbed endpoint. Saved records can include captions, author and profile fields, canonical URLs, engagement counts, media references and dimensions, profile statistics, and links discovered on a profile. Media bytes are never downloaded.

Get started

1. Open the Actor Store page and select Try for free or open the Input tab.
2. Supply media URLs in postUrls (or the legacy post_urls) and/or profile usernames. At least one target is required.
3. Set maxItems and maxPosts_per_username to bound the run. Keep both small for the first run.
4. Start the Actor, open the dataset, and export the records as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Open Run summary (OUTPUT) to check record and failure counts.

Input

At least one target is required at runtime, although the schema marks every field optional. Unsupported field names and out-of-range values are rejected before requests start.

Field	Type	Required?	Default	Meaning
postUrls	string array	One of postUrls / post_urls / usernames	Not supplied (prefill: one reel URL)	HTTPS Instagram post, reel, or TV URLs, 1–100 entries. Public page metadata is read; media bytes are not downloaded.
post_urls	string array	One of postUrls / post_urls / usernames	Not supplied	Legacy snake_case alias for postUrls. Both lists are combined and deduplicated.
usernames	string array	One of postUrls / post_urls / usernames	Not supplied (prefill: instagram)	Public usernames with an optional leading @. Each profile emits a profile record, and up to maxPosts_per_username observed media links are enriched within the remaining maxItems.
maxPosts_per_username	integer	Optional	10	Maximum media links discovered from each profile page, 1–100. Discovery is also capped by the remaining global target budget.
maxItems	integer	Optional	100	Global cap, 1–100, on unique scheduled targets and saved normal records across direct URLs and profile-discovered media. Diagnostics are logged, not written as rows.
requestTimeoutSecs	integer	Optional	20	Per-page request timeout, 5–60 seconds. oEmbed requests use the lower of this value and 30 seconds.
maxRequestRetries	integer	Optional	2	Retries for transient network and 429/5xx responses, 0–3. Access blocks are not retried indefinitely.
requestDelayMs	integer	Optional	0	Delay before each target after the first, 0–10,000 ms.
proxyConfiguration	object	Optional	{"useApifyProxy":false}	Optional Apify Proxy settings: useApifyProxy, apifyProxyGroups, and apifyProxyCountry. Direct requests are the default; proxy credentials are never written to output.

Example input using the prefill and defaults:

{
  "postUrls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/reel/Dc30nJeRKKz/"
  ],
  "usernames": ["instagram"],
  "maxPosts_per_username": 10,
  "maxItems": 100,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 20,
  "maxRequestRetries": 2,
  "requestDelayMs": 0,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}

Remove either target list if it is not needed. Supplying both is valid; duplicate normalized targets are processed once.

Output

The dataset contains one row per saved media or profile record. Optional values are omitted when Instagram does not expose them, and source failures produce log diagnostics instead of placeholder rows. Public pages can expose different fields for posts, reels, TV pages, and profiles.

