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

This Apify Actor extracts recent Instagram posts (including videos, captions, and metadata) from specified public usernames.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/apple\_yang/instagram-post-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [APISmith](https://apify.com/apple_yang) (community)
- **Categories:** Videos, Social media, AI
- **Stats:** 38 total users, 9 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

$1.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#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 Posts Scraper

This Apify Actor extracts recent Instagram posts (including videos, captions, and metadata) from specified public usernames.

It is designed for lightweight, structured data collection with support for multiple usernames and customizable result limits.

***

### 🚀 Features

- Scrape posts from one or more Instagram usernames
- Supports video posts, images, and metadata
- Returns structured JSON output
- Includes engagement metrics (likes, comments)
- Extracts media URLs (video, audio, images)
- Fast and scalable via Apify platform

***

### 📥 Input

Provide a JSON object with the following structure:

```json
{
  "resultsLimit": 12,
  "usernames": [
    "bbcnews"
  ]
}
```

#### Input Parameters

| Field          | Type   | Description                                    |
| -------------- | ------ | ---------------------------------------------- |
| `resultsLimit` | Number | Maximum number of posts to return per username |
| `usernames`    | Array  | List of Instagram usernames to scrape          |

***

### 📤 Output

The Actor returns an array of post objects with detailed metadata.

#### Example Output

```json
[
  {
    "id": "3879307207867408382_16278726",
    "pk": "3879307207867408382",
    "type": "Video",
    "shortCode": "DXWEVojjJ_-",
    "caption": "The US has intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship...",
    "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DXWEVojjJ_-/",
    "commentsCount": 118,
    "dimensionsHeight": 1136,
    "dimensionsWidth": 640,
    "displayUrl": "https://.../",
    "images": [],
    "childPosts": [],
    "videoUrl": "https://.../",
    "audioUrl": "https://.../",
    "likeCount": 1147,
    "timestamp": 1776669508,
    "ownerId": "16278726",
    "ownerUsername": "bbcnews",
    "ownerFullName": "BBC News",
    "ownerProfilePicUrl": "https://.../",
    "productType": "clips",
    "isCommentsDisabled": false,
    "inputUrl": "bbcnews",
    "alt": "",
    "videoDuration": 0,
    "artist_name": "bbcnews",
    "song_name": "原声",
    "should_mute_audio": false,
    "should_mute_audio_reason": "",
    "audio_id": "26793687173599804"
  }
]
```

***

### 📊 Output Fields Explained

| Field                | Description                              |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| `id`                 | Unique identifier of the post            |
| `pk`                 | Instagram internal post ID               |
| `type`               | Type of post (e.g., Video, Image)        |
| `shortCode`          | Instagram shortcode                      |
| `caption`            | Post caption text                        |
| `url`                | Direct link to the post                  |
| `commentsCount`      | Number of comments                       |
| `likeCount`          | Number of likes                          |
| `timestamp`          | Unix timestamp of post creation          |
| `displayUrl`         | Thumbnail or cover image                 |
| `videoUrl`           | Video file URL (if applicable)           |
| `audioUrl`           | Audio track URL (if available)           |
| `images`             | Array of image URLs (for carousel posts) |
| `childPosts`         | Nested posts (if carousel)               |
| `ownerUsername`      | Username of the post owner               |
| `ownerFullName`      | Full name of the account                 |
| `ownerProfilePicUrl` | Profile picture URL                      |
| `productType`        | Instagram content type (e.g., clips)     |
| `isCommentsDisabled` | Whether comments are disabled            |

***

### ⚙️ Usage

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console
2. Enter your input JSON
3. Click **Run**
4. Download results as JSON, CSV, or via API

***

### 🔗 API Access

You can run this Actor programmatically using the Apify API:

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/YOUR-ACTOR-ID/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR-API-TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "resultsLimit": 12,
    "usernames": ["bbcnews"]
  }'
```

***

### ⚠️ Notes

- Only public Instagram profiles are supported
- Data availability depends on Instagram's structure and rate limits
- Large requests may take longer to process

***

### 📌 Use Cases

- Social media monitoring
- News tracking (e.g., BBC, CNN, etc.)
- Influencer analytics
- Content archiving
- Trend analysis

# Actor input Schema

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

The usernames of the instagram you want to get the data from.

## `resultsLimit` (type: `integer`):

The maximum number of results to return.

## `onlyPostsNewerThan` (type: `string`):

Scrape reels from the provided date up to the present. Supported formats include YYYY-MM-DD, full ISO timestamps (e.g. 2025-09-23T10:02:01), or relative time such as 1 day, 2 weeks, or 3 months. All times are evaluated in UTC.

## `skipPinnedPosts` (type: `boolean`):

Enable this option if you want to exclude pinned reels from the overall results.

## `includeSharesCount` (type: `boolean`):

Whether to include the shares count in the results.Available for paying users only. Upgrade to the Starter plan to unlock it.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "usernames": [
    "bbcnews"
  ],
  "resultsLimit": 12
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "usernames": [
        "bbcnews"
    ],
    "resultsLimit": 12,
    "skipPinnedPosts": false,
    "includeSharesCount": false
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("apple_yang/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 = {
    "usernames": ["bbcnews"],
    "resultsLimit": 12,
    "skipPinnedPosts": False,
    "includeSharesCount": False,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("apple_yang/instagram-post-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 '{
  "usernames": [
    "bbcnews"
  ],
  "resultsLimit": 12,
  "skipPinnedPosts": false,
  "includeSharesCount": false
}' |
apify call apple_yang/instagram-post-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,apple_yang/instagram-post-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/YZg1Mu5pgHhtbjio4/builds/4K4OYaZ2MVCLpaZL0/openapi.json