Instagram Story Scraper A powerful Actor that scrapes Instagram stories from one or multiple users. Each story is downloaded and tracked as a separate record with comprehensive metadata including download status, URLs, and media information. ## Features - 🔐 Secure Authentication - Uses Instagram session ID for reliable access - 📱 Multi-User Support - Scrape stories from multiple Instagram accounts in one run - 📊 Individual Story Records - Each story gets its own detailed record in the output - 🎥 Media Support - Downloads both photos and videos - 📝 Rich Metadata - Captures posting time, media type, file size, URLs, and more - 🔄 Multiple Download Methods - Uses fallback methods to ensure successful downloads - ⚙️ Flexible Configuration - Control story limits, delays, and targeting - 📁 Organized Storage - Files saved with timestamps and indexed naming ## Input Configuration The actor accepts the following input parameters: json { "session_id": "YOUR_INSTAGRAM_SESSION_ID", "usernames": ["username1", "username2", "username3"], "delay_between_requests": 2, "story_limit": "all", "latest_only": false } ### Input Fields | Field | Type | Required | Description | |-------|------|----------|-------------| | session_id | String | ✅ Yes | Your Instagram session ID from browser cookies | | usernames | Array/String | ✅ Yes | Instagram username(s) to scrape. Can be a single string or array of usernames | | username | String | No | Alternative field for single username (backward compatibility) | | delay_between_requests | Number | No | Delay in seconds between requests (default: 2) | | story_limit | Number/String | No | Number of stories to download per user, or "all" (default: "all") | | latest_only | Boolean | No | Download only the latest story from each user (default: false) | ### Getting Your Session ID 1. Log into Instagram in your browser 2. Open Developer Tools (F12) 3. Go to Application/Storage → Cookies → instagram.com 4. Find and copy the value of sessionid cookie ⚠️ Important: Keep your session ID secure and don't share it publicly. ## Output Format The actor outputs one record for each story scraped. Each record contains: json { "username": "cryptodaily", "user_id": "60586511690", "scraping_timestamp": "2025-12-14T09:42:27.268488", "status": "completed", "story_index": 1, "story_id": "3786688183573256768", "media_type": "video", "posted_date": "2025-12-13", "posted_time": "12:20:28 UTC", "posted_datetime": "2025-12-13T12:20:28+00:00", "download_status": "success", "filename": "story_1_20251213_122028.mp4", "file_size": 262808, "photo_url": null, "photo_info": {}, "video_url": "https://...", "video_info": { "video_url": "https://...", "thumbnail_url": "https://...", "duration": 5.014999866485596, "resolution": null }, "error_message": null } ### Output Fields | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | username | String | Instagram username | | user_id | String | Instagram user ID | | scraping_timestamp | String | ISO timestamp when scraping occurred | | status | String | Overall status: "completed", "error", "processing", "no_stories", "user_not_found" | | story_index | Number | Index of story for this user (1-based) | | story_id | String | Instagram story ID | | media_type | String | Type of media: "photo" or "video" | | posted_date | String | Date story was posted (YYYY-MM-DD) | | posted_time | String | Time story was posted (HH:MM:SS UTC) | | posted_datetime | String | ISO datetime when story was posted | | download_status | String | Download status: "success", "failed", "no_stories" | | filename | String | Name of downloaded file | | file_size | Number | Size of downloaded file in bytes | | photo_url | String | Direct URL to photo (if photo) | | photo_info | Object | Additional photo metadata (resolution, thumbnail) | | video_url | String | Direct URL to video (if video) | | video_info | Object | Video metadata (duration, thumbnail, resolution) | | error_message | String | Error description if download failed | ## Usage Examples ### Single User - All Stories json { "session_id": "your_session_id_here", "usernames": ["cryptodaily"] } ### Multiple Users - Latest Story Only json { "session_id": "your_session_id_here", "usernames": ["user1", "user2", "user3"], "latest_only": true } ### Limited Stories with Custom Delay json { "session_id": "your_session_id_here", "usernames": ["techblogger"], "story_limit": 5, "delay_between_requests": 3 } ## Downloaded Files Files are organized in the following structure: downloads/ └── username/ └── stories/ ├── story_1_20251213_122028.mp4 ├── story_2_20251214_063947.mp4 └── ... File naming format: story_{index}_{YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS}.{ext} ## Rate Limiting To avoid Instagram rate limits: - Default delay of 2 seconds between requests - Configurable delay via delay_between_requests - Stories are processed sequentially - Delay applied between users when scraping multiple accounts ## Error Handling The actor handles various error scenarios: - User Not Found: Returns record with status: "user_not_found" - No Active Stories: Returns record with status: "no_stories" - Private Account: Records error if you don't follow the user - Download Failures: Uses multiple fallback methods - Authentication Issues: Fails gracefully with clear error messages ## Limitations - ⏰ Stories are only available for 24 hours on Instagram - 🔒 Can only scrape stories from public accounts or accounts you follow - 📊 Instagram API rate limits apply - 🔐 Session ID expires and needs to be refreshed periodically ## Support For issues or questions: - Check that your session ID is valid and not expired - Ensure usernames are correct (without @ symbol is fine) - Review the error messages in the output records - Increase delay_between_requests if hitting rate limits ## Privacy & Ethics - Only scrape content you have permission to access - Respect Instagram's Terms of Service - Don't use for harassment or unauthorized data collection - Keep session IDs secure