# Instagram Post Scraper (`crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper`) Actor

Scrape public Instagram posts, reels, IGTV and carousel posts from direct URLs with no login, no cookies, no browser required. Supply a list of Instagram links and receive a structured dataset with author details, caption, media URLs, engagement counts, publish date, music, location, and more.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 31 total users, 20 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Post Scraper

Scrape public Instagram posts, reels, IGTV and carousel posts from direct URLs — no login, no cookies, no browser required. Supply a list of Instagram links (`/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, `/tv/`, or the canonical `username/p/shortcode` format) and receive a structured dataset with author details, caption, media URLs, engagement counts, publish date, music, location, and more. Handles batches of 10,000 URLs per run with per-IP proxy rotation that keeps pace fast even under rate limiting.

### What this actor does

- **Scrape posts by URL** — accepts any mix of `/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, `/tv/`, and canonical `username/p/shortcode` links in a single run
- **Full media extraction** — returns direct CDN URLs for every photo, video, reel and carousel item, including per-item resolution and duration
- **Rich author data** — username, display name, verified status, and profile picture URL
- **Engagement metrics** — like count, comment count, per-item video duration, and whether likes are publicly hidden
- **Captions, hashtags, and mentions** — caption text parsed with hashtags and @mentions extracted as separate arrays
- **Location and music** — tagged location (name, coordinates) and reel music (artist, title, audio ID) when present
- **Status tracking** — every input URL produces a record; inaccessible, deleted, age-restricted, and invalid URLs each carry a clear `status` value so no URL is silently lost
- **Scale without blocks** — per-IP cooldown with exponential back-off, automatic slot recycling, and UUID-prefixed sessions that guarantee fresh IPs on every run

### Output per post record

**Always present**

- `status` — scrape outcome: `success`, `not_found`, `age_restricted`, `invalid_url`, `error`, or `blocked` (see Status values section below)
- `post_url` — full Instagram post URL (`https://www.instagram.com/p/{shortcode}/`)

Records with any `status` other than `success` contain only these two fields — no other keys are present.

**Present on successfully scraped posts (`status: success`)**

- `shortcode` — the post's unique shortcode identifier
- `scraped_at` — ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was scraped, UTC (no `+00:00` suffix)
- `post_id` — Instagram's internal numeric post ID
- `username` — author's Instagram username (also included in `author_meta` below)
- `author_meta` — object with the author's `id`, `username`, `full_name`, `is_verified`, `profile_pic_url`, `profile_url`, `followers`, and `post_count`
- `pub_date` — ISO 8601 publish timestamp, UTC (no `+00:00` suffix)
- `media_type` — one of `Photo`, `Video`, `Reel`, `IGTV`, or `Carousel`
- `media_count` — number of media items (always `1` except for carousels)
- `thumbnail_url` — CDN URL of the post thumbnail image
- `like_count` — number of likes (`null` when `likes_hidden` is `true`)
- `comment_count` — number of comments
- `likes_hidden` — `true` if the author has hidden like counts, `false` otherwise
- `comments_disabled` — `true` if comments are turned off on the post, `false` otherwise
- `caption` — full caption text (empty string `""` when there is no caption)
- `hashtags` — array of hashtags found in the caption (empty array `[]` when none)
- `mentions` — array of @mentioned usernames in the caption (empty array when none)
- `tagged_users` — array of usernames tagged in the post media (empty array when none)
- `collaborators` — array of co-author usernames (empty array when none)
- `media_items` — array of per-item objects, each with `index`, `type`, `url`, `width`, `height`. Single-item array for photos, videos, reels, and IGTV; multi-item array for carousels. Video items also include `duration` (seconds), `has_audio`, and `play_count`

**Present only when location is tagged**

- `location` — object with `name`, `id`, `slug`, `lat`, `lng`

**Present only for reels with music attribution**

- `music` — object with `artist`, `title`, `audio_id`, `is_trending`

**Present only for posts with accessibility captions**

- `accessibility_caption` — auto-generated accessibility description of the image

### Status values

Every input URL — whether valid or not — produces exactly one output record with a `status` field:

