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🌟 The Fastest Instagram Metadata Scraper & Downloader in Apify

One-line hero: Fast, privacy-safe Instagram metadata scraper + optional downloader — plug-and-play on Apify Console, enterprise-grade reliability, results in seconds.

📖 Summary

This Actor extracts clean metadata (captions, hashtags, owner, thumbnails, durations, short human-friendly dates) from Instagram post/reel URLs and — optionally — provides direct download links or performs secure downloads with optional merging. Designed for fast, resilient runs and easy Console usage.

Instant outcome: feed a list of start URLs → get normalized JSON records in Dataset / Key-Value store in seconds.

💡 Use cases / When to use

• Collect metadata for moderation, analytics, or cataloging (captions, hashtags, owner info).
• Quickly fetch download links or download video/audio artifacts (optional, best-effort).
• Backfill datasets for BI pipelines or social media research.
• Lightweight monitoring of a set of public posts / reels for changes.

⚡ Quick Start (Console — one-click)

1. Open this Actor in Apify Console.
2. Paste your list of startUrls in the Input editor (see example below).
3. Click Run → results appear in the Dataset and under Key-Value store key OUTPUT.

(Hero screenshot recommended: Console input + Run button — add a GIF for best conversion.)

⚙️ Quick Start (CLI + API)

CLI (one-liner)

# Run this Actor on Apify platform using Apify CLI
# Replace <OWNER/ACTOR_NAME> and use your input file or pipe JSON
echo'{"startUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/"]}'| apify call <OWNER/ACTOR_NAME>--silent --output-dataset

Python (apify-client) — compact snippet

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient('<APIFY_TOKEN>')
run = client.actor('OWNER/ACTOR_NAME').call(input={
'startUrls':['https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/'],
'mode':'scrape',
})
print('Run started:', run['id'])

📝 Inputs (fields & schema)

Below is a compact Console JSON input example (also in input.example.json). The Actor accepts a JSON object. The platform's Input Schema (if provided by you) will auto-generate the Console UI.

{
"mode":"scrape",
"startUrls":[
"https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/",
"https://www.instagram.com/p/SHORTCODE2/"
],
"desired_resolution":"1080p",
"download":false,
"merge_if_ffmpeg":false,
"hide_media_links":true,
"preserve_thumbnails":true,
"maxConcurrency":3,
"diagnostic":false,
"suppress_errors":true
}

⚙️ Configuration (friendly table)

Console tip: Paste a single JSON object in the Input field (or select a saved Task) and click Run.

📄 Outputs (Dataset / KV examples)

Where results land:

• Metadata & download summaries are pushed to the Dataset (and final batch also stored to Key-Value under key OUTPUT).

Example output record (schema-friendly)

{
"original_url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/",
"id":"SHORTCODE",
"ownerUsername":"creator_name",
"ownerFullName":"Creator Name",
"description":"Caption text...",
"hashtags":["fun","reel"],
"mentions":["other_user"],
"likesCount":1234,
"likesDisplay":"1.2k",
"commentsCount":12,
"commentsDisplay":"12",
"videoViewCount":5432,
"viewsDisplay":"5.4k",
"upload_date_iso":"2024-10-04T12:34:56Z",
"upload_date":"4th October 2024",
"upload_time_ago":"1 Month Ago",
"duration_seconds":33.123,
"duration_display":"0 Minutes 33 Seconds",
"thumbnail":"https://.../thumbnail.jpg",
"download_links_summary":{"available":{"merged_video":false,"video_without_audio":true,"audio":true}},
"randomExtraInfo":{"scrapeBatch":"Reel-Set-07","regionCode":"US"}
}

Note: raw media URLs may be redacted depending on hide_media_links and preserve_thumbnails settings (privacy-safe by default).

🔑 Environment Variables (placeholders)

• APIFY_TOKEN — Set in Console integrations or use platform authentication. (Placeholder: <APIFY_TOKEN>)
• HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY — Only for custom proxy setups (use secrets, do not store plaintext). Example: <PROXY_USER:PASS@HOST:PORT>

▶️ How to Run (Console, CLI, API)

1. Console — Open Actor → paste JSON input → Click Run. Results appear in Dataset; key-value OUTPUT stores the full batch.
2. CLI — Use the apify CLI: echo '{"startUrls":["https://.../reel/SHORTCODE/"]}' | apify call <OWNER/ACTOR_NAME> --silent --output-dataset.
3. API / apify-client (Python) — See snippet above; use ApifyClient('<APIFY_TOKEN>').actor('OWNER/ACTOR_NAME').call(input=...).

⏰ Scheduling & Webhooks

• Scheduling: Use Apify Console Scheduler to run this Actor periodically (e.g., hourly/daily). Choose your saved input task and frequency in Console.
• Webhooks: Configure a run onFinish webhook in Console to receive run status and dataset IDs for downstream processing.

🕾️ Logs & Troubleshooting

• Where to find logs: Open the run in Apify Console → Logs tab (filter by diagnostic to see verbose traces).

• Common issues & quick fixes:

  • No startUrls provided → add startUrls to input.
  • Rate-limit / access errors → enable proxy or try preferred_proxy_type: "residential".
  • Downloads failing → ensure download is true and the run has network access; check diagnostic logs.

