Platform · Instagram
Instagram API for Public Profiles, Posts, and Reels
One API key for every public Instagram read operation: profiles, posts, reels, comments, story highlights, and reel transcripts. No Meta app review. No Business account.
Meta's official Instagram Graph API is locked to data from your own Business or Creator account, requires app review for almost any read scope, and rejects most third-party use cases. The Instagram Basic Display API was retired in December 2024. CreatorCrawl reads any public Instagram profile, post, reel, comment thread, or story highlight under pay-as-you-go credits that never expire. Every endpoint is exposed as a native MCP tool so your Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or Zed agent can read Instagram in natural language.
Why pick CreatorCrawl over the Meta Graph API for Instagram?
The official Meta Graph API for Instagram is the first place most developers look. Here is why teams building real products switch off it.
Meta Graph API for Instagram
- Only reads data from your own Business or Creator account
- App review required for almost every read scope
- No public profile read endpoint at all
- Instagram Basic Display API retired December 2024
- Hashtag search capped at 30 unique hashtags per 7 days
- No transcripts, no arbitrary post comments, no story highlights
CreatorCrawl
- No approval process, sign up in 60 seconds
- Pay-as-you-go credits, never expire, no subscription
- Native MCP server for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed
- Same API covers 5 other platforms under one key
- Real-time data on every request, 250 free credits on signup
Instagram endpoints
11 endpoints covering profiles, content, engagement, and search. Every endpoint is exposed as an MCP tool so your AI agent can call it in natural language.
/instagram/profileProfile
Public Instagram profile by handle: user info, follower stats, bio, verification status, business category, and post count.
/instagram/basic-profileBasic Profile
Lightweight profile lookup by user ID. Useful for enriching large lists where you already have IDs from another endpoint.
/instagram/user/postsUser Posts
Paginated post timeline for any public handle. Captions, like counts, comment counts, media URLs, and timestamps.
/instagram/user/reelsUser Reels
Paginated reels for any public handle with play count, like count, and caption.
/instagram/postPost
Single post or reel detail by URL: likes, comments, caption, video views, author, and media URLs.
/instagram/post/commentsPost Comments
Paginated comment thread for any public post with author, like count, and replies. The official Graph API does not expose this for third-party posts.
/instagram/user/highlightsStory Highlights
List of story highlights on any public profile with cover thumbnails and titles.
/instagram/user/highlight/detailHighlight Details
Items inside a single story highlight: media, captions, and timestamps.
/instagram/media/transcriptReel Transcript
Plain-text transcript plus timestamped segments for any Instagram reel. The official API does not support this.
/instagram/reels/searchReels Search
Keyword search across Instagram reels with play counts, like counts, and creator info.
/instagram/user/embedEmbed
oEmbed-style metadata for embedding any public Instagram post or reel.
Connect Instagram to your AI agent in 60 seconds
The CreatorCrawl MCP server exposes all 11+ Instagram endpoints as native tools. Drop this config into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or Zed and your agent can read Instagram in natural language.
{
"mcpServers": {
"creatorcrawl": {
"url": "https://app.creatorcrawl.com/api/mcp",
"headers": {
"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}Save the config, restart your MCP client, and ask your agent something like "Pull the last 20 posts from a Instagram account and summarise the themes."
What teams build with Instagram data
Creator vetting for influencer marketing
Pull follower count, engagement signals, bio, and recent post performance for any Instagram handle before outreach. Score creators in seconds instead of opening profiles one by one.
Competitor and brand monitoring
Track competitor Instagram accounts for follower growth, posting cadence, and engagement spikes. Diff on a schedule and trigger alerts when something moves.
Reel transcript pipelines for content research
Search reels for your niche, pull the transcript endpoint for the top results, and feed plain text into an LLM to surface repeatable hook and script patterns.
AI agents that reason about Instagram
Connect Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or Zed to the CreatorCrawl MCP server and your agent can read Instagram profiles, posts, reels, and comments in natural language without writing any HTTP client code.
Frequently asked questions about the Instagram API
How is this different from the Instagram Graph API?
Meta's Instagram Graph API only reads data from your own Business or Creator account and requires app review for nearly every scope. There is no public profile read endpoint at all. CreatorCrawl reads any public Instagram profile, post, reel, or comment thread your browser can see. No Business account, no app review, no OAuth. You sign up, grab an API key, and hit the endpoint. One call is one credit. Credits never expire.
What happened to the Instagram Basic Display API?
Meta retired the Instagram Basic Display API on 4 December 2024. Apps that previously read user media through it now have to migrate to Instagram API with Instagram Business Login, which only works for accounts that have opted in. CreatorCrawl is the read-any-public-profile alternative: same data your browser sees, one key, no Business account required.
Can I extract reel transcripts?
Yes. The Reel Transcript endpoint returns timestamped segments and a plain-text field for any Instagram reel URL. The official Graph API has no equivalent, which is one of the most common reasons teams switch to CreatorCrawl for content research.
Can I read comments on posts I do not own?
Yes. The Post Comments endpoint returns paginated comments with author, like count, and replies for any public post. The official Graph API only exposes comment threads on your own owned media, which is why most agencies and analytics tools end up here.
Does it work with private profiles?
No. CreatorCrawl reads publicly visible Instagram data only. Private accounts, restricted posts, and content gated by follow approval are out of scope.
Is it legal to read Instagram data this way?
CreatorCrawl only accesses publicly available Instagram data, the same data any logged-out browser can see. Reading public profiles is generally considered legal under precedents like hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn (2022), but specifics depend on jurisdiction and downstream use. Review Instagram's Terms of Use, GDPR, and CCPA against your use case before going live.
Does it work with Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients?
Yes. The CreatorCrawl MCP server exposes every Instagram endpoint as a native tool. Drop one config block into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or Zed and your agent can call Instagram tools in natural language without any glue code.
Is there a free tier?
250 credits free on signup, no credit card required. Every Instagram API call is 1 credit. Credits never expire. If you outgrow the free pack, credit bundles start at $29 for 5,000 credits with no subscription.