Field	Type	Availability	Meaning
url	string	Always	Normalized target URL; added by the dataset sanitizer.
searchUrl	string	Always	Compatibility alias equal to sourceUrl.
id	string	Always	Stable deterministic identifier derived from the normalized target URL.
recordType	string enum	Always	instagram-media-metadata or instagram-profile-metadata.
targetType	string enum	Always	media or profile.
targetUrl	string	Always	Normalized target URL requested or discovered from a profile.
sourceUrl	string	Always	Public Instagram page URL used for extraction.
discoveredFromProfile	string	When discovered from a profile	Profile URL that exposed the media link.
source	string	Always	instagram-public-page or instagram-public-page-and-oembed.
canonicalUrl	string	Always	Canonical URL from Open Graph or oEmbed, with the target URL as fallback.
pageTitle	string	When published	HTML or Open Graph page title.
caption	string	When published	Public caption or description. Instagram may shorten it in page metadata.
title	string	When published	Public media title, or the profile display name for profile rows.
author	string	When published	Public author or creator name.
authorUsername	string	When published	Public author username.
authorUrl	string	When published	Public author profile URL.
authorId	string or number	When published	Public author identifier from oEmbed or embedded data.
profileUsername	string	When published	Profile username for a profile target or the media owner.
profileFullName	string	When published	Public profile display name.
profileBio	string	When published	Public profile biography from embedded page data.
profileFollowers	integer	When published	Public follower count.
profileFollowing	integer	When published	Public following count.
profilePostCount	integer	When published	Public profile post count.
profileIsVerified	boolean	When published	Public verification flag.
profileIsPrivate	boolean	When published	Public private-profile flag.
profileImageUrl	string	When published	Profile image URL.
profileExternalUrls	string array	When published	Public external links exposed by the profile, capped at 20.
highlightUrls	string array	When published	Public profile highlight URLs, capped at 50.
recentPostUrls	string array	When published	Public media URLs observed on a profile, capped at 100.
imageUrl	string	When published	Primary image URL for the target media.
mediaUrl	string	When published	Primary public video URL for the target media.
mediaType	string enum	When published	Exposed media type: image, video, or carousel. This describes observed media references, so a reel URL can produce image when only an image is exposed.
width	integer	When published	Media width in pixels.
height	integer	When published	Media height in pixels.
duration	string	When published	Source duration representation.
durationSeconds	number	When published	Normalized media duration in seconds.
uploadDate	string	When published	Publication date/time from embedded data or page text.
likeCount	integer	When published	Public like count; display labels may be rounded or abbreviated.
commentCount	integer	When published	Public comment count; display labels may be rounded.
videoViewCount	integer	When published	Public video view or play count.
carouselItemCount	integer	When published	Number of carousel children.
embedHtml	string	When published	Public oEmbed HTML snippet.
oembedProvider	string	When published	oEmbed provider name.
structuredData	object array	When published	Up to 10 public JSON-LD objects embedded in the page.
mediaReferences	object array	When published	Deduplicated media references with url, kind, width, height, durationSeconds, and source, capped at 30.
downloadAvailable	boolean	Always	Whether a public media URL was observed. No bytes are stored or downloaded.
transcriptAvailable	boolean	Always	Whether a public transcript was observed. Current page extraction reports false.
metadata	object	When published	Small page subset: contentLanguage and openGraphType.
scrapedAt	string	Always	Time the row was emitted, in ISO UTC.

Example of a real saved row from the 2026-10-25 run. The mediaReferences array contains its single real entry; no values are invented.

{
  "id": "instagram:df697121c65cd31bbffda568",
  "recordType": "instagram-media-metadata",
  "targetType": "media",
  "targetUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/reel/Dc30nJeRKKz/",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/reel/Dc30nJeRKKz/",
  "source": "instagram-public-page",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/reel/Dc30nJeRKKz/",
  "pageTitle": "Instagram on Instagram: \"that’s his spa now 🚰 #InTheMoment Video by @misterbeanito\"",
  "caption": "that’s his spa now 🚰 #InTheMoment Video by @misterbeanito\".",
  "title": "Instagram on Instagram: \"that’s his spa now 🚰 #InTheMoment Video by @misterbeanito\"",
  "author": "Instagram",
  "authorUsername": "instagram",
  "imageUrl": "https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/795341832_1575427477361093_319242826385620795_n.jpg?stp=cmp1_dst-jpg_e35_s640x640_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0xJUFMuYmVzdF9pbWFnZV91cmxnZW4uQzIifQ%3D%3D&_nc_ohc=GwEZWrttYssQ7kNvwF_eWHA&_nc_oc=AdpXONfQnWz4X2sS_weAaiFcNEvOPiKbLk5NNEYI1h1OWChqpM4_Y5PDhepHmg55IFU&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=VtCqvTbex-3yOFn4wow_fQ&_nc_ss=70689&oh=00_AQMVUkQHRiKQRf3_1uzFjpLY_HQzVwgTHo5XI4vqx5x8Zg&oe=6AE4502C",
  "mediaType": "image",
  "uploadDate": "2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z",
  "likeCount": 966000,
  "commentCount": 22000,
  "mediaReferences": [
    {
      "url": "https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/795341832_1575427477361093_319242826385620795_n.jpg?stp=cmp1_dst-jpg_e35_s640x640_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0xJUFMuYmVzdF9pbWFnZV91cmxnZW4uQzIifQ%3D%3D&_nc_ohc=GwEZWrttYssQ7kNvwF_eWHA&_nc_oc=AdpXONfQnWz4X2sS_weAaiFcNEvOPiKbLk5NNEYI1h1OWChqpM4_Y5PDhepHmg55IFU&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=VtCqvTbex-3yOFn4wow_fQ&_nc_ss=70689&oh=00_AQMVUkQHRiKQRf3_1uzFjpLY_HQzVwgTHo5XI4vqx5x8Zg&oe=6AE4502C",
      "kind": "image",
      "source": "open_graph"
    }
  ],
  "downloadAvailable": true,
  "transcriptAvailable": false,
  "metadata": {
    "openGraphType": "article"
  },
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-25T20:47:35.308Z",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/reel/Dc30nJeRKKz/",
  "searchUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/instagram/reel/Dc30nJeRKKz/"
}

Run summary

Run summary is stored separately from the dataset in the run's key-value store under OUTPUT.