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `success` | Post scraped successfully; all fields populated |
| `age_restricted` | Post is gated behind Instagram's age/login wall |
| `not_found` | Post is deleted or otherwise nonexistent |
| `invalid_url` | The URL is not a recognisable Instagram post link |
| `error` | Unexpected failure after all retry attempts |
| `blocked` | All proxy IPs were exhausted before the post could be fetched |

#### Age-restricted content

Instagram age-gates some posts, either at the post level (alcohol brands, adult content) or at the account level (accounts with a minimum-age setting, e.g. "People under 18 can't see this content"). Both cases render an identical, generic error page on the logged-out post HTML — indistinguishable from a deleted post — but Instagram's public oEmbed API exposes the real reason (`400 geoblock_required` for a gated post vs `404` for a deleted one), so the scraper checks that endpoint as a last resort and reports `status: "age_restricted"` for either kind of gate. This cannot be bypassed without an authenticated session, so no further post data is returned for these posts.

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `post_urls` | array | yes | Instagram post, reel, or IGTV URLs. Accepts `/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, `/tv/`, and `username/p/shortcode` formats. Duplicates are silently de-duplicated. Up to 10,000 URLs per run |

#### Example: scrape a single post

```json
{
  "post_urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/"
  ]
}
```

#### Example: mixed batch of posts, reels, and canonical URLs

```json
{
  "post_urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9uzjsSpHJC/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/leomessi/p/DZifppZj_cB/",
    "https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQa7HaGlRPD/"
  ]
}
```

#### Example: large batch

```json
{
  "post_urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/",
    "... (up to 10,000 URLs)"
  ]
}
```

### Example output

```json
{
  "status": "success",
  "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/",
  "shortcode": "DUtk38cj2TA",
  "post_id": "3672810928374650123",
  "username": "natgeo",
  "author_meta": {
    "id": "787132",
    "username": "natgeo",
    "full_name": "National Geographic",
    "is_verified": true,
    "profile_pic_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...",
    "profile_url": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/",
    "followers": 284000000,
    "post_count": 32400
  },
  "caption": "The ancient forest at dawn. #nature #wildlife #photography",
  "hashtags": ["nature", "wildlife", "photography"],
  "mentions": [],
  "pub_date": "2025-11-12T08:30:00",
  "media_type": "Photo",
  "media_count": 1,
  "media_items": [
    { "index": 1, "type": "Photo", "url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1350 }
  ],
  "thumbnail_url": "https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/...jpg",
  "like_count": 482910,
  "comment_count": 3204,
  "likes_hidden": false,
  "comments_disabled": false,
  "tagged_users": [],
  "collaborators": [],
  "scraped_at": "2025-11-12T09:14:33.421000"
}
```

Records for inaccessible or invalid URLs carry only `status` and `post_url` — no other keys are present:

```json
{ "status": "not_found",      "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DELETED123/" }
{ "status": "age_restricted", "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DLAIK1ayfg3/" }
{ "status": "invalid_url",    "post_url": "https://www.google.com/" }
```

### Age-restricted and private content

Instagram does not expose age-gated content through its anonymous API. Any gated post — whether gated at the post level (alcohol brands, adult content) or at the account level (accounts restricted to viewers of a minimum age) — returns `status: "age_restricted"` instead of a data record. Private account posts and deleted posts both return `status: "not_found"`. This is a server-side restriction enforced by Instagram and cannot be bypassed without authenticated session cookies.

| Content type | `status` | Data returned |
|---|---|---|
| Public post | `success` | All fields |
| Deleted post | `not_found` | `status`, `post_url` only |
| Private post | `not_found` | `status`, `post_url` only |
| Age-restricted post (post-level or account-level) | `age_restricted` | `status`, `post_url` only |
| Invalid URL format | `invalid_url` | `status`, `post_url` only |

