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Instagram Stories API

Returns the stories a user has live right now, each with its id, image or video URLs, thumbnail, duration, capture time, and the author.

GET /v1/instagram/stories

Last updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team

When to use the Instagram Stories API

Use it to check an account's current story tray; an account with nothing live returns an empty list rather than an error.

From the API reference

Returns the active stories currently in a user's story tray. Each story includes its id, media URLs (image or video), thumbnail, duration, capture time, and the author. Pass either handle or user_id. Passing user_id is faster because no username lookup is needed. A public account with no active stories returns an empty list at no charge, not an error; a private account returns 404. Stories carry no public caption and no public like, comment, or view count: Instagram shows story engagement only to the account owner, and it is never fabricated here.

Searching 69 platforms in parallel

·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
Instagram API

What can you do with the Stories API?

The Stories endpoint gives you structured Instagram data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.

Example Request

# GET /v1/instagram/stories: 5 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 10: this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 10 --retry 3 -o response.json \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/stories?handle=instagram" && cat response.json
# GET /v1/instagram/stories: 5 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid

import requests

API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 10  # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/stories"


def backoff(attempt):
    # Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
    return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)


def socialcrawl(params):
    # One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
    idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
    for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
        try:
            res = requests.get(
                URL,
                params=params,
                headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
                timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
            )
            body = res.json()
        except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
            # A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
            if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
                raise
            time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
            continue
        if body["success"]:
            return body
        error = body["error"]
        # Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
        if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
            return None  # refunded: nothing to read
        retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
        # SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
        permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
        if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
            raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
        # Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
        time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))


params = {
    "handle": "instagram",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
    print(body["data"])
// GET /v1/instagram/stories: 5 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000; // this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;

type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
  | { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
  | { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };

const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);

async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
  // One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
  const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
  for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
    let res: Response;
    let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
    try {
      res = await fetch(url, {
        headers: {
          "x-api-key": API_KEY,
          "Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
        },
        signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
      });
      body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
    } catch (error) {
      // A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
      if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
      await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
      continue;
    }
    if (body.success) return body;
    // Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
    if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
    const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
    // SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
    const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
    if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
      throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
    }
    // Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
    await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
  }
}

const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/stories");
url.searchParams.set("handle", "instagram");

const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);

Parameters

ParameterRequiredDescription
handleNoInstagram username without the @ symbol.
user_idNoInstagram numeric user ID. Use this for faster responses.
safe_urlNoOptional and usually ignored: most responses carry ordinary media URLs whether or not you send it. Same price either way.
sinceNoOnly rows published on or after this date: YYYY-MM-DD (midnight UTC) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Rows older than it are left off each page. This list is not in date order, so the walk does not stop at the date: keep following `next_cursor`, and each page costs what a page costs even when every row on it is filtered out. A row with no date is kept. `published_after`, `start_date`, `from_date`, `publish_time` (`yesterday`, `this-week`, `this-month`, `last-3-months`, `last-6-months`) and `max_age_days` are accepted and applied as `since`.
untilNoOnly rows published on or before this date: YYYY-MM-DD (that whole UTC day is included) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Newer rows are left off each page and the walk does not stop, so older pages follow. A row with no date is kept. `published_before`, `end_date` and `to_date` are accepted and applied as `until`.
Example Response

What does the Instagram Stories API return?

Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.

