How do I install the Instagram API skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add fetcher-sh/instagram-api in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Instagram API skill do?

An Instagram API alternative on fetcher.sh — pay-per-call in USDC via x402, or prepaid credits with a Bearer key, no login and no session cookies. Use when the user wants to resolve an Instagram profile by @handle, search users by keyword, pull a profile's posts, reels, stories, tagged posts, followers, or followings, look up a single post by its shortcode, read a post's comments, fetch posts under a hashtag or reel-only hashtag feed, pull posts from a location, or pull posts using a specific audio/music track. Also covers Instagram follower export, hashtag and location monitoring, influencer discovery, competitor content tracking, and Instagram data pipelines without an official Graph API business verification or a headless browser. It is listed under Product & Planning on SkillMD.

Is Instagram API safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Instagram API?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Instagram API free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Instagram API?

fetcher-sh (@fetcher-sh) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Instagram API by fetcher-sh — Agent Skill

Name: Instagram API
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: fetcher-sh

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:

# 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:

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:

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):

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:

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:

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:

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

{
  "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

File contents

Instagram API

Quick reference

Which endpoint do I need?

Authentication

Endpoints (16 — all GET, $0.004/call)

Scenarios

MCP

Errors

Reference

Frequently asked questions

Instagram API

File contents

Instagram API

Quick reference

Which endpoint do I need?

Authentication

Endpoints (16 — all GET, $0.004/call)

Scenarios

MCP

Errors

Reference

Related skills

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Instagram API skill?

What does the Instagram API skill do?

Is Instagram API safe to use?

Which AI agents work with Instagram API?

Is Instagram API free to use?

Who published Instagram API?