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Instagram Story Download API

Returns the full resolution image or video URLs and metadata for one specific story.

GET /v1/instagram/story/download

Last updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team

When to use the Instagram Story Download API

Use it after stories: pass the author's user_id plus the story_id it returned to pull that one story's media.

From the API reference

Returns the downloadable media for one specific story: the full-resolution image or video URLs and the story's metadata. Pass the user_id of the story's author and the story_id of the individual story (get story ids from the Instagram stories endpoint).

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 Story Download API?

The Story Download 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/story/download: 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 16: 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 16 --retry 3 -o response.json \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/story/download?user_id=25025320&story_id=3926693776893966474" && cat response.json
# GET /v1/instagram/story/download: 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 = 16  # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/story/download"


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 = {
    "user_id": "25025320",
    "story_id": "3926693776893966474",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
    print(body["data"])
// GET /v1/instagram/story/download: 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 = 16_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/story/download");
url.searchParams.set("user_id", "25025320");
url.searchParams.set("story_id", "3926693776893966474");

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

Parameters

ParameterRequiredDescription
user_idNoInstagram numeric user ID of the story's author.
story_idNoID of the individual story to download.
safe_urlNoWhen true, returns URL-safe media links suitable for embedding.
Example Response

What does the Instagram Story Download 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/engagement",
  "data": {
    "engagement_rate_percentages": 38.33,
    "recent_posts": 12,
    "followers": 87608035,
    "comments": 528912,
    "likes": 33049046,
    "recent_posts_explanation": "Statistics based on the last 12 posts",
    "id_user": "2278169415",
    "username": "mrbeast",
    "is_private": false,
    "posts_details": [
      {
        "likes": 5636982,
        "comments": 69484,
        "taken_at": 1781457954,
        "datetime": "2026-06-14 20:25:54",
        "hours_since_post": 461,
        "time_ago": "19 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 12228,
        "comments_per_hour": 151
      },
      {
        "likes": 20000768,
        "comments": 223510,
        "taken_at": 1732824650,
        "datetime": "2024-11-28 23:10:50",
        "hours_since_post": 13971,
        "time_ago": "2 years ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1432,
        "comments_per_hour": 16
      },
      {
        "likes": 929226,
        "comments": 30633,
        "taken_at": 1782232475,
        "datetime": "2026-06-23 19:34:35",
        "hours_since_post": 246,
        "time_ago": "10 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 3777,
        "comments_per_hour": 125
      },
      {
        "likes": 487761,
        "comments": 22482,
        "taken_at": 1781799425,
        "datetime": "2026-06-18 19:17:05",
        "hours_since_post": 366,
        "time_ago": "15 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1333,
        "comments_per_hour": 61
      },
      {
        "likes": 712265,
        "comments": 15716,
        "taken_at": 1781366405,
        "datetime": "2026-06-13 19:00:05",
        "hours_since_post": 487,
        "time_ago": "20 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1463,
        "comments_per_hour": 32
      },
      {
        "likes": 1475116,
        "comments": 35386,
        "taken_at": 1781277094,
        "datetime": "2026-06-12 18:11:34",
        "hours_since_post": 512,
        "time_ago": "21 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 2881,
        "comments_per_hour": 69
      },
      {
        "likes": 1108220,
        "comments": 26632,
        "taken_at": 1780160249,
        "datetime": "2026-05-30 19:57:29",
        "hours_since_post": 822,
        "time_ago": "1 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1348,
        "comments_per_hour": 32
      },
      {
        "likes": 542948,
        "comments": 28476,
        "taken_at": 1779375582,
        "datetime": "2026-05-21 17:59:42",
        "hours_since_post": 1040,
        "time_ago": "1 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 522,
        "comments_per_hour": 27
      },
      {
        "likes": 698514,
        "comments": 24401,
        "taken_at": 1779120014,
        "datetime": "2026-05-18 19:00:14",
        "hours_since_post": 1111,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 629,
        "comments_per_hour": 22
      },
      {
        "likes": 468000,
        "comments": 13548,
        "taken_at": 1778947209,
        "datetime": "2026-05-16 19:00:09",
        "hours_since_post": 1159,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 404,
        "comments_per_hour": 12
      },
      {
        "likes": 526594,
        "comments": 24411,
        "taken_at": 1777737719,
        "datetime": "2026-05-02 19:01:59",
        "hours_since_post": 1495,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 352,
        "comments_per_hour": 16
      },
      {
        "likes": 462652,
        "comments": 14233,
        "taken_at": 1777580305,
        "datetime": "2026-04-30 23:18:25",
        "hours_since_post": 1538,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 301,
        "comments_per_hour": 9
      }
    ]
  },
  "credits_used": 5,
  "credits_remaining": 9999,
  "request_id": "req-8Kq2ZmR4vT9xLb3P",
  "cached": false,
  "redacted": true
}

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

API Details

How does the Instagram Story Download 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 Story Download 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 download a specific Instagram story with an API?
Send a GET request to /v1/instagram/story/download with the story author's user_id and the individual story_id. SocialCrawl returns the full-resolution image or video URL for that one story plus its metadata.
Where do I get the story_id to pass in?
Call the stories endpoint first (/v1/instagram/stories) to list the active stories in a user's tray. Each item includes its story_id, which you then pass here to download that specific story.
Does the story download API return images and videos?
Yes. The response carries the full-resolution media URL whether the story is a photo or a video, along with the story metadata such as capture time and author, so you can save the original file.
How much does one story download cost?
Each download costs 5 credits on the advanced tier. New accounts get 100 free credits with no credit card, so you can pull story media right away before deciding to top up.
Can I get a CDN-safe URL for the downloaded story?
Yes. Add the optional safe_url parameter and SocialCrawl returns a proxied, CDN-safe media URL that is more reliable to fetch and store than the raw Instagram link.

Ask AI about SocialCrawl

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