Instaloader
===========
Installation
------------
.. installation-start
Instaloader requires `Python `__, at least
version 3.5. If you have `pip `__
installed, you may install Instaloader using
::
pip3 install instaloader
Alternatively, to get the most current version of Instaloader from our
`Git repository `__:
::
pip3 install git+https://github.com/Thammus/instaloader
(pass ``--upgrade`` to upgrade if Instaloader is already installed)
Instaloader requires
`requests `__, which
will be installed automatically, if it is not already installed.
.. installation-end
How to Automatically Download Pictures from Instagram
-----------------------------------------------------
.. basic-usage-start
To **download all pictures and videos of a profile**, as well as the
**profile picture**, do
::
instaloader profile [profile ...]
where ``profile`` is the name of a profile you want to download. Instead
of only one profile, you may also specify a list of profiles.
To later **update your local copy** of that profiles, you may run
::
instaloader --fast-update profile [profile ...]
If ``--fast-update`` is given, Instaloader stops when arriving at the
first already-downloaded picture. When updating profiles, Instaloader
automatically **detects profile name changes** and renames the target
directory accordingly.
Instaloader can also be used to **download private profiles**. To do so,
invoke it with
::
instaloader --login=your_username profile [profile ...]
When logging in, Instaloader **stores the session cookies** in a file in
your temporary directory, which will be reused later the next time
``--login`` is given. So you can download private profiles
**non-interactively** when you already have a valid session cookie file.
What to Download
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Instaloader does not only download media by-profile. More generally, you
may specify the following targets:
- ``profile``: Public profile, or private profile with ``--login``,
- ``"#hashtag"``: Posts with a certain **hashtag** (the quotes are
usually neccessary),
- ``:stories``: The currently-visible **stories** of your followees
(requires ``--login``),
- ``:feed``: Your **feed** (requires ``--login``),
- ``@profile``: All profiles which are followed by ``profile``, i.e. the
*followees* of ``profile`` (requires ``--login``).
Instaloader goes through all media matching the specified targets and
downloads the pictures and videos and their captions. You can specify
``--comments`` to also **download comments** of each post and
``--geotags`` to **download geotags** of each post and save them as
Google Maps link. For each profile you download, ``--stories``
instructs Instaloader to **download the user's stories**.
Filename Specification
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For each target, Instaloader creates a directory named after the target,
i.e. ``profile``, ``#hashtag``, ``:feed``, etc. and therein saves the
posts in files named after the post's timestamp.
``--dirname-pattern`` allows to configure the directory name of each
target. The default is ``--dirname-pattern={target}``. In the dirname
pattern, the token ``{target}`` is replaced by the target name, and
``{profile}`` is replaced by the owner of the post which is downloaded.
``--filename-pattern`` configures the path of the post's files relative
to the target directory. The default is ``--filename-pattern={date}``.
The tokens ``{target}`` and ``{profile}`` are replaced like in the
dirname pattern. Further, the tokens ``{date}`` and ``{shortcode}`` are
defined.
For example, encode the poster's profile name in the filenames with:
::
instaloader --filename-pattern={date}_{profile} "#hashtag"
The pattern string is formatted with Python's string formatter. This
gives additional flexibilty for pattern specification. For example,
strptime-style formatting options are supported for the post's
timestamp. The default for ``{date}`` is ``{date:%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S}``.
Filter Posts
^^^^^^^^^^^^
The ``--only-if`` option allows to specify criterias that posts have to
meet to be downloaded. If not given, all posts are downloaded. It must
be a boolean Python expression where the variables ``likes``,
``comments``, ``viewer_has_liked``, ``is_video``, ``date``, and some
more (see class ``instaloader.Post`` for a full list) are defined.
A few examples:
To **download the pictures from your feed that you have liked**:
::
instaloader --login=your_username --only-if=viewer_has_liked :feed
Or you might only want to download **posts that either you liked or were
liked by many others**:
::
instaloader --login=your_username --only-if="likes>100 or viewer_has_liked" profile
Or you may **skip videos**:
::
instaloader --only-if="not is_video" target
.. basic-usage-end
Advanced Options
----------------
.. cli-options-start
The following flags can be given to Instaloader to specify how profiles should
be downloaded.
To get a list of all flags, their abbreviations and their descriptions, you may
run ``instaloader --help``.
What to Download
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Specify a list of profiles or #hashtags. For each of these, Instaloader
creates a folder and downloads all posts along with the pictures's
captions and the current **profile picture**. If an already-downloaded profile
has been renamed, Instaloader automatically **finds it by its unique ID** and
renames the folder likewise.
Instead of a *profile* or a *#hashtag*, the special targets
``:feed`` (pictures from your feed) and
``:stories`` (stories of your followees) can be specified.
--profile-pic-only Only download profile picture.
--no-videos Do not download videos.
