Scrapesocial Instagram

Use this skill for read-only Instagram research and retrieval. Keep it at the job-to-command level: choose the right entry point quickly, prefer lighter responses first, and reuse IDs or cursors returned by earlier commands.

Prerequisites

A Scrape Creators API key is required for this skill. Get one at scrapecreators.com.

Quick Setup

Install the CLI once:

bash

npm install -g scrapesocial

Authenticate with

SCRAPECREATORS_API_KEY

, then run commands with

scrapesocial

bash

SCRAPECREATORS_API_KEY=... scrapesocial instagram ...

Useful global flags:

```
--trim
```
for smaller responses when supported.
```
--format jsonl
```
when streaming lists into downstream tools.
```
--credit-limit <n>
```
when you want the CLI to hide or block expensive requests.

Quick Start

If the task is about an account as a whole, start with
```
instagram profiles get
```
.
If the task is about a creator's regular feed, use
```
instagram posts
```
.
If the task is about one specific post or reel, use
```
instagram posts get
```
.
If the task is about spoken content in a reel or video post, use
```
instagram transcript
```
.
If the task is about finding relevant reels by topic, use
```
instagram reels search
```
.
If the task is about audience response on one post, use
```
instagram comments
```
.
If the task is about a creator's reels library, use
```
instagram reels
```
.
If the task is about story highlights, use
```
instagram highlights
```
, then
```
instagram highlights detail
```
.
If the task is about embeddable markup for a profile, use
```
instagram embed
```
.

Goal-led workflows

Goal	When to use this skill	How to start
Lead generation	Use it to qualify known creator or brand accounts, or to turn reel discovery into a shortlist. Pair it with another source for contact details.	Start with `instagram reels search` , then switch to `instagram profiles get` , `instagram posts` , or `instagram reels` for qualification.
Influencer discovery	Use it when the user wants creators discovered or vetted through niche reels, recurring themes, and account quality.	Start with `instagram reels search` , then validate shortlisted handles with `instagram profiles get` , `instagram reels` , and `instagram highlights` .
Brand monitoring	Use it to monitor a known brand or creator account across feed posts, reels, and highlights.	Start with `instagram profiles get` , then branch into `instagram posts` , `instagram reels` , and `instagram highlights` .
Competitor analysis	Use it to compare how multiple brands or creators package their feeds, reels, highlights, and audience response.	Start with `instagram profiles get` for each account, then compare `instagram posts` , `instagram reels` , and `instagram comments` on representative items.
Content analytics	Use it to explain what makes certain posts or reels work, using item detail, comments, and transcripts.	Start with `instagram posts` or `instagram reels` , then drill into standout items with `instagram posts get` , `instagram comments` , and `instagram transcript` .
Trend research	Use it for reel-led topic scouting and validation of emerging creative patterns.	Start with `instagram reels search` , then inspect the best examples with `instagram posts get` .
Audience analysis	Use it for qualitative audience language, FAQs, and objections. It does not provide demographic audience breakdowns.	Start with `instagram comments` on representative posts or reels, then use `instagram profiles get` and `instagram highlights` for context.

Read references/instagram-command-map.md when you need the full command-selection table.

Choose the Starting Input

Prefer a
```
--handle
```
when the user is researching an account and no richer identifier is available yet.
Prefer a
```
--url
```
when the user gives a specific post or reel. This is the cleanest way to inspect one item or fetch its comments or transcript.
Prefer a
```
--user-id
```
only after another command has already returned it. For reels and highlights, this can be faster than resolving by handle again.
Prefer a returned pagination token over restarting the query. Instagram commands use command-specific cursor fields such as
```
next_max_id
```
,
```
max_id
```
, or
```
cursor
```
.
Prefer a returned highlight ID when drilling into a specific highlight after listing highlights.

Working Pattern

Start with the highest-level command that matches the job.
Use
```
--trim
```
on commands that support it when the goal is quick inspection, summarization, or easier downstream processing.
Keep IDs and cursors from the response so follow-up commands do not repeat the same discovery step.
Rerun without
```
--trim
```
only when you need fields that the smaller response may omit.
Switch from handle-based to ID-based commands after the first lookup when the command supports it and the workflow will page repeatedly.

Common Flows

Audit a creator account

Use

instagram profiles get

to understand the account first, then branch:

Use
```
instagram posts
```
for the feed history.
Use
```
instagram reels
```
for short-form video output.
Use
```
instagram highlights
```
for archived stories.
Use
```
instagram embed
```
if the output needs embeddable markup rather than analysis.

Analyze one post or reel

Use

instagram posts get

when the user has a single Instagram URL and wants metadata or content details. Branch again only if needed:

Use
```
instagram comments
```
to inspect audience reaction.
Use
```
instagram transcript
```
to extract spoken dialogue from video content.

Research a topic on Instagram Reels

Use

instagram reels search

for topical discovery, trend scouting, or seed collection. Once a specific reel is interesting, move to

instagram posts get

instagram comments

with the reel URL.

Command Notes

```
instagram profiles basic
```
is a niche follow-up command when you already have a user ID and only need the lighter basic-profile view.
```
instagram highlights detail
```
is not a discovery command. Use it only after
```
instagram highlights
```
returns the highlight ID you want.
```
instagram comments
```
,
```
instagram posts
```
, and
```
instagram reels
```
are pagination-friendly. Keep the returned cursor values for iterative collection.
```
instagram transcript
```
is only useful for media that actually contains speech.
This CLI is for retrieval and analysis, not posting, messaging, liking, or other write actions on Instagram.

Reference

Read references/instagram-command-map.md for a command-by-command matrix with typical inputs, outcomes, and follow-up moves.

scrapesocial-instagram

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content