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

Which endpoint do I need?

Full param details for every row: [references/endpoints.md](references/endpoints.md).

Authentication

Two ways to pay, same data — full mechanics in the [fetcher skill](../fetcher/SKILL.md):

# 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)

{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: searchendpoints, describeendpoint, checkbalance. Paid: fetchdata (any endpoint above), topupcredits, plus the named shortcut instagramuser_handle. Drop the headers block to pay per call with x402 instead — see the [fetcher skill](../fetcher/SKILL.md) 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](references/endpoints.md) (every

param) · [references/scenarios.md](references/scenarios.md) (one curl per endpoint) · [references/faq.md](references/faq.md) · [references/comparison.md](references/comparison.md) (vs. the official Instagram Graph API and a browser scraper)

• Task guides: [profile lookup](../../task-guides/instagram-profile-lookup.md) ·

[hashtag and location monitoring](../../task-guides/instagram-hashtag-and-location-monitoring.md)

• Slash command: [/instagram-profile](../../commands/instagram-profile.md)
• 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](../fetcher/SKILL.md)
• Site: <https://instagram.fetcher.sh>;