Instagram Highlights API

Returns the story highlights on a public Instagram profile, in the order the profile shows them, from a username, profile link or user ID. Each has its ID, title, link, cover image and owner.

GET /v1/instagram/highlights

Read the API reference

1 credit per page, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 pages
13 typed fields null when unknown
10 story highlights per page, the order of the account's highlights tray on its profile
handle is all it needs, e.g. nasa

Send one request. Get up to 10 story highlights 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 socialtap

handle = nasa

Open in playground

GET /v1/instagram/highlightsTry in

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  handle: "nasa",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/highlights?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${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/highlights",
    params={"handle": "nasa"},
    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/highlights")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form('handle' => 'nasa')
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([
    'handle' => 'nasa',
]);
$ch = curl_init('https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/highlights?' . $query);
curl_setopt_array($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("handle", "nasa")
	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/highlights?"+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 'https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/highlights?handle=nasa' \
  -H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "description": null,
      "id": "18195781759377100",
      "is_collaborative": null,
      "metrics": {
        "post_count": null
      },
      "owner": {
        "avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/29090066_159271188110124_1152068159029641216_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ig_cache_key=GBLhuwEsG5c225AAAAAAAADj9-wPbkULAAAB1501500j-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBE…",
        "display_name": "NASA",
        "id": "528817151",
        "is_verified": true,
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
        "username": "nasa"
      },
      "platform": "instagram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "platform_type": "highlight",
      "thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/785745361_1537318174532484_931463605431094788_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBED&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=SCRUBBED&_nc_s…",
      "title": "Roman",
      "type": "playlist",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18195781759377100/"
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "description": null,
      "id": "18123023338592759",
      "is_collaborative": null,
      "metrics": {
        "post_count": null
      },
      "owner": {
        "avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/29090066_159271188110124_1152068159029641216_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ig_cache_key=GBLhuwEsG5c225AAAAAAAADj9-wPbkULAAAB1501500j-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBE…",
        "display_name": "NASA",
        "id": "528817151",
        "is_verified": true,
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
        "username": "nasa"
      },
      "platform": "instagram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "platform_type": "highlight",
      "thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/658392542_1443405937523344_3996096698761393443_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBED&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=SCRUBBED&_nc_…",
      "title": "Wallpapers",
      "type": "playlist",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18123023338592759/"
    },
    {
      "approximate_fields": [],
      "description": null,
      "id": "18201653992314974",
      "is_collaborative": null,
      "metrics": {
        "post_count": null
      },
      "owner": {
        "avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/29090066_159271188110124_1152068159029641216_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ig_cache_key=GBLhuwEsG5c225AAAAAAAADj9-wPbkULAAAB1501500j-ccb7-5&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBE…",
        "display_name": "NASA",
        "id": "528817151",
        "is_verified": true,
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/",
        "username": "nasa"
      },
      "platform": "instagram",
      "platform_specific": {},
      "platform_type": "highlight",
      "thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/718648521_1211952567628335_6800572588539032748_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBED&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=SCRUBBED&_nc_…",
      "title": "Artemis III",
      "type": "playlist",
      "unknown_fields": [],
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18201653992314974/"
    }
  ],
  "page": {
    "has_more": false,
    "next_cursor": null,
    "next_cursor_expires_at": null,
    "end_reason": "end"
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
    "platform": "instagram",
    "source": "api",
    "is_cached": false,
    "credits_charged": 1,
    "latency_ms": 335,
    "fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
    "input": {
      "kind": "profile",
      "id": "528817151",
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa/"
    },
    "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.highlights.list({ handle: "nasa" });
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 = "handle=" + encode("nasa");
        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/highlights?" + 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("&",
    "handle=" + Uri.EscapeDataString("nasa"));
var res = await http.GetAsync("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/highlights?" + 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/highlights")
        .query(&[("handle", "nasa")])
        .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/highlightsLong arrays and strings are shortened here. Real responses are complete.Docs

One schema on 6 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
Instagram username with or without the @, a numeric user ID (528817151), or a profile URL (instagram.com/nasa, m.instagram.com, instagr.am, a /reels/ or /tagged/ tab, an instagram.com/_u/ app link, an instagram.com/stories/<username>/ link).
Write one parser
Instagram, TikTok, Spotify and 3 more platforms answer in these fields, so the code that reads one reads them all.

platformstring: Platform ID (tiktok, youtube, facebook, …).
idstring: Platform-native playlist ID (string): TikTok's playlist (mix) or collection ID, YouTube's list ID (PL…), Facebook's video list ID.
urlstring: Canonical playlist URL.
typestring: playlist: a list its owner curates and orders (TikTok playlists, YouTube playlists, Facebook playlists and series); collection: posts an account saved from any creator into a named public folder (TikTok collections). New values may be added; treat unknown values as playlist.
platform_typestring: The platform's own label, lowercase (mix, collection, playlist, series, podcast, …).
titlestring: Name its owner gave it.
descriptionstring: Description as plain text; null when it has none or the platform shows none (TikTok).
ownerobject: The account that curates it (for a collection, the account that saved the posts, not their authors). Where a platform's curators are not accounts (Apple Music), what it states of them: a name, perhaps a page and a picture, with id and username null, and every field null when it names no one.

What teams build with the Instagram Highlights API.

List the highlights on a creator's profile
Get highlight IDs to fetch their stories
Track when an account adds or removes highlights
Compare brands' profile highlights

Good to know before you build.

Logged out, Instagram serves only the first page of a profile's highlights, so an account with more ends with end_reason platform_limit.
metrics.post_count is null: the highlights tray doesn't say how many stories each holds.
description is always null because Instagram highlights have none. Cover URLs are CDN links that expire.
A private account returns private_or_unavailable.

1 credit per page. Failed requests are free.

Buy credits once and spend them on any endpoint, on any platform.

Plans and packs How this endpoint is priced How credits work

Source	Price per successful page	Per 1,000 pages
Any source	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 Highlights API.

Try it on an account you know.

Paste its handle or link in the playground, or copy the request into your code.

free credits

No credit card
Failed requests are free
Works on all 218 endpoints

Start for free Read the docs

Instagram Highlights API. Story highlights, page by page.