### Use cases

- **Competitor content analysis** — track post frequency, engagement rates, media types and captions across competitor accounts to benchmark your own content strategy
- **Influencer vetting** — verify follower counts, engagement ratios and posting history before signing a partnership deal
- **Brand monitoring** — collect all posts tagged with your brand name or product from any source URL and feed them into a monitoring dashboard
- **Social media archiving** — create a permanent structured archive of a campaign's posts before content is deleted or made private
- **Research and journalism** — gather public post metadata at scale for academic studies on misinformation, trends, or audience behaviour
- **Content repurposing** — extract caption text and media URLs from your own posts to migrate or republish content across platforms
- **Hashtag performance tracking** — scrape posts sharing a known hashtag to measure reach and identify top-performing formats
- **E-commerce product research** — collect posts from brand accounts to analyse product launches, promotions and customer response

### FAQ

**Do I need an Instagram account or cookies to use this actor?**
No. This actor scrapes public posts anonymously without any login, cookies, or account credentials. No authentication is required for publicly accessible content.

**Why do some posts return `status: "not_found"`?**
A `not_found` status means Instagram's API returned no data for that URL. This happens when a post has been deleted or made private. These are server-side restrictions that cannot be bypassed without an authenticated session.

**Why do some posts return `status: "age_restricted"`?**
An `age_restricted` status means Instagram gated the post behind an age/login wall, either at the post level (e.g. alcohol brands, adult content) or at the account level (accounts with a minimum-age setting). Both are detectable from Instagram's server response even without a login session, but cannot be bypassed without one.

**Why is `like_count` null on some posts?**
When an author hides their like counts, Instagram does not return the figure in the API response. The record will have `likes_hidden: true` and `like_count: null`.

**How many URLs can I submit in one run?**
Up to 10,000 URLs per run. The actor automatically uses residential proxies with per-IP session rotation to handle large batches reliably — no proxy configuration is required on your end.

**How fresh is the data?**
Data is scraped live at the time of the run. Post metadata reflects the current state of Instagram at the moment of scraping — including the latest like and comment counts.

**What URL formats are supported?**
The actor accepts `/p/`, `/reel/`, `/reels/`, and `/tv/` links, as well as canonical `username/p/shortcode` URLs (e.g. `https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/p/DUtk38cj2TA/`). Duplicate URLs pointing to the same post are automatically de-duplicated.

**Is this actor affiliated with Instagram or Meta?**
No. This is an independent third-party tool that automates interaction with the public Instagram website. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Meta Platforms, Inc.

### Other Instagram Scrapers

Want to get other data from Instagram? Check out our complete suite of Instagram scrapers:

| Actor | Description |
|---|---|
| [Instagram Comment Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-comment-scraper) | Scrape comments from any Instagram post or reel |
| [Instagram Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-profile-scraper) | Extract profile data, bio, follower counts, and more |
| [Instagram Followers & Following Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-follower-scraper) | Scrape followers and following lists from any profile |
| [Instagram Tagged Posts Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-tagged-posts-scraper) | Collect posts where a user has been tagged |
| [Instagram Hashtag Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-hashtag-scraper) | Scrape posts and profiles by hashtag |
| [Instagram Story Downloader](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-story-downloader) | Download stories from Instagram profiles |
| [Instagram Downloader API](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-downloader-api) | Download photos, videos, and reels from Instagram |
| [Instagram Keyword Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-keyword-scraper) | Search and scrape posts by keyword |
| [Instagram Keyword Search Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-keyword-search-scraper) | Search Instagram accounts and posts by keyword |
| [Instagram Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/crawlerbros/instagram-transcript-scraper) | Extract transcripts from Instagram video content |

# Actor input Schema

## `post_urls` (type: `array`):

Instagram post, reel or IGTV URLs to scrape. Accepts /p/, /reel/, /reels/, /tv/, and canonical username/p/shortcode formats. Duplicates are silently de-duplicated.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "post_urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/"
  ]
}
```

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "post_urls": [
        "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "post_urls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper").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 '{
  "post_urls": [
    "https://www.instagram.com/p/DUtk38cj2TA/"
  ]
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/instagram-post-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/gDK7Hi71FvEqSdu4e/builds/rUeVIapkfvEy3e99T/openapi.json