Instagram Scraper

Setup

Read scrapecreators-api first. Execute every operation below through the runtime it selects: the GooseWorks MCP tool in terminal-free clients, the GooseWorks CLI in a local terminal, or the direct API with the user's own key. Never assume a shell is available.

Scrape public Instagram data including profiles, posts, and reels.

When to Use

• User asks about Instagram content
• User wants to see posts from an account
• Social media research

How It Works

Uses the ScrapeCreators API through its direct GooseWorks proxy.

Usage

Get User Profile & Posts

provider: scrapecreators
method: GET
path: /v1/instagram/profile
query:
  handle: openai

Get Individual Post/Reel

provider: scrapecreators
method: GET
path: /v1/instagram/post
query:
  url: https://instagram.com/p/abc123

Get Basic Profile by User ID

provider: scrapecreators
method: GET
path: /v1/instagram/basic-profile
query:
  userId: "12345"

Parameters

Profile

• handle (required) - Instagram handle (without @)
• trim (optional) - Set to "true" for a trimmed response

Post/Reel

• url (required) - Instagram post or reel URL
• trim (optional) - Set to "true" for a trimmed response

Basic Profile

• userId (optional) - Instagram user ID

Response

Profile includes:

• Username, display name, bio
• Follower/following counts
• Recent posts with captions, URLs, engagement metrics
• Profile image

Post includes:

• Post caption
• Image/video URLs
• Like count
• Comment count
• Timestamp

Examples

User: "What's OpenAI posting on Instagram?" Use the Get User Profile & Posts operation with handle: openai.

User: "Get details on this Instagram post" Use the Get Individual Post/Reel operation with the supplied post URL.

Error Handling

• success: false — the API may temporarily fail; retry after a few seconds
• Private accounts cannot be accessed — no workaround
• Rate limiting may cause failures on rapid requests — add delays between calls

Tips

• Private accounts cannot be accessed
• Remove @ from handles
• API may return errors for rate limiting - retry after a few seconds