Instagram Hashtag Posts API. Top reels, page by page.
Top reels that carry a hashtag. We handle the proxies, blocks and platform changes.
Instagram Hashtag Posts API at a glance
Returns the top public Instagram reels that carry a hashtag, a page at a time in Instagram's ranking, from its name or link. Each has its caption, hashtags, mentions, publish time, author, play, like and comment counts, length, cover and video file. Every reel returned has the hashtag in its caption.
GET /v1/instagram/hashtag_posts
- 1 credit per page, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 pages
- 22 typed fields null when unknown
- 24 top reels per page, Instagram's ranking of the hashtag's reels (its public results page's order)
urlis all it needs, e.g.https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/
Send one request. Get up to 24 top reels back.
Copy the request in your language, or hand it to your agent. Sign up for an API key and your first 100 credits are free.
$ npm install socialtapurl = https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/const params = new URLSearchParams({
url: "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts?${params}`, {
headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, page, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);import os
import requests
res = requests.get(
"https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts",
params={"url": "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/"},
headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"]},
)
body = res.json()
if not res.ok:
raise RuntimeError(f"{body['error']['code']}: {body['error']['message']}")
data, page, meta = body["data"], body["page"], body["meta"]
print(data, meta["credits_charged"])require "json"
require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form('url' => 'https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/')
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = ENV.fetch("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, use_ssl: uri.scheme == "https") { |http| http.request(req) }
body = JSON.parse(res.body)
raise "#{body["error"]["code"]}: #{body["error"]["message"]}" unless res.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
pp body["data"]
puts body["meta"]["credits_charged"]<?php
$query = http_build_query([
'url' => 'https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/',
]);
$ch = curl_init('https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts?' . $query);
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['x-api-key: ' . getenv('SOCIALTAP_API_KEY')],
]);
$body = json_decode(curl_exec($ch), true);
if (curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE) >= 400) {
throw new RuntimeException($body['error']['code'] . ': ' . $body['error']['message']);
}
print_r($body['data']);
echo $body['meta']['credits_charged'], PHP_EOL;package main
import (
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
"log"
"net/http"
"net/url"
"os"
)
func main() {
q := url.Values{}
q.Set("url", "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/")
req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts?"+q.Encode(), nil)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", os.Getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
defer res.Body.Close()
var body struct {
Data json.RawMessage `json:"data"`
Page json.RawMessage `json:"page"`
Meta map[string]any `json:"meta"`
Error *struct {
Code string `json:"code"`
Message string `json:"message"`
} `json:"error"`
}
if err := json.NewDecoder(res.Body).Decode(&body); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
if body.Error != nil {
log.Fatalf("%s: %s", body.Error.Code, body.Error.Message)
}
fmt.Println(string(body.Data), body.Meta["credits_charged"])
}curl -G 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts' \
--data-urlencode 'url=https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/' \
-H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"{
"data": [
{
"approximate_fields": [],
"author": {
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/639810187_17875746018520843_3506369231816049829_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ig_cache_key=GIu6IiYLb4dz5YE-AKVEwSE9IKkwbmNDAQAB1501500j-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCR…",
"display_name": null,
"id": "75685712842",
"is_verified": false,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/cookwithprincia/",
"username": "cookwithprincia"
},
"coauthors": [],
"duration_ms": 13700,
"hashtags": [
"explorepage",
"foryou",
"cooking"
],
"id": "DVgF8OrE3WU",
"is_nsfw": null,
"is_pinned": null,
"is_sponsored": null,
"language": null,
