# Instagram API for Reels, Creators and Hashtags > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.shortsintel.com/llms.txt). Every docs page is also available as markdown: add .md to its URL. To connect, read [agents.md](https://www.shortsintel.com/agents.md). Updated 6 November 2026. ShortsIntel returns public Instagram data as JSON from /v1: Reels, posts and carousels, Creator profiles with a baseline, Hashtags, Keyword search and comments. You do not connect an Instagram account or go through Meta App Review. Meta's own Instagram API is built to manage your professional account and reads little about anyone else. This API reads any public profile or Reel instead. The cards below list each Instagram operation with its price and MCP tool, and the call shown is a real Creator lookup. - Operations: 17 - Free operations: 4 - Paid prices: From 3 credits - To start: 1,000 credits free ## One call and its real response, trimmed Look up a creator and baseline: `GET /v1/creators/{platform}/{handle}`. Price: 6 credits, the same when a creator Snapshot under 24 h old and a baseline under 7 days old can answer. ### Request ```bash curl "https://www.shortsintel.com/v1/creators/instagram/glossier?include=videos" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" ``` ### Response ```json { "run": { "kind": "creator_lookup", "status": "completed", "charge_credits": 6 }, "result": { "platform": "instagram", "handle": "glossier", "name": "Glossier", "verified": true, "follower_count": 3124621, "following_count": 3618, "baseline": { "sample": 11, "median_views": 112066, "p90_views": 146128, "engagement_rate": 0.0264, "posts_per_week": 1.23, "confidence": "high" }, "videos": [ { "id": "DfNOT9PA7jR", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DfNOT9PA7jR/", "posted_at": "2026-11-01T17:03:06.000Z", "snapshot": { "views": 83411, "likes": 2017, "comments": 57 }, "scores": { "outlier": 0.74, "outlier_p90": 0.57, "percentile": 36.36, "velocity": { "window": "lifetime", "views_per_hour": 78198.28 } } }, { "id": "DezQh2YRFhJ", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DezQh2YRFhJ/", "posted_at": "2026-10-22T15:02:13.000Z", "snapshot": { "views": 134871, "likes": 4890, "comments": 148 }, "scores": { "outlier": 1.3, "outlier_p90": 0.88, "percentile": 70, "velocity": { "window": "lifetime", "views_per_hour": 554.84 } } }, { "id": "DecyDjQvZBm", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DecyDjQvZBm/", "posted_at": "2026-10-13T21:32:39.000Z", "snapshot": { "views": 135771, "likes": 1698, "comments": 68 }, "scores": { "outlier": 1.31, "outlier_p90": 0.89, "percentile": 80, "velocity": { "window": "lifetime", "views_per_hour": 300 } } }, ... ], "next_cursor": "eyJwIjoiSU5TVEFHUkFNIi..." } } ``` Real response from our own account, trimmed to three of the 12 Reels it returned, with fields cut from each Reel and `...` marking the cut. Each Reel under 30 days old carries Scores against the Creator's baseline. Captured 1 November 2026. Every field: [Look up a creator and baseline reference](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/creators/get-creator). ## What developers build on the Instagram API - Benchmark a competitor's Reels against their own median views, and flag the ones that ran above it. - Pull the hook, on-screen text, transcript and call to action of any public Reel into a creative brief. - Track a Hashtag or a Keyword on Instagram daily and read what changed in a Change Report. - Shortlist Creators for a campaign by follower count, posting rate and engagement rate. - Read what viewers ask in a Reel's comments, with an optional sentiment and theme analysis. ## Every Instagram API operation and its price Prices are in Credits. A failed Run costs nothing. The MCP tool on each card reaches the same operation from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor through the [Instagram MCP server](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/instagram). ### Search Instagram Find Reels on a topic, or read one page of Instagram search for a phrase. #### Search videos by keyword `POST /v1/videos/search` Instagram results are marked partial coverage. - Price: 3 credits per page with `platforms: ["instagram"]`. Analysing the top results adds 20 credits per Reel. - MCP tool: `search_videos` [Reference: Search videos by keyword](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/search-videos) #### Sample a keyword search `GET /v1/keywords/{platform}` - Price: 3 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer. - MCP tool: `get_keyword` [Reference: Sample a keyword search](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/keywords/get-keyword) ### Reels and posts One Reel, post or carousel by link or shortcode, with its analysis, comments and replies. #### Look up a video by URL `POST /v1/videos/lookup` - Price: 3 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer. - MCP tool: `get_video` [Reference: Look up a video by URL](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/lookup-video) #### Look up a video by id `GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}` Returns tagged people, location and paid partnership flags where Instagram shows them. - Price: 3 credits. With analysis 23 credits, transcript alone 10 credits. - MCP tool: `get_video` [Reference: Look up a video by id](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/get-video) #### Analyse a video `POST /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/intelligence` - Price: 23 credits, whether computed now or already stored, and with `refresh: true`. - MCP tool: `get_video` [Reference: Analyse a video](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/compute-video-intelligence) #### Read a video's comments `GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/comments` - Price: 3 credits per page, plus 10 credits with `analyze=true`, whether the analysis is computed now or already stored. - MCP tool: `get_comments` [Reference: Read a video's comments](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/get-video-comments) #### Read a comment's replies `GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/comments/{comment_id}/replies` - Price: 3 credits per page, the same when the replies are already stored. - MCP tool: `get_comment_replies` [Reference: Read a comment's replies](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/get-comment-replies) #### Read a video's metric history `GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/snapshots` - Price: Free. - MCP tool: REST only [Reference: Read a video's metric history](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/list-video-snapshots) ### Instagram