--geotags **Download geotags** when available. Geotags are stored as
a text file with the location's name and a Google Maps
link. This requires an additional request to the
Instagram server for each picture, which is why it is
disabled by default.
--no-geotags Do not store geotags, even if they can be obtained
without any additional request.
--comments Download and update comments for each post. This
requires an additional request to the Instagram server
for each post, which is why it is disabled by default.
--no-captions Do not store media captions, although no additional
request is needed to obtain them.
--stories Also **download stories** of each profile that is
downloaded. Requires ``--login``.
--stories-only Rather than downloading regular posts of each
specified profile, only download stories.
Requires ``--login``.
--only-if filter Expression that, if given, must evaluate to True for each post to
be downloaded. Must be a syntactically valid python
expression. Variables are evaluated to
``instaloader.Post`` attributes.
Example: ``--only-if=viewer_has_liked``.
When to Stop Downloading
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If none of these options are given, Instaloader goes through all pictures
matching the specified targets.
--fast-update For each target, stop when encountering the first
already-downloaded picture. This flag is recommended
when you use Instaloader to update your personal
Instagram archive.
--count COUNT Do not attempt to download more than COUNT posts.
Applies only to ``#hashtag``, ``:feed-all`` and ``:feed-liked``.
Login (Download Private Profiles)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Instaloader can **login to Instagram**. This allows downloading private
profiles. To login, pass the ``--login`` option. Your session cookie (not your
password!) will be saved to a local file to be reused next time you want
Instaloader to login.
--login YOUR-USERNAME Login name (profile name) for your Instagram account.
--sessionfile SESSIONFILE Path for loading and storing session key file.
Defaults to a path
within your temporary directory, encoding your local
username and your Instagram profile name.
--password YOUR-PASSWORD Password for your Instagram account. Without this
option, you'll be prompted for your password
interactively if there is not yet a valid session
file.
How to Download
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
--dirname-pattern DIRNAME_PATTERN
Name of directory where to store posts. ``{profile}``
is replaced by the profile name, ``{target}`` is replaced
by the target you specified, i.e. either ``:feed``,
``#hashtag`` or the profile name. Defaults to ``{target}``.
--filename-pattern FILENAME_PATTERN
Prefix of filenames. Posts are stored in the
directory whose pattern is given with ``--dirname-pattern``.
``{profile}`` is replaced by the profile name,
``{target}`` is replaced by the target you specified, i.e.
either ``:feed``, ``#hashtag`` or the profile name. Also, the
fields ``{date}`` and ``{shortcode}`` can be specified.
Defaults to ``{date:%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S}``.
--user-agent USER_AGENT User Agent to use for HTTP requests. Per default,
Instaloader pretends being Chrome/51.
Miscellaneous Options
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
--quiet Disable user interaction, i.e. do not print messages
(except errors) and fail if login credentials are
needed but not given. This makes Instaloader
**suitable as a cron job**.
.. cli-options-end
Usage as Python module
----------------------
.. as-module-intro-start
You may also use parts of Instaloader as library to do other interesting
things.
For example, to get a list of all followees and a list of all followers of a profile, do
.. code:: python
import instaloader
# Get instance
loader = instaloader.Instaloader()
# Login
loader.interactive_login(USERNAME)
# Print followees
print(PROFILE + " follows these profiles:")
for f in loader.get_followees(PROFILE):
print("\t%s\t%s" % (f['username'], f['full_name']))
# Print followers
print("Followers of " + PROFILE + ":")
for f in loader.get_followers(PROFILE):
print("\t%s\t%s" % (f['username'], f['full_name']))
Then, you may download all pictures of all followees with
.. code:: python
for f in loader.get_followers(PROFILE):
loader.download_profile(f['username'])
You could also download your last 20 liked pics with
.. code:: python
loader.download_feed_posts(max_count=20, fast_update=True,
filter_func=lambda post: post.viewer_has_liked)
To download the last 20 pictures with hashtag #cat, do
.. code:: python
loader.download_hashtag('cat', max_count=20)
If logged in, Instaloader is also able to download user stories:
.. code:: python
loader.download_stories()
Each Instagram profile has its own unique ID which stays unmodified even
if a user changes his/her username. To get said ID, given the profile's
name, you may call
.. code:: python
loader.get_id_by_username(PROFILE_NAME)
``get_followees()`` also returns unique IDs for all loaded followees. To
get the current username of a profile, given this unique ID
``get_username_by_id()`` can be used. For example:
.. code:: python
loader.get_username_by_id(followees[0]['id'])
.. as-module-intro-end
Disclaimer
----------
.. disclaimer-start
Instaloader is in no way affiliated with, authorized, maintained or endorsed by Instagram or any of its affiliates or
subsidiaries. This is an independent and unofficial project. Use at your own risk.
.. disclaimer-end
Instaloader is licensed under an MIT license. Refer to ``LICENSE`` file for more information.