"media": [
{
"alt_text": null,
"duration_ms": 13700,
"expires_at": "2026-10-25T18:00:00Z",
"height": 1920,
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/643549505_17877652491520843_8763801214579496540_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ig_cache_key=Mzg0NjEwMDIxMDkzMDY0NDM3MjE3ODc3NjUyNDg1NTIwODQz.3-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=…",
"type": "video",
"url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/o1/v/t16/f2/m69/AQP9FeQQXH0XeFbyMARMqfdHt4IXwzosGm3SEsStYQL8Do4oXsBNXNg0z8FjdbsI1uo8VCiA1WF6mgHl_N4ylv7Y.mp4?strext=1&_nc_cat=101&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&ccb=SCRUBBED&vs=SCRUBB…",
"width": 1080
}
],
"mentions": [],
"metrics": {
"comment_count": 1838,
"like_count": 710870,
"quote_count": null,
"repost_count": null,
"save_count": null,
"share_count": null,
"view_count": 30437214
},
"platform": "instagram",
"platform_specific": {
"instagram": {
"is_ai_generated": null,
"link": null,
"location": null
}
},
"platform_type": "reel",
"published_at": "2026-03-05T11:42:17Z",
"text": "2 Minute Dahi Curry 🍛 \n\n#explorepage #foryou #cooking #recipes #dahicurry",
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/643549505_17877652491520843_8763801214579496540_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ig_cache_key=Mzg0NjEwMDIxMDkzMDY0NDM3MjE3ODc3NjUyNDg1NTIwODQz.3-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=…",
"title": null,
"type": "video",
"unknown_fields": [
"coauthors",
"mentions"
],
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVgF8OrE3WU/"
},
{
"approximate_fields": [],
"author": {
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/561513192_17846006430582803_1220184481381762053_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBED&_nc_zt=24&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid…",
"display_name": null,
"id": "77419174802",
"is_verified": false,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/hkncook/",
"username": "hkncook"
},
"coauthors": [],
"duration_ms": 22407,
"hashtags": [
"cooking",
"toast",
"sandwich"
],
"id": "DWwM5NYDDCk",
"is_nsfw": null,
"is_pinned": null,
"is_sponsored": null,
"language": null,
"media": [
{
"alt_text": null,
"duration_ms": 22407,
"expires_at": "2026-10-25T18:00:00Z",
"height": 1920,
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/660549062_17872517145582803_5507446796631525086_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ig_cache_key=Mzg2ODY0ODc4Nzg0MTY1OTA0NDE3ODcyNTE3MTM5NTgyODAz.3-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=…",
"type": "video",
"url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/o1/v/t2/f2/m86/AQPrp1tD-yFT4g2prsYZMfvywpBuSrw9lGLdG5Iu2YQAknFiKdLsx-w80nzUP2FIUzE-joHwIBVcdUyh_5a7-kJkozpGLTU9yjPwMBw.mp4?_nc_cat=102&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&ccb=SCRUBBED&vs=S…",
"width": 1080
}
],
"mentions": [],
"metrics": {
"comment_count": 1533,
"like_count": 1297859,
"quote_count": null,
"repost_count": null,
"save_count": null,
"share_count": null,
"view_count": 50892801
},
"platform": "instagram",
"platform_specific": {
"instagram": {
"is_ai_generated": null,
"link": null,
"location": null
}
},
"platform_type": "reel",
"published_at": "2026-04-05T14:23:55Z",
"text": "PERFECT and FAST Sausage Eggs Toast 🥪\n\n#cooking #toast #sandwich #tost #kahvaltı",
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/660549062_17872517145582803_5507446796631525086_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ig_cache_key=Mzg2ODY0ODc4Nzg0MTY1OTA0NDE3ODcyNTE3MTM5NTgyODAz.3-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=…",
"title": null,
"type": "video",
"unknown_fields": [
"coauthors",
"mentions"
],
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWwM5NYDDCk/"
},
{
"approximate_fields": [],
"author": {
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/464293922_917287770343534_6698961813091292531_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=105&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBED&_nc_zt=24&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ss=7b6…",
"display_name": null,
"id": "70815842896",
"is_verified": false,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/zap_eat/",
"username": "zap_eat"
},
"coauthors": [],
"duration_ms": 29013,
"hashtags": [
"asmr",
"cooking"
],
"id": "DRFN52TiK3L",
"is_nsfw": null,
"is_pinned": null,
"is_sponsored": null,
"language": null,
"media": [
{
"alt_text": null,
"duration_ms": 29013,
"expires_at": "2026-10-25T18:00:00Z",
"height": 1920,
