Use Case
Instagram Reels Data and Search API
Extract data from Instagram Reels at scale. Get play counts, like counts, comment counts, captions, and audio details for any Reel. Search for Reels by keyword to discover trending content. The CreatorCrawl Reels API gives you full programmatic access to Instagram short-form video data.
Benefits
- Pull play counts, likes, comments, and shares for any Instagram Reel in real time
- Search for Reels by keyword to discover trending content and monitor competitors
- Extract transcripts from Reels to make spoken content searchable and analyzable
- Track Reel performance over time to identify what content formats drive the most engagement
- Fetch all Reels from a specific creator to analyze their short-form video strategy
How It Works
Fetch Reels by user or keyword
Use the user reels endpoint to get all Reels from a creator, or the search reels endpoint to find Reels by keyword across Instagram.
Get detailed Reel metadata
Each Reel comes with play count, like count, comment count, caption, audio info, duration, and creation timestamp.
Extract transcripts
Pass Reel URLs to the transcript endpoint to get spoken content as structured, timestamped text segments.
Analyze and act
Feed the data into your analytics platform, content strategy tools, or AI models for trend detection and content planning.
Relevant API Endpoints
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get Instagram Reels data via API?
Use the CreatorCrawl user reels endpoint to fetch all Reels from a specific Instagram creator, or the search reels endpoint to find Reels matching a keyword. Each Reel includes play count, engagement stats, caption, audio details, and creation timestamp. No Instagram developer account or approval process required.
Can I search for Instagram Reels by keyword?
Yes. The search reels endpoint accepts any keyword query and returns matching Reels with full metadata. This is useful for trend monitoring, competitive analysis, and content discovery. You can search for topics, hashtags, or brand names to find relevant Reels across Instagram.
Can I get transcripts from Instagram Reels?
Yes. The CreatorCrawl transcript endpoint extracts spoken content from Instagram Reels as timestamped text segments. This lets you make Reel content searchable, run text analysis on spoken words, and repurpose video content into written formats.
How do I track Instagram Reels performance?
Poll the post info endpoint at regular intervals to track how play counts, likes, and comments change over time. Store the data to build performance timelines and identify which Reels are gaining traction. There are no rate limits, so you can poll as frequently as your use case demands.
What is the difference between Reels and regular Instagram posts in the API?
Reels are short-form videos with play counts and audio metadata that regular photo posts do not have. The user reels endpoint specifically returns only Reels content, while the user posts endpoint returns all post types. Use the reels endpoint when you specifically need short-form video data and performance metrics.