Python guide
An Instagram scraper in one Python script: captions, likes, comments, plays and dates for a public account’s recent posts and reels, saved to CSV. One API key. No Instagram login, cookies or browser.
import csv
import os
import requests
API_URL = "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/instagram/posts"
HEADERS = {"x-api-key": os.environ["MONOCRAWL_API_KEY"]}
def get_posts(handle, max_pages=10):
params = {"handle": handle}
for _ in range(max_pages):
body = requests.get(API_URL, params=params, headers=HEADERS, timeout=60).json()
if not body.get("success"):
raise RuntimeError(body["error"]["message"])
data = body["data"]
yield from data["items"]
if not data.get("has_more") or not data.get("cursor"):
break
params = {"handle": handle, "cursor": data["cursor"]}
with open("posts.csv", "w", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as file:
writer = csv.writer(file)
writer.writerow(["code", "created_at", "product_type", "likes", "comments", "plays", "url", "caption"])
for post in get_posts("gymshark"):
stats = post.get("stats") or {}
writer.writerow([post["code"], post["created_at"], post["product_type"], stats.get("likes"),
stats.get("comments"), stats.get("plays"), post["url"], post["caption"]])$ python posts.py
GET /v1/instagram/posts handle=gymshark · page 1
✓ 12 posts · 1 credit · has_more: true
✓ page 2: 12 more posts · 1 credit · 0 repeats
↻ following the cursor until has_more is false or max_pages
✓ posts.csv · up to 10 pages ≈ 120 posts for 10 credits (estimate)
Four steps
export MONOCRAWL_API_KEY="mn_your_key_here"
pip install requestsWhat you get
MONOCRAWL_API_KEY=mn_••••••••Free plan · 1,000 credits a month · No card
What comes back
A real page of Gymshark’s Instagram posts: 12 posts and reels for 1 credit. 7 are below, with their likes, comments and, for reels, plays.
codeThe post’s shortcode, as in its URLcaptionThe post’s full captioncreated_atWhen, as an ISO timestampstatsLikes, comments and, for reels, playsproduct_typeclips for a reel, carousel_container for a carouselurlThe post on instagram.commedia_urls, carouselIts images and video, and each slideThe SulekMarket giveaway 😮💨
2,79325161,085Reel26 Sept 2026The Gymshark x Sam Sulek collection is dropping soon. Get early access at Olympia weekend 👀 More info on stories.
150,0294102,614,342Reel25 Sept 2026We’re hybrid athletes, we live by ‘AND’.
5,54770484,606Reel20 Sept 2026Celebrando a nuestros atletas Hispanos 💪 ~ Celebrating our Hispanic athletes 💪
44,300239Carousel17 Sept 2026More miles. More progress.
23,584105Carousel16 Sept 2026Taking a moment to celebrate our strong women and everything they’ve worked for.
66,685497Carousel15 Sept 2026WE LIVE BY ‘AND’.
