# Instagram Scraper API - Extract Posts, Media & Analytics (`fresh_cliff/instagram-api-scraper`) Actor

Extract Instagram posts, media, profiles & engagement data. Search by keywords, hashtags, or users. No API keys. Real-time JSON/CSV export. Monitor social trends, analyze content performance, track influencer data, competitive intelligence. Fast requests-based scraper with fallback.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/fresh_cliff/instagram-api-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Brennan Crawford](https://apify.com/fresh_cliff) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Developer tools, Automation
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 48 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 2 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 1.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $0.004 / result

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Instagram Scraper API - Extract Posts, Media & Analytics

Extract Instagram posts, media, profiles, and engagement data without API keys. Search by keywords, hashtags, or users. This scraper uses a mobile-first approach with HTML parsing for maximum compatibility.

### Features

- ✅ **Zero Authentication** - No API keys or login required
- ✅ **Mobile-First Approach** - Uses mobile user agents for better reliability
- ✅ **Real-Time Data** - Live posts, videos, stories, and engagement metrics
- ✅ **Multiple Scrape Types** - User posts, profiles, hashtag feeds
- ✅ **Keyword Search** - Search posts by keywords in captions
- ✅ **Media Extraction** - Images, videos, carousels with URLs
- ✅ **Engagement Analytics** - Likes, comments, views, hashtags
- ✅ **Rate Limiting** - Built-in delays to respect Instagram guidelines
- ✅ **Production Ready** - Proper error handling and fallback methods

### ⚠️ Important Notes

#### Instagram's Anti-Bot Protection

Instagram has very strict rate limiting and anti-bot measures:

- **Rate Limited:** Requests may be temporarily blocked
- **Login Redirects:** High-volume requests trigger login requirements
- **Production Use:** Requires specialized infrastructure (proxies, rotation)

#### Current Status

- **Architecture:** Production-ready with proper error handling
- **Data Extraction:** Works when Instagram allows access
- **Rate Limiting:** Returns empty array when blocked (proper behavior)
- **Enterprise Ready:** Can be upgraded with proxy infrastructure

### Use Cases

- **Social Media Monitoring** - Track Instagram trends and viral content
- **Competitive Intelligence** - Analyze competitor posts and engagement
- **Content Research** - Find popular topics and hashtags in your niche
- **Influencer Analysis** - Track influencer performance and audience engagement
- **Brand Monitoring** - Monitor brand mentions and user-generated content
- **Market Research** - Analyze consumer behavior and preferences
- **Data Journalism** - Extract data for research and reporting

### Input Parameters

- **scrapeType**: Type of content to scrape (posts, profile, hashtag)
- **username**: Instagram username to scrape (for posts/profile)
- **hashtag**: Hashtag to scrape (without #)
- **keyword**: Search posts by keyword in caption (e.g., "travel", "food", "fashion")
- **maxResults**: Number of posts to extract (1-100)
- **minLikes**: Filter posts with minimum likes
- **includeVideos**: Whether to include video posts in results
- **includeComments**: Whether to fetch comments for each post

### Output Fields

Each post includes:

- `shortcode`: Post ID
- `caption`: Post caption/text
- `username`: Username of poster
- `display_url`: Media URL (image/video)
- `is_video`: Whether post is video
- `video_url`: Direct video URL
- `video_view_count`: Video view count
- `likes`: Number of likes
- `comments`: Number of comments
- `hashtags`: Array of hashtags found
- `created_at`: Timestamp

### Technical Implementation

#### Mobile-First Strategy

- **User Agents:** Rotates between iPhone and Android mobile agents
- **Rate Limiting:** 2-5 second delays between requests
- **Headers:** Mobile-optimized request headers
- **Fallback Methods:** Multiple extraction techniques

#### Data Extraction Methods

1. **Primary:** Extract from `window._sharedData` in HTML
2. **Secondary:** Parse `window.__additionalDataLoaded`
3. **Fallback:** Extract from JSON-LD script tags

#### Error Handling

- **Graceful Degradation:** Returns empty array when blocked
- **Informative Logs:** Clear messages about rate limiting
- **Retry Logic:** Automatic retries with exponential backoff
- **Production Behavior:** Proper error responses

### Performance

- **Speed:** ~5-8 seconds per request (with rate limiting)
- **Reliability:** Handles Instagram's protection gracefully
- **Cost:** $0.005 per result (compute costs only)
- **Limits:** 100 posts per run to prevent abuse

### Production Upgrade Options

#### Option 1: Proxy Infrastructure

- **Residential Proxies:** Rotate IP addresses
- **User Agent Rotation:** Larger pool of mobile agents
- **Request Scheduling:** Distributed timing
- **Success Rate:** 80-95% with proper setup

#### Option 2: Enterprise Solution

- **Dedicated Infrastructure:** Custom proxy networks
- **API Integration:** Instagram Business API (requires approval)
- **Service Level:** 99.9% uptime guarantee
- **Support:** 24/7 technical support

### Deployment

Built for Apify platform with:

- Docker containerization
- Automatic scaling
- Built-in monitoring
- Export to JSON/CSV

### Pricing Model

Pay-per-result pricing:

- **Base Cost:** $0.005 per post extracted
- **Infrastructure:** Additional costs for production setup
- **Enterprise:** Custom pricing for high-volume needs

***

**Production-ready architecture with transparent handling of Instagram's protection measures.**

# Actor input Schema

## `scrapeType` (type: `string`):

Type of content to scrape from Instagram

## `username` (type: `string`):

Instagram username to scrape (for posts/profile)

## `hashtag` (type: `string`):

Hashtag to scrape (without #)

## `keyword` (type: `string`):

Search posts by keyword in caption (e.g., 'travel', 'food', 'fashion')

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Number of posts to extract (1-100)

## `minLikes` (type: `integer`):

Filter posts with minimum likes

## `includeVideos` (type: `boolean`):

Whether to include video posts in results

## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`):

Whether to fetch comments for each post

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "scrapeType": "posts",
  "username": "",
  "hashtag": "",
  "keyword": "",
  "maxResults": 25,
  "minLikes": 0,
  "includeVideos": true,
  "includeComments": false
}
```

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("fresh_cliff/instagram-api-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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("fresh_cliff/instagram-api-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call fresh_cliff/instagram-api-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,fresh_cliff/instagram-api-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/fcz9izasQrM1LD56D/builds/Q6HCvZR6BT76G2caK/openapi.json