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/581367857_17892410007362897_8997567808460424662_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=100&ig_cache_key=Mzc2NjQ3NzgxMzI4OTg4OTIyNzE3ODkyNDEwMDAxMzYyODk3.3-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=…",
"type": "video",
"url": "https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/o1/v/t2/f2/m86/AQOeQ4hNytwoNyDEQd1Y8SMkl3wB8lcv_438jhDRo3sw90Ectp7awXl4zEgDzdiPw4b0ASkkWoLpjiuqJuYFk9vTGgtddYuhaVdG5aA.mp4?_nc_cat=107&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&ccb=SCRUBBED&vs=S…",
"width": 1080
}
],
"mentions": [],
"metrics": {
"comment_count": 737,
"like_count": 1959973,
"quote_count": null,
"repost_count": null,
"save_count": null,
"share_count": null,
"view_count": 68996588
},
"platform": "instagram",
"platform_specific": {
"instagram": {
"is_ai_generated": null,
"link": null,
"location": null
}
},
"platform_type": "reel",
"published_at": "2025-11-15T15:06:37Z",
"text": "Would you eat this?\n\nIngredients\nchicken breast: 1 pc\nolive oil: 100 ml (3.4 fl oz)\nsalt: 2 g (0.1 oz)\nflour: 150 g (5.3 oz)\neggs: 4 pc\nchips: 150 g (5.3 oz)\nparmesan: 50 g (1.8 oz)\nbutter: 70 g (2.5 oz)\nflour: 20 g (0.7 oz)\ncooking cream: 200 g (7.1 oz)\nsalt: 2 g (0.1 oz)\nmozzar…",
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/581367857_17892410007362897_8997567808460424662_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=100&ig_cache_key=Mzc2NjQ3NzgxMzI4OTg4OTIyNzE3ODkyNDEwMDAxMzYyODk3.3-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=…",
"title": null,
"type": "video",
"unknown_fields": [
"coauthors",
"mentions"
],
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRFN52TiK3L/"
}
],
"page": {
"has_more": true,
"next_cursor": "c1.EXAMPLE_CURSOR",
"next_cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-26T12:00:00Z",
"end_reason": null
},
"meta": {
"request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
"platform": "instagram",
"source": "api",
"is_cached": false,
"credits_charged": 1,
"latency_ms": 1215,
"fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
"input": {
"kind": "hashtag",
"id": null,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/"
},
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"client_request_id": null,
"warnings": []
}
}import { SocialTap } from "socialtap";
const client = new SocialTap(); // apiKey defaults to process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY
const res = await client.instagram.hashtagPosts.list({ url: "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/" });
console.log(res.data);
console.log(res.credits.charged, res.meta.request_id);import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URLEncoder;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
String query = "url=" + encode("https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/");
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
.uri(URI.create("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts?" + query))
.header("x-api-key", System.getenv("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"))
.GET()
.build();
HttpResponse<String> response = HttpClient.newHttpClient()
.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
// An error is {"error": {"code", "message", ...}}; success is {data, meta}, meta.credits_charged its price.
if (response.statusCode() >= 400) throw new RuntimeException(response.body());
System.out.println(response.body());
}
static String encode(String value) {
return URLEncoder.encode(value, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
}
}using System.Text.Json;
using var http = new HttpClient();
http.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"));
var query = string.Join("&",
"url=" + Uri.EscapeDataString("https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/"));
var res = await http.GetAsync("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts?" + query);
using var body = JsonDocument.Parse(await res.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());
if (!res.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
var error = body.RootElement.GetProperty("error");
throw new Exception($"{error.GetProperty("code")}: {error.GetProperty("message")}");
}
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("data"));
Console.WriteLine(body.RootElement.GetProperty("meta").GetProperty("credits_charged"));// Cargo.toml: reqwest = { version = "0.12", features = ["blocking", "json"] }, serde_json = "1"
use std::env;
fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let res = reqwest::blocking::Client::new()
.get("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_posts")
.query(&[("url", "https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/")])
.header("x-api-key", env::var("SOCIALTAP_API_KEY")?)