Creators A public profile with its baseline, its recent Reels or all posts, and its follower history. #### Look up a creator and baseline `GET /v1/creators/{platform}/{handle}` - Price: 6 credits, the same when a creator Snapshot under 24 h old and a baseline under 7 days old can answer. - MCP tool: `get_creator` [Reference: Look up a creator and baseline](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/creators/get-creator) #### Page a creator's stored videos `GET /v1/creators/{platform}/{handle}/videos` - Price: Free. With `intelligence=true`, 20 credits per Video analysed. - MCP tool: `get_creator` [Reference: Page a creator's stored videos](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/creators/list-creator-videos) #### Read follower history `GET /v1/creators/{platform}/{handle}/snapshots` - Price: Free. - MCP tool: REST only [Reference: Read follower history](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/creators/list-creator-snapshots) ### Hashtags Sample stats, trend and top Videos for an Instagram Hashtag, then its Videos page by page. #### Look up a hashtag's trend `GET /v1/hashtags/{platform}/{tag}` - Price: 3 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer. - MCP tool: `get_hashtag_or_sound` [Reference: Look up a hashtag's trend](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/hashtags/get-hashtag) #### Page a hashtag's videos `GET /v1/hashtags/{platform}/{tag}/videos` - Price: 3 credits per page. - MCP tool: `get_hashtag_or_sound` [Reference: Page a hashtag's videos](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/hashtags/list-hashtag-videos) ### Research, breakdowns and Trackers Study a niche on Reels, break down a set of Creators, or check a Creator, Hashtag or Keyword every day. #### Research a niche `POST /v1/research` - Price: 1,036 credits for up to 50 analysed Reels, then 20 credits each. - MCP tool: `research` [Reference: Research a niche](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/research/create-research) #### Run a Creator Breakdown `POST /v1/breakdowns` - Price: 9 credits per Creator plus 20 credits per analysed Video, at most 4,090 credits; failed ones are free. - MCP tool: `breakdown` [Reference: Run a Creator Breakdown](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/breakdowns/create-breakdown) #### Start tracking a target `POST /v1/trackers` - Price: A daily cycle: 6 credits per Creator, 3 credits per Hashtag, 3 credits per Keyword. - MCP tool: `track` [Reference: Start tracking a target](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/trackers/create-tracker) #### List change reports `GET /v1/trackers/{id}/changes` - Price: Free. - MCP tool: `get_changes` [Reference: List change reports](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/trackers/list-tracker-changes) Data limits ## What the Instagram API does not cover - Sounds are not available on Instagram, and on-demand Video Scores (`scoreVideo`) are TikTok only. Scores still come back on a Creator's Reels from the past 30 days. - Instagram search and Keyword lookups are best effort and come back marked partial. They can miss Reels Instagram itself would show. - Private accounts, Stories and anything behind a login are out of reach. - Ads that run on Instagram live in the Meta Ad Library. Read them through the [Meta Ad Library API](https://www.shortsintel.com/meta-ad-library-api) with the Instagram placement filter. - Analysis covers Videos up to 10 minutes long. ## Questions - Is this the official Instagram Graph API?: No. ShortsIntel is not affiliated with Meta or Instagram. Meta's Instagram API needs a professional account and an app, and it reads other accounts only through Business Discovery and a capped Hashtag search behind App Review. ShortsIntel reads public Reels, posts and profiles, directly or through third-party data providers, and you never sign in to an Instagram account. The [Instagram API vs scraping guide](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/instagram-api-vs-scraping) compares the two. - Can I read any public Instagram profile?: Yes, any public profile by handle: followers, following, bio links, verified status, a baseline of median views, engagement rate and posts per week, and its recent Reels with Scores. Private profiles return nothing. - How fresh is Instagram data?: Each call reads Instagram when you make it. A Creator lookup can be answered from a Snapshot under 24 hours old with a baseline under 7 days old, and a Reel, Hashtag or Keyword lookup from a Snapshot under 24 hours old, at the same price. Snapshot history is free to read. - Is the Instagram API production ready?: It is a versioned /v1 API with an OpenAPI document, and paid calls accept estimate=true to quote the price first. The limits are 60 requests per minute per key and 10 running Runs per Customer. When Instagram cannot be read, the call returns 503 source_unavailable and costs nothing. It is unofficial, so Instagram can change what it shows publicly, and search stays best effort. - Do I need a card for Instagram data?: No. New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. Add a card when you buy your first Top-up, from $10. - Does my Assistant get the same Instagram operations?: Yes. Each card names its MCP tool, and the [Instagram MCP server page](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/instagram) shows how to connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. Prices match the REST calls. ## More on this API - [Instagram MCP What an Assistant can read on Instagram through the ShortsIntel MCP server, what it cannot, and how to connect it.](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/instagram) - [Instagram API vs scraping What the Instagram Graph API, a scraper and an MCP server can each get about accounts that are not yours.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/instagram-api-vs-scraping) - [Instagram Reels research Research Instagram Reels in a niche from your Assistant: Hashtags, Keywords, Creators and a full Research, with what each one can and cannot tell you.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/instagram-reels-research) - [API reference Every /v1 operation with its parameters, schemas and error codes.](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference) ## Start with the Starter Grant New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. No card and no subscription. Create a key in the Console and make the call above. [Get 1,000 credits free](https://www.shortsintel.com/register)[API quickstart](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/quickstart)