39,531215Carousel13 Sept 2026{
"success": true,
"data": {
"has_more": true,
"cursor": "mlc1.…",
"items": [
{
"id": "3994978398578617970",
"code": "DdxA6_soy5y",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdxA6_soy5y/",
"caption": "The SulekMarket giveaway 😮💨",
"created_at": "2026-09-26T21:37:03.000Z",
"is_video": true,
"product_type": "clips",
"stats": {
"likes": 2793,
"comments": 25,
"plays": 161085
}
},
{
"id": "3994049637738654738",
"code": "DdttvvwsKwS",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdttvvwsKwS/",
"caption": "The Gymshark x Sam Sulek collection is dropping soon.\nGet early access at Olympia weekend 👀\nMore info on stories.",
"created_at": "2026-09-25T14:59:43.000Z",
"is_video": true,
"product_type": "clips",
"stats": {
"likes": 150029,
"comments": 410,
"plays": 2614342
}
},
{
"id": "3990521760637743999",
"code": "DdhLmYLR3N_",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdhLmYLR3N_/",
"caption": "We’re hybrid athletes, we live by ‘AND’.",
"created_at": "2026-09-20T18:05:31.000Z",
"is_video": true,
"product_type": "clips",
"stats": {
"likes": 5547,
"comments": 70,
"plays": 484606
}
},
{
"id": "3988348163014063095",
"code": "DdZdYXpCPP3",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdZdYXpCPP3/",
"caption": "Celebrando a nuestros atletas Hispanos 💪\n~\nCelebrating our Hispanic athletes 💪",
"created_at": "2026-09-17T18:02:52.000Z",
"is_video": null,
"product_type": "carousel_container",
"stats": {
"likes": 44300,
"comments": 239,
"plays": null
}
},
{
"id": "3987628542065640275",
"code": "DdW5wgaCANT",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdW5wgaCANT/",
"caption": "More miles. More progress.",
"created_at": "2026-09-16T18:13:07.000Z",
"is_video": null,
"product_type": "carousel_container",
"stats": {
"likes": 23584,
"comments": 105,
"plays": null
}
},
{
"id": "3986896843400831908",
"code": "DdUTY47CGOk",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdUTY47CGOk/",
"caption": "Taking a moment to celebrate our strong women and everything they’ve worked for.",
"created_at": "2026-09-15T17:59:22.000Z",
"is_video": null,
"product_type": "carousel_container",
"stats": {
"likes": 66685,
"comments": 497,
"plays": null
}
},
{
"id": "3985463540202382828",
"code": "DdPNflTCKXs",
"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DdPNflTCKXs/",
"caption": "WE LIVE BY ‘AND’.\n\nThe Conditioning Club community came together to run, lift and recover.\nBeing a hybrid athlete means there’s more than one way to move.\n\nFor those who lift and run and refuse to choose.\nGymshark Conditioning Club returns soon.",
"created_at": "2026-09-13T18:31:38.000Z",
"is_video": null,
"product_type": "carousel_container",
"stats": {
"likes": 39531,
"comments": 215,
"plays": null
}
}
]
}
}Cost
Every page of posts costs 1 credit; both recorded pages returned 12. A profile costs 1 credit too. Slide to see what a collection costs.
Estimated at 12 posts a page, as on both recorded pages. Failed calls are free.
Two more things
For the account itself, call instagram/profile with the same handle: followers, following, post count, bio and verified flag, 1 credit. Recorded for Gymshark: 8,668,790 followers and 1,747 posts.
PROFILE_URL = "https://www.monocrawl.com/v1/instagram/profile"
body = requests.get(PROFILE_URL, params={"handle": "gymshark"}, headers=HEADERS, timeout=60).json()
profile = body["data"]
print(profile["followers"], profile["following"], profile["posts_count"], profile["bio"])A failed call returns success: false with an error type and message, and costs nothing. On HTTP 429, wait and try again.
Rate limits by planimport time
def get_page(params, attempts=5):
for attempt in range(attempts):
response = requests.get(API_URL, params=params, headers=HEADERS, timeout=60)
if response.status_code != 429:
return response.json()
time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
raise RuntimeError("Still rate limited; try again later")Other platforms
The same key collects an account’s posts on other platforms. Each endpoint’s reference lists its fields and paging.
Questions
No. You call Monocrawl with your API key and get the posts back as JSON. It works for public accounts.
One page. Both recorded pages returned 12 posts, with has_more set to true and a cursor for the next page. Pass the cursor back with the same handle.
1 credit for each page of posts that comes back, and 1 credit for a profile. The free plan’s 1,000 credits a month cover about 1,000 pages, and failed calls are free.
Yes. Reels come back with product_type clips and a play count; carousels come back as carousel_container. The recorded page had 5 reels and 7 carousels. For reels only, use instagram/reels.
Yes. Pass each post’s url to instagram/post-comments, 3 credits a page. Our Instagram comments guide has the full loop.
Meta’s Instagram API works with professional accounts that connect to your app, plus basic data on other professional accounts. Our Instagram data API comparison sets out the official routes and the main providers side by side.
Start free
1,000 free credits every month. No card required.
Get a free API key