.send()?;
let ok = res.status().is_success();
let body: serde_json::Value = res.json()?;
if !ok {
return Err(format!("{}: {}", body["error"]["code"], body["error"]["message"]).into());
}
println!("{} {}", body["data"], body["meta"]["credits_charged"]);
Ok(())
}200 OK · GET https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/hashtag_postsLong arrays and strings are shortened here. Real responses are complete.Docs One schema on 21 platforms.
The response reference lists every field, its type and when it is null. See the full schema.
Null means unknown
A field Instagram doesn't show is null, never zero or an empty string, so a real zero always means zero.
What it accepts
An Instagram hashtag page link (instagram.com/explore/tags/cooking/), the page such a link opens logged out (instagram.com/popular/cooking/), or the hashtag itself with or without the # (cooking, #cooking).
Write one parser
Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and 18 more platforms answer in these fields, so the code that reads one reads them all.
platformstring- Platform ID (tiktok, youtube, …).
idstring- Platform-native post ID (string; Instagram shortcode, Reddit with its t3_ prefix).
urlstring- Canonical post URL.
typestring- Normalized content shape. New values may be added; treat unknown values as other.
platform_typestring- The platform's own product label, lowercase (reel, short, story, live, tweet, …).
titlestring- Headline (YouTube title, Reddit title); null on caption-only platforms.
textstring- Caption, description or body as plain text.
languagestring- BCP-47 language of text, when the platform states it.
Live data from 33 platforms.
What teams build with the Instagram Hashtag Posts API.
Collect a hashtag's top reels for trend reports
Monitor a branded or event hashtag
Find creators posting under a niche hashtag
Good to know before you build.
- Logged out, a hashtag opens Instagram's public results page for that word, which exists for many hashtags but not all. For the others (often the largest, like #fitness) the reels come from results pages for related keywords, still only ones with the hashtag.
- When no results page has a reel with the hashtag, the answer is private_or_unavailable. A hashtag Instagram doesn't have returns not_found.
- The results page also ranks reels that only mention the word, and those are left out, so a page can hold fewer reels than the limit, or none while next_cursor goes on.
- Reels come in Instagram's ranking, not by time, so since and until filter each page.
- Share and save counts and the author's display name are null: the page doesn't show them. If play counts fail on a page, it comes without view counts and verified badges, with a partial_data warning.
- Media URLs are Instagram CDN links that expire at media[].expires_at.
1 credit per page. Failed requests are free.
Buy credits once and spend them on any endpoint, on any platform.
| Source | Price per successful page | Per 1,000 pages |
|---|---|---|
Platform API api | 1 credit | $0.75–$1.97 |
Public page page | 1 credit | $0.75–$1.97 |
- Cache hits are free.
- Credits from packs and top-ups never expire.
- A monthly plan's credits are spent first, and what is left of them ends at each renewal.
- Prices exclude tax: sales tax is added at checkout where it applies.
- Outside the US, plans and packs are sold to businesses: checkout asks for your VAT, GST or other business tax ID.
Questions about the Instagram Hashtag Posts API.
More in the API reference.
How is this different from Instagram search?
Search returns the reels Instagram ranks for a keyword. This endpoint takes a hashtag, keeps only the reels that carry it, and tells a hashtag Instagram hides logged out apart from one that doesn't exist.
Does it return a hashtag's recent posts?
No. Logged out, Instagram shows only a hashtag's top reels, in its own ranking. Its Recent tab needs a login.
How much does the Instagram Hashtag Posts API cost?
A page of up to 24 top reels costs 1 credit. Every successful page is charged, empty pages included. SocialTap credits cost $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000, depending on the plan or pack.
How do I get the next page?
Repeat the same request with cursor set to page.next_cursor from the previous response, keeping the other parameters. When page.has_more is false there are no more pages. Cursors expire after 24 hours.
Try it on a link you already have.
Paste it in the playground, or copy the request into your code.
100free credits
- No credit card
- Failed requests are free
- Works on all 218 endpoints