🔒 Permissions & Storage Notes

• Storage used: Dataset for item records; Key-Value store under key OUTPUT for the result batch; temporary actor storage for downloads.
• Privacy & safety: By default, raw media URLs are redacted (hide_media_links: true) and thumbnails preserved. Store credentials (cookies, proxy auth) only as Console secrets — never in plain input.

🔟 Changelog / Versioning

• v1.0.0 — Initial release: metadata scraping + best-effort downloader, proxy-friendly, diagnostic mode.

Use semantic versioning for future releases.

🖌 Notes / TODOs

• TODO: confirm output schema — derived from runtime behavior but please verify against your integration.
• TODO: add demo GIF/screenshots (Console Run + sample record) for higher conversion.

🌍 Proxy Configuration

Enable Apify Proxy (quick): In Console → Integrations → Proxy → select Apify Proxy (recommended for reliability and rate-limit handling).

Custom proxies: Provide proxyConfiguration in input or set HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY as secrets. Example placeholders:

{
"proxyConfiguration":{"useApifyProxy":false,"proxyUrls":["http://<PROXY_USER:PASS@HOST:PORT>"]}
}

Environment variables (examples):

exportHTTP_PROXY="http://<PROXY_USER:PASS@HOST:PORT>"
exportHTTPS_PROXY="http://<PROXY_USER:PASS@HOST:PORT>"

Security note: Store proxy credentials as Console secrets and do not place them directly in the input JSON.

Advanced: TODO: Consider proxy rotation for large-scale scraping — use session-based proxy URLs to reduce rate-limiting.

📚 References

• Apify Actor README guidance (official)
• Actor input schema & Console Input generation (official)
• Apify CLI & apify-client examples (official)

🤔 What I inferred from main.py

• Network activity present (HTML metadata fetch + downloader) — Proxy configuration is supported and recommended.
• Inputs: mode, startUrls, proxyConfiguration, preferred_proxy_type, download, desired_resolution, merge_if_ffmpeg, cookie_file, hide_media_links, preserve_thumbnails, maxConcurrency, diagnostic, suppress_errors.
• Outputs: Dataset items (normalized metadata), Key-Value store key OUTPUT holds full batch.
• The Actor attempts a primary extractor (metadata-first) with an HTML fallback and best-effort download link extraction; downloads are optional and non-fatal.

Why this Actor? — Trusted, production-ready, and privacy-conscious: runs in Console with zero setup, yields normalized JSON ready for analytics pipelines, and keeps sensitive links hidden by default. Run this Actor on Apify Console — get instant results in seconds.

---

input.example.json

{
"mode":"scrape",
"startUrls":[
"https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/"
],
"desired_resolution":"1080p",
"download":false,
"hide_media_links":true,
"preserve_thumbnails":true,
"maxConcurrency":3
}

CONFIG.md

Quick config & proxy tips

• Use Console Proxy integration for reliable runs.
• If using custom proxies, add them as Console secrets and reference via proxyConfiguration or HTTP_PROXY env var.
• If you enable downloads and merging, ensure ffmpeg is available in your run environment; merging is optional and automatic only when enabled.

Advanced TODO

• TODO: Add formal INPUT_SCHEMA.json for Console auto UI.
• TODO: Add example Console screenshot and animated GIF for the README hero.

End of generated README + examples.

actor.json

{
"name":"merged-instagram-metadata-downloader",
"title":"Merged Instagram Metadata & Downloader Actor",
"version":"1.0.0",
"main":"src/main.py",
"buildTag":"latest",
"memory":4096,
"timeout":36000
}

INPUT_SCHEMA.json

{
"$schema":"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
"title":"Merged Instagram Metadata & Downloader Actor - Input Schema",
"type":"object",
"properties":{
"mode":{"type":"string","enum":["scrape","download","both"],"default":"scrape","description":"Operation mode"},
"startUrls":{"type":"array","items":{"anyOf":[{"type":"string"},{"type":"object","properties":{"url":{"type":"string"}}}]},"description":"List of post/reel URLs (string or {\"url\": \"...\"})"},
"desired_resolution":{"type":"string","default":"1080p"},
"download":{"type":"boolean","default":false},
"merge_if_ffmpeg":{"type":"boolean","default":false},
"cookie_file":{"type":"string"},
"hide_media_links":{"type":"boolean","default":true},
"preserve_thumbnails":{"type":"boolean","default":true},
"maxConcurrency":{"type":"integer","minimum":1,"maximum":10,"default":3},
"diagnostic":{"type":"boolean","default":false},
"suppress_errors":{"type":"boolean","default":true},
"proxyConfiguration":{"type":"object"},
"preferred_proxy_type":{"type":"string","enum":["auto","residential"],"default":"auto"},
"force_residential":{"type":"boolean","default":false},
"proxy_country":{"type":"string"}
},
"required":["mode","startUrls"],
"additionalProperties":false
}

Notes:

• actor.json gives minimal runtime metadata for Console packaging. Adjust memory and timeout based on your workload.
• INPUT_SCHEMA.json will enable Console UI generation (auto form fields) when uploaded with the Actor. Update descriptions as needed.

End of generated README + examples.