# Instagram

> Pull public Instagram posts (images, carousels, reels) by profile or hashtag and emit structured JSON (caption, media, likes, comments).

## Overview

The Instagram node scrapes PUBLIC Instagram posts and returns them as a JSON array. Each post carries its caption, owner, timestamp, like/comment counts, and image/video URLs (carousel children flattened). Pipe the array into Extract Field, JSON Process or a List node to fan out, or straight into a Generate Text node for content analysis.

## When to Use

- Track a creator or brand's recent posts (profile mode)
- Research what's performing under a hashtag (hashtag mode)
- Seed a creative pipeline with real captions and visuals
- Combine with a Schedule Trigger for a recurring content digest

## Configuration

### Search by

| Mode | Input | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| `profile` (Profile) | Usernames | One username per line, up to 5 (`nike`; `@` optional). Use `{}` to inject an upstream list |
| `hashtag` (Hashtag) | Hashtags | One hashtag per line, up to 5 (`running`; `#` optional). Use `{}` to inject an upstream list |

### Fields

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| Posts per source | number | 20 | How many posts per profile / hashtag (1–100) |
| Period | select | Last 30 days | `Last 24 hours`, `Last 7 days`, `Last 30 days` or `All time`, by the post's date (honoured by the scraper) |
| Creative format | toggles | none (no filter) | Keep only posts whose creative is `vertical` (reels / portrait), `square` or `horizontal`, classified from the post's real pixels. Fewer posts than requested may come back |
| Copy all videos | toggle | off | Copy every returned post's video into your library (the expensive bytes; they count toward storage) |
| AI analysis | toggle + model + focus | off | Run a content-analyst pass on every post — asset type, format, visual hooks, audiences, graphic identity, content angles, value, CTA and a summary. Priced per requested post by the model's tier, settled per post analysed |

After a run the node card features one post — creative, owner, caption, likes / comments, format — with a thumbnail strip and ‹ › to move between posts; the **Results** tab lists them all, filters by format, and clicking a row features it.

## Creatives in your library

Instagram's image and video links are signed and expire, so after every run the node copies each post's images and video covers into your library (they count towards your storage; they stay out of the media picker until you press **Save to library** on a post). The featured post's video is copied when the node's **video** output is wired; turn on **Copy all videos** to copy every post's video. When storage is full, or on an install without media storage, the posts keep their original links and the run still succeeds.

## Inputs & Outputs

**Inputs:** `in` (optional) — upstream text: profiles (one per line) in `profile` mode, or hashtags in `hashtag` mode.

**Outputs:**

| Handle | Carries |
|--------|---------|
| `json` | the whole array of posts (below) — fan out with a List node |
| `text` | the featured post's caption |
| `image` | the featured post's first image (or its video cover) |
| `video` | the featured post's first video |

The `json` handle emits an array of posts, each shaped as:

```json
{
  "postId": "3712…",
  "shortCode": "DdMeNa0O_x_",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdMeNa0O_x_/",
  "type": "image",
  "caption": "New York, Paris, Melbourne…",
  "ownerUsername": "nike",
  "timestamp": "2026-09-12T17:01:28.000Z",
  "likesCount": 53999,
  "commentsCount": 169,
  "images": ["https://…/creative.jpg"],
  "videos": [],
  "videoPreviews": [],
  "hashtags": ["running"]
}
```

## Pricing

**1 credit per requested post**, rounded up to the next tier of the requested total (`Posts per source × number of sources`).

| Requested total | Credits |
|-----------------|---------|
| up to 10 | 10 CR |
| up to 20 | 20 CR |
| up to 50 | 50 CR |
| up to 100 | 100 CR |
| up to 200 | 200 CR |
| up to 500 | 500 CR |

### AI analysis add-on

Turning on **AI analysis** adds a per-post cost by the model's tier — **+1** (economy) / **+3** (standard) / **+4** (premium) — settled for the posts actually analysed.

| Requested batch | Analysis model | Total |
|-----------------|----------------|-------|
| 20 posts | economy | 20 + 20 × 1 = **40 CR** |
| 2 profiles × 30 posts (tier 100) | standard | 100 + 100 × 3 = **400 CR** |

## Providers

Uses Apify (`apify/instagram-scraper`). Needs `APIFY_API_TOKEN`, or a connected nodaro.ai account (the run — scrape and analysis — is relayed and billed there). AI analysis additionally needs an LLM key on a local run.

## Running it (editor vs. API)

A real profile scrape (media copy included) routinely runs longer than a browser's ~100-second HTTP limit, so the request returns a **job id right away** and the scrape finishes on the server. In the editor and in a workflow there is nothing to do — both poll for you and show the posts when they land.

A direct API/SDK caller gets `{ "jobId": "…", "status": "pending" }` and reads the result from the job:

- SDK: `client.nodes.runAndWait("instagram-scrape", { … })` returns the posts (it polls for you); or `run(...)` then `client.jobs.get(jobId)` and read `output_data`.
- The posts array, the featured `text` / `imageUrl` / `videoUrl`, `mediaStorage`, and any `analysis` all live on the completed job's `output_data`.