Instagram Post API. Send a post or video link, or an ID.
Post, reel or carousel with media, likes and views. We handle the proxies, blocks and platform changes.
Instagram Post API at a glance
Returns a public Instagram post, reel or carousel with its caption, author, media, and like, comment and view counts, from its link or shortcode. You also get hashtags, mentions, collaborators, the publish time, and every carousel item's image or video with its size, length and alt text.
GET /v1/instagram/post
- 1 credit per request, $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000 requests
- 22 typed fields null when unknown
urlis all it needs, e.g.https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/- 100 credits free when you sign up, no card, so you can build before you spend
Send one request. Get 22 fields 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/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/const params = new URLSearchParams({
url: "https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/post?${params}`, {
headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.SOCIALTAP_API_KEY ?? "" },
});
const body = await res.json();
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${body.error.code}: ${body.error.message}`);
const { data, meta } = body;
console.log(data, meta.credits_charged);import os
import requests
res = requests.get(
"https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/post",
params={"url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/"},
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, meta = body["data"], body["meta"]
print(data, meta["credits_charged"])require "json"
require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/post")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form('url' => 'https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/')
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/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/',
]);
$ch = curl_init('https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/post?' . $query);
curl_setopt_array($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/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/")
req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/post?"+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"`
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/post' \
--data-urlencode 'url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/' \
-H "x-api-key: $SOCIALTAP_API_KEY"{
"data": {
"approximate_fields": [],
"author": {
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/683576066_18653628823019133_9051036240972105113_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=1&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=S…",
"display_name": "National Geographic",
"id": "787132",
"is_verified": true,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeo/",
"username": "natgeo"
},
"coauthors": [
{
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/293493364_162817252949028_8275460966213229030_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBED&_nc_zt=24&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ss=7b6…",
"display_name": "National Geographic Society",
"id": "4757225830",
"is_verified": true,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeosociety/",
"username": "natgeosociety"
},
{
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/11419091_505296402966021_797003013_a.jpg?_nc_cat=101&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=7b689&oh=SCRUBBED&oe=F2A52380",
"display_name": "Joel Sartore- Photo Ark",
"id": "225429667",
"is_verified": true,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/joelsartore/",
"username": "joelsartore"
},
{
"avatar_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/681945023_18592998970017301_7811445524976503069_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s150x150_tt6&_nc_cat=1&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=S…",
"display_name": "National Geographic Animals",
"id": "1029649300",
"is_verified": true,
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/natgeoanimals/",
"username": "natgeoanimals"
}
],
"duration_ms": 23744,
"hashtags": [
"PhotoArk"
],
"id": "De1S3KpCXf0",
"is_nsfw": null,
"is_pinned": null,
"is_sponsored": null,
"language": null,
"media": [
{
"alt_text": "Video by National Geographic on October 23, 2026. May be an image of snail and text.",
"duration_ms": 23744,
"expires_at": "2026-10-25T18:00:00Z",
"height": 1920,
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/862543567_18711062458019133_8845814561108513720_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=105&ig_cache_key=NDAxNDE5NzU5ODcwNDk5MDE5NjE4NzExMDYyNDUyMDE5MTMz.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/AQO0Zc3E_eoYHXxPOVvPDNzjiHnCGoREl8vxeookIy4831a0VLAN6T9CITX0dyH2cQS6Dy0fs5SGxYC42fWpG2JeAvlnP9yrsgmHUk8.mp4?_nc_cat=106&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&ccb=SCRUBBED&vs=S…",
"width": 1080
}
],
"mentions": [
"joelsartore",
"natgeoanimals",
"natgeosociety"
],
"metrics": {
"comment_count": 238,
"like_count": 68253,
"quote_count": null,
"repost_count": null,
"save_count": null,
"share_count": null,
"view_count": 759188
},
"platform": "instagram",
"platform_specific": {
"instagram": {
"is_ai_generated": null,
"link": null,
"location": null
}
},
"platform_type": "reel",
"published_at": "2026-10-23T10:01:35Z",
"text": "Warning—looking at nudibranchs may cause excessive awe. @joelsartore loves these little creatures, and so do we. 💛🧡🩷\n\nWe’re celebrating 20 years of the National Geographic #PhotoArk, an audacious project documenting the world's incredible biodiversity and highlighting the importa…",
"thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/862543567_18711062458019133_8845814561108513720_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_s640x640_tt6&_nc_cat=105&ccb=SCRUBBED&_nc_sid=SCRUBBED&efg=SCRUBBED&_nc_ohc=SCRUBBED&_nc_oc=SCRUBBED&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc…",
"title": null,
"type": "video",
"unknown_fields": [],
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/"
},
"meta": {
"request_id": "req_3f9c2a7d1e8b4c6a9f0e2d4b6a8c0e1f",
"platform": "instagram",
"source": "page",
"is_cached": false,
"credits_charged": 1,
"latency_ms": 986,
"fetched_at": "2026-10-25T12:00:00Z",
"input": {
"kind": "post",
"id": "De1S3KpCXf0",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/"
},
"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.post.get({ url: "https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/" });
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/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/");
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
.uri(URI.create("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/post?" + 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/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/"));
var res = await http.GetAsync("https://socialtap.dev/v1/instagram/post?" + 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/post")
.query(&[("url", "https://www.instagram.com/reel/De1S3KpCXf0/")])
.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/postLong 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
Instagram post, reel or carousel URL (instagram.com/p/…, /reel/…, /reels/…, /tv/…, /<username>/p/…, m.instagram.com, instagr.am, instagram.com/share/… links) or a raw shortcode.
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 Post API.
Track engagement on influencer posts
Monitor competitors' reels and campaigns
Verify sponsored-post deliverables
Archive post media and captions
Good to know before you build.
- view_count is set for single videos and reels only, because Instagram shows no views for photos and carousels.
- like_count and view_count are null when the owner hides them.
- If Instagram's embed page, the only logged-out source of views, fails or omits them, view_count is null with a partial_data warning.
- Share and save counts, pinned state, sponsorship labels and the caption's language are null: Instagram doesn't show them logged out.
- Media URLs are Instagram CDN links that expire at media[].expires_at, so download what you need before then.
- Private and age-restricted posts return private_or_unavailable, and deleted ones not_found.
1 credit per request. Failed requests are free.
Buy credits once and spend them on any endpoint, on any platform.
| Source | Price per successful request | Per 1,000 requests |
|---|---|---|
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 Post API.
More in the API reference.
Does it return every image of a carousel?
Yes. media[] has one entry per carousel item, in display order, each with its own link, size and, for videos, length.
Can I download the reel?
Yes. media[].url is a direct link to the video file. It's a CDN link that expires at media[].expires_at.
Who is in mentions?
Accounts @mentioned in the caption, then accounts tagged in the media, without duplicates. A collab post's collaborators are in coauthors.
How much does the Instagram Post API cost?
A request costs 1 credit. SocialTap credits cost $0.75–$1.97 per 1,000, depending on the plan or pack.
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