Instagram API

Instagram data on demand: profile lookup by @handle, posts, reels, stories, tagged posts, followers and followings, hashtag and location feeds, audio/music feeds, and post comments — one plain HTTP GET per call, paid as you go. No login, no session cookies, no headless browser, no Graph API business verification.

Base URL:

https://instagram.fetcher.sh

Quick reference


Base URL	`https://instagram.fetcher.sh`
Auth	`Authorization: Bearer bby_live_...` or x402 (USDC)
Price	$0.004/call (flat)
Endpoints	16, all `GET`
MCP	`https://instagram.fetcher.sh/mcp`
Machine-readable	`/openapi.json` · `/llms.txt` · `/skill.md`

Which endpoint do I need?

I want to...	Call
Look up a profile by @handle	`GET /api/user/handle/{handle}`
Search accounts by name	`GET /api/user/search`
Get a user's posts, reels, or stories	`GET /api/user/{id}/posts` / `/reels` / `/stories`
Get a user's followers or followings	`GET /api/user/{id}/followers` / `/followings`
Look up a post by its share-URL shortcode	`GET /api/post/code/{code}`
Get a post's comments	`GET /api/post/{id}/comments`
Find posts under a hashtag	`GET /api/hashtag/{name}/posts`
Find posts tagged at a location	`GET /api/location/{id}/posts`

Full param details for every row:

references/endpoints.md

Authentication

Two ways to pay, same data — full mechanics in the

fetcher

skill:

bash

# 1. Prepaid credits (recommended — get a key at https://fetcher.sh/topup
#    or via POST /api/credits/topup, see the fetcher skill)
export FETCHER_API_KEY="bby_live_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/handle/nasa"

# 2. x402 pay-per-call — omit the header; a GET with no payment returns 402
#    with machine-readable payment requirements (USDC on Base, Polygon,
#    Arbitrum, Monad, or Solana). @x402/fetch signs and retries automatically.

Every response is

{ "status": number, "message": string, "data": ... }

; the HTTP status mirrors

status

Endpoints (16 — all GET, $0.004/call)

Endpoint	What it returns
`/api/user/handle/{handle}`	Full profile by @handle — follower counts, bio, numeric ID
`/api/user/search`	Profiles matching a keyword query
`/api/userid/{handle}`	Just the numeric user ID for a @handle
`/api/user/{id}`	Profile by numeric ID
`/api/user/{id}/posts`	A user's posts
`/api/user/{id}/posts/tagged`	Posts the user is tagged in
`/api/user/{id}/reels`	A user's reels
`/api/user/{id}/stories`	A user's active stories
`/api/user/{id}/followers`	A user's followers
`/api/user/{id}/followings`	Accounts a user follows
`/api/post/code/{code}`	A single post by its shortcode (from the post URL)
`/api/post/{id}/comments`	A post's comments
`/api/hashtag/{name}/posts`	Posts under a hashtag
`/api/hashtag/{name}/reels`	Reels under a hashtag
`/api/location/{id}/posts`	Posts tagged at a location
`/api/audio/{id}/posts`	Posts using a specific audio/music track

{id}

{handle}

{name}

{code}

are path parameters. Optional

cursor

page

paginate;

query

(user search) is required where it appears.

Scenarios

Resolve a profile by handle — the endpoint most callers want first:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/handle/nasa"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/handle/natgeo"

Search for profiles by keyword, or resolve just the numeric ID for a handle:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "query=fitness influencer" -G \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/search"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/userid/nasa"

A profile's posts, reels, stories, and tagged posts (by numeric ID from the handle lookup above):

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/528817151/posts"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/528817151/reels"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/528817151/stories"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/528817151/posts/tagged"

Followers and followings:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/528817151/followers"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/user/528817151/followings"

A single post by shortcode (the part of the URL after
/p/
), and its comments:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/post/code/C0JD3tntcmy"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/post/3245142029192513970/comments"

Posts and reels under a hashtag, posts from a location, and posts using an audio track:

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/hashtag/travel/posts"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/hashtag/travel/reels"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/location/213131048/posts"

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FETCHER_API_KEY" \
  "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/api/audio/271328201351336/posts"

MCP

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagram": {
      "url": "https://instagram.fetcher.sh/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer bby_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Free:

search_endpoints

describe_endpoint

check_balance

. Paid:

fetch_data

(any endpoint above),

topup_credits

, plus the named shortcut

instagram_user_handle

. Drop the

headers

block to pay per call with x402 instead — see the

fetcher

skill for the full flow.

Errors

```
400
```
— missing/invalid parameter (message names it)
```
401
```
— unknown or rotated key
```
402
```
— payment required (x402 challenge) or
```
topup_required
```
(credits exhausted)
```
404
```
— not a priced path
No rate limits; no refunds on upstream failures (settlement precedes delivery)

Reference

Deep dives:
```
references/endpoints.md
```
(every param) ·
```
references/scenarios.md
```
(one
```
curl
```
per endpoint) ·
```
references/faq.md
```
·
```
references/comparison.md
```
(vs. the official Instagram Graph API and a browser scraper)
Task guides: profile lookup · hashtag and location monitoring
Slash command:
```
/instagram-profile
```
Full agent setup: https://instagram.fetcher.sh/skill.md
OpenAPI 3.1 contract: https://instagram.fetcher.sh/openapi.json
Condensed catalog: https://instagram.fetcher.sh/llms.txt
Payment, credits, and MCP deep dive:
```
fetcher
```
skill
Site: https://instagram.fetcher.sh

instagram-api

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Instagram API

Quick reference

Which endpoint do I need?

Authentication

Endpoints (16 — all GET, $0.004/call)

Scenarios

MCP

Errors

Reference