instapi.co

Instagram API for AI agents

Agents are good at research until the answer is on Instagram. Here's why that's hard, and how to give any agent Instagram search and posts in one step.

Why agents can't just use Instagram

Instagram is built to keep bots out

Logged-out visitors hit a login wall after a few profiles or posts. An agent's fetch tool usually gets an empty app shell, not data.
Logged-in automation gets checkpoints, phone verification, rate limits and suspensions. Handing an agent your own session cookies puts your account at risk.
The web app's internal endpoints change often, so scrapers break without warning.
Posts are mostly images and video. Even when a page loads, a text-only model sees a caption and some URLs.

The official API is built for managing your own account

You need a Meta developer app, plus a Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook Page.
Serving anyone outside your app's roles needs Advanced Access: app review, business verification and a recorded walkthrough. That takes weeks, and rejections are common.
Personal accounts are out. The Basic Display API shut down on December 4, 2024.
No keyword search for users or places. Hashtag search is capped at 30 unique hashtags per 7 days.
Business Discovery can only read other Professional accounts.

The official API is the right tool for posting, replying to comments and DMs, and reading insights on accounts you own. It isn't built for an agent that needs to look things up.

How instapi.co works

instapi.co is a read-only Instagram API built for agents. It handles the Instagram side, so your agent gets clean JSON instead of login walls.

Search users, hashtags and places by keyword.
Profiles: bio, links, follower counts and account type.
Posts for any public account, newest first, with likes, comments, captions and timestamps.
Media as text: every image and video comes with an AI description, so any model can read what a post shows.
Self-describing: responses include meta.next_steps, so an agent can sign up, create a key and query without a human.

How to use it from an agent

Option 1: MCP (Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex)

claude mcp add --transport http instapi https://instapi.co/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer sk_instapi_..."

Your agent gets instagram_search, instagram_user_profile and instagram_user_posts as tools. Config for other clients is on the Instagram MCP page.

Option 2: let the agent onboard itself

Any agent with a fetch or shell tool can start from one URL:

curl https://instapi.co/api/start

The response explains signup, API keys and queries, with the exact next calls to make. Paste this into your agent's prompt:

You can read Instagram through https://instapi.co.
GET https://instapi.co/api/start and follow meta.next_steps.

Option 3: plain REST

curl "https://instapi.co/api/instagram/search?q=blue+bottle" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_instapi_..."

curl "https://instapi.co/api/instagram/users/bluebottle/posts?count=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_instapi_..."

Every field is documented in the API docs.

What agents do with it

Research a brand, creator or venue before a meeting or a pitch.
Find creators in a niche or city for outreach lists.
Track what competitors posted this week and what performed.
Check a restaurant's latest menu, hours or event posts.
Answer "what's in this account's recent photos?" without vision.

Side by side

	Agent browsing instagram.com	Official Instagram API	instapi.co
Setup	Your login and cookies	Meta app, Business account, Facebook Page	Email signup, one key
Approval	None, until it's blocked	App review for Advanced Access	None
Whose data	What the login wall lets through	Your accounts, other Professional accounts	Any public account
User and place search	Unreliable	No	Yes
Images and video	Raw media	Media URLs	URLs plus AI text descriptions
Agent integration	Browser tool	Build your own	Hosted MCP and REST
Publishing, DMs, insights	Risky	Yes, your accounts	No, read-only
Cost	Your account's standing	Free within rate limits	10 free credits, then $1 per 100 requests

FAQ

Can an AI agent browse Instagram directly?

Not reliably. Logged-out visitors hit a login wall after a few pages, and logged-in automation gets challenged, rate limited or suspended. Agents also can't see images, so even a loaded page gives them little.

Can I use the official Instagram API without app review?

Only for people with a role on your Meta app. Serving anyone else needs Advanced Access, which means app review and business verification. instapi.co needs no Meta app: sign up with an email and query immediately.

Does the Instagram Graph API work with personal accounts?

No. Since the Basic Display API shut down on December 4, 2024, the official APIs only cover Business and Creator accounts, and Business Discovery can only look up other Professional accounts.

Can the Instagram Graph API search for users?

No. There is no keyword search for users or places, and hashtag search is capped at 30 unique hashtags per account per 7 days. instapi.co's search returns users, hashtags and places for any keyword.

Official API details from Meta's Instagram Platform overview.

Get a key with 10 free credits.