Example response
{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "instagram",
  "endpoint": "/v1/instagram/stories",
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "post": {
          "id": "3998435105545705197",
          "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd9S4s7gNbt/",
          "content": {
            "text": null,
            "media_urls": "https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/user_2352da/v/t2/f2/m78/AQOtHdIvDsqOW9v7UGl5HGWG7FSY-gi2cGglrt5m_5ZCuCVaUpu_scjuGOhhtWwDyU4nUncGq28MbxDksOoAGZQGGu5o9r6gzcrbn78.mp4?_nc_cat=104&_nc_sid=5e9851&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_ohc=QlEfUkcWJTEQ7kNvwH2T6tD&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6Inhwdl9wcm9ncmVzc2l2ZS5JTlNUQUdSQU0uU1RPUlkuQzMuNzIwLmRhc2hfYmFzZWxpbmVfMV92MSIsInhwdl9hc3NldF9pZCI6MTg3OTg5NjUzNzcwMDEzMjEsImFzc2V0X2FnZV9kYXlzIjowLCJ2aV91c2VjYXNlX2lkIjoxMDgyNiwiZHVyYXRpb25fcyI6MTYsIndhdGNoX3RpbWVfcyI6MjczNTY1MDYsInVybGdlbl9zb3VyY2UiOiJ3d3cifQ%3D%3D&ccb=17-1&vs=ba7de382da825823&_nc_vs=HBksFQIYUWlnX3hwdl9wbGFjZW1lbnRfcGVybWFuZW50X3YyLzQ0QUUzNERDMjhFNzQzMzk4NzkwRjREMkNEMDQ5QkZEX3ZpZGVvX2Rhc2hpbml0Lm1wNBUAAsgBEgAVAhhRaWdfeHB2X3BsYWNlbWVudF9wZXJtYW5lbnRfdjIvNTIyMEQyNERFRUM1NDRCN0E0NjdGMDIyQUZCNjY2RDJfYXVkaW9fZGFzaGluaXQubXA0FQICyAESACgAGAAbAogHdXNlX29pbAExEnByb2dyZXNzaXZlX3JlY2lwZQExFQAAJtKdh9fm4-RCFQIoAkMzLBdAMLul41P3zxgSZGFzaF9iYXNlbGluZV8xX3YxEQB16AdllKkBAA&_nc_gid=8bKhF703SFckB3MqUWlE9Q&_nc_ss=733ba&_nc_zt=28&oh=00_AQPFuFW9F3vRoYBYD6jkiO2d3qXJaHx1Xnw7sfct3hibVw&oe=6AC1A361",
            "thumbnail_url": "https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/user_4c9448/t51.71878-15/832678838_4380746102187889_2225297799503381246_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e15_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ig_cache_key=Mzk5ODQzNTEwNTU0NTcwNTE5Nw%3D%3D.3-ccb7-5&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=58cdad&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6IlNUT1JZLnhwaWRzLjY0MC5zZHIudmlkZW9fZmlyc3RfZnJhbWVfdGh1bWJuYWlsLkMzIn0%3D&_nc_ohc=IpVpvaMLcdEQ7kNvwE-pZ2g&_nc_oc=AdphR8fIN8y3oSr1H6I9-1L5k761xH9hQ3CF1foZ4aRUgztJeyj5-dNz2d24wQ2_3GM&_nc_ad=z-m&_nc_cid=0&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=8bKhF703SFckB3MqUWlE9Q&_nc_ss=733ba&oh=00_AQPduOjKkdMnDRbPB1ciY_ipXaLL-q--rUXr3lCHm26VaA&oe=6AC58F24",
            "duration_seconds": 16.766
          },
          "author": {
            "username": "instagram",
            "display_name": "user_bad57e",
            "avatar_url": "https://example.com/avatars/user_01351d.png",
            "verified": true
          },
          "engagement": {
            "views": null,
            "likes": null,
            "comments": null,
            "shares": null,
            "saves": null
          },
          "flags": {
            "nsfw": null,
            "spoiler": null,
            "pinned": null,
            "deleted": false
          },
          "published_at": "2026-10-01T16:03:44.000Z",
          "ext": {
            "media_type": "video",
            "published_at_epoch": 1790870624,
            "coauthors": []
          }
        },
        "computed": {
          "engagement_rate": null,
          "language": null,
          "content_category": null,
          "estimated_reach": null
        }
      }
    ],
    "total": null,
    "dropped": 0
  },
  "credits_used": 5,
  "request_id": "req_example000000",
  "cached": false,
  "pagination": {
    "next_cursor": null,
    "has_more": false,
    "page_size": 1
  },
  "credits_remaining": 9999,
  "source": "captured",
  "captured_at": "2026-10-02T13:08:57.437Z",
  "redacted": true
}

Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.

API Details

How does the Instagram Stories API work?

Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.

Method

GET

Response

JSON

Why SocialCrawl

Why use SocialCrawl for Instagram Stories data?

We handle the complexity of Instagram data extraction so you can focus on building. Unified schema, AI enrichment, and zero platform logic in your code.

Developer First

How do you scrape social media data in seconds?

The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.

One schema, every platform

Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.

Computed fields, not just scraped

When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.

See your data before you code

Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
    params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
    headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json()
[ .JSON ]
{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "tiktok",
  "data": {
    "author": {
      "username": "charlidamelio",
      "followers": 152400000
    },
    "engagement": {
      "likes": 12400000000,
      "engagement_rate": 0.087
    },
    "metadata": {
      "language": "en",
      "content_category": "lifestyle"
    }
  }
}
+ 69 platforms
FAQ

Have a question? We got answers

Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.

Contact us
How do I get a user's active Instagram stories with an API?
Send a GET request to /v1/instagram/stories with either the handle or the user_id parameter. SocialCrawl returns a JSON list of the stories currently in that user's tray, each with media URLs, thumbnail, duration, capture time, and author.
Should I pass handle or user_id to the stories endpoint?
Both work. Passing user_id is faster because SocialCrawl skips the username lookup step. If you only have the username, pass handle and the account is resolved for you before the stories are fetched.
What happens if the user has no active stories?
You get an empty list, not an error. Instagram stories expire after 24 hours, so an account with nothing live returns zero items and the call still succeeds normally.
How much does the Instagram Stories API cost per call?
Each call costs 5 credits on the advanced tier, regardless of how many stories are in the tray. New accounts get 100 free credits with no card, so you can test it right away.
Can I get CDN-safe media URLs for the stories?
Yes. Add the optional safe_url parameter and the response returns proxied, CDN-safe media URLs that are easier to fetch and store than the raw Instagram links, which helps with story archiving.

Ask AI about SocialCrawl

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