Field	Meaning
status	Actor process outcome: SUCCEEDED or FAILED.
runStatus	Canonical run status; matches status.
dataStatus	Completeness of saved rows: COMPLETE, PARTIAL, NO_RESULTS, or FAILED.
requestedTargetCount	Unique targets left after normalization and the maxItems cap.
scheduledTargetCount	Target pages attempted, including failed pages.
emittedCount	Normal records written to the dataset.
normalCount	Normal records written; matches emittedCount.
diagnosticCount	Source diagnostics logged; diagnostics are not dataset rows.
failureCount	Diagnostics other than NO_PUBLIC_METADATA and PAGE_UNAVAILABLE, plus dataset write failures.
uniqueTargetCount	Distinct target URLs seen in results, including failed targets.
profileRecordCount	Normal profile records produced before dataset-write failures.
mediaRecordCount	Normal media records produced before dataset-write failures.
discoveredPostCount	Media links discovered from profile pages and queued within the target budget.
oembedRequests	oEmbed endpoint attempts. A media target can try up to two endpoints.
blockedCount	Pages treated as blocked or challenge responses.
maxItems	Global target and record cap used for the run.
datasetWriteFailureCount	Records that could not be written to the dataset.
optionalFailureCount	Optional summary-write failures.
completedAt	Time the summary was written, in ISO UTC.

Status	Data status	Meaning
SUCCEEDED	COMPLETE	Records were saved without diagnostics.
SUCCEEDED	PARTIAL	Records were saved, but at least one diagnostic or dataset write failure occurred. Saved rows remain available.
SUCCEEDED	NO_RESULTS	The run completed cleanly with no usable public metadata and no counted failures.
FAILED	FAILED	No record was saved and at least one counted failure occurred.

Example OUTPUT from the 2026-10-25 run:

{
  "status": "SUCCEEDED",
  "runStatus": "SUCCEEDED",
  "dataStatus": "COMPLETE",
  "requestedTargetCount": 1,
  "scheduledTargetCount": 1,
  "emittedCount": 1,
  "normalCount": 1,
  "diagnosticCount": 0,
  "failureCount": 0,
  "uniqueTargetCount": 1,
  "profileRecordCount": 0,
  "mediaRecordCount": 1,
  "discoveredPostCount": 0,
  "oembedRequests": 2,
  "blockedCount": 0,
  "maxItems": 1,
  "datasetWriteFailureCount": 0,
  "optionalFailureCount": 0,
  "completedAt": "2026-10-25T20:47:35.385Z"
}

Coverage and limitations

The Actor reads only public page HTML, embedded public JSON, Open Graph metadata, JSON-LD, and Instagram's public oEmbed endpoints. It does not log in, use cookies or private APIs, solve challenges, bypass rate limits, download image or video bytes, fetch transcripts, or collect comments. transcriptAvailable currently reports false, and downloadAvailable only means a public media URL was observed; it does not grant reuse rights.

Profile targets produce one profile record plus up to maxPosts_per_username discovered media targets, all within the remaining maxItems budget. Discovered links are whatever the public page exposes; recentPostUrls is not a complete profile catalog. A reel URL can yield mediaType: "image" when Instagram exposes only a still image for that request. Media and CDN URLs are time-limited and can expire after the run. Engagement counts parsed from display text may be rounded. Captions may be shortened by the page metadata, and a blank field means the public response did not expose it.

maxItems limits normalized targets and saved rows; log diagnostics do not create rows. oEmbed is optional enrichment, so records without oEmbed fields are still valid. NO_PUBLIC_METADATA, PAGE_UNAVAILABLE, BLOCKED_OR_CHALLENGE, HTTP errors, and request failures are reported through logs and OUTPUT, and can leave the run PARTIAL or FAILED. Apify Proxy is optional; direct requests are the default.

Usage and support

Cost depends on the number of unique targets, profile discovery, oEmbed attempts, page size, retries, and proxy use. Start with a single URL or profile and a low maxItems, inspect the dataset and OUTPUT, then scale. See the Actor's Pricing tab for current account rates.

Use the Actor Issues page to report a problem. Include the run ID, the input used, and the run summary; do not include tokens, cookies, or private data. This Actor is not affiliated with Instagram or Meta. Use it only for public data and in accordance with Instagram's terms, robots guidance, and applicable law. Public pages can contain personal information; use the output only for lawful purposes.