Instagram Explore Post

Instagram Explore Post turns a country-localized snapshot of public Instagram Explore posts into structured records for trend research, creator discovery, engagement analysis, and downstream data workflows.

• Choose from 35 country options and request between 1 and 500 results per run.
• Export 64 declared fields covering Explore labels, creators, captions, engagement, media, locations, comments, and audio.
• Archive available post covers, images, and videos automatically to Apify storage; there is no download input.
• The public Store surface showed 29 total users, 10 monthly active users, and a 5.0 rating from one review on 2026-07-28; its hosted input and README remain an older publication snapshot.

Run a one-result test · View API

The smallest valid run requests one result. At the FREE tier and default 256 MB memory, its maximum configured event charge is $0.01750 when that row is produced: one $0.01 Actor Start plus one Result event at $0.00750.

What does Instagram Explore Post do?

Instagram Explore Post extracts public posts currently surfaced by Instagram Explore for a selected country setting. Each publishable row combines the Explore section and topic with post identity, creator details, caption data, engagement snapshots, normalized post type, location signals, selected comments, audio metadata, and a structured media_items array.

The Actor is useful when Explore discovery is the starting point. It is not a profile crawler, follower exporter, hashtag search tool, direct-message automation service, or official Instagram analytics product. It also does not create an official country ranking. Meta explains that Instagram recommendations personalize over time based on the content and accounts a user interacts with, so each output should be treated as a run-specific public snapshot.

The current runtime downloads available post covers, images, and videos while completing each result, stores them in the run's Key-Value Store, and replaces the corresponding post-media fields with Apify storage URLs. This is automatic behavior, not a public input. Auxiliary URLs such as profile pictures and audio previews can remain source-provided and may expire.

How do I run Instagram Explore Post?

1. Open the Actor input.
2. Set max_results to 1 for the smallest valid test.
3. Choose Canada or another supported country.
4. Start the Actor, then review the default Dataset and run log.

{
  "max_results": 1,
  "country": "Canada"
}

max_results is a per-run cap on requested Explore posts, not a guaranteed row count. A run can produce fewer rows when the current feed exposes fewer distinct posts or when a candidate cannot be completed. Result billing is tied to rows written to the default Dataset.

What data does Instagram Explore Post return?

The default Dataset declares 64 fields. Source-dependent values can be null, and collection fields can be empty when Instagram does not expose that information for a post.

Group	Dataset fields
Primary visual	cover_url
Processing	processor, processed_at
Identity and Explore	post_id, shortcode, post_url, explore_section, explore_topic, post_type, instagram_product_type, instagram_media_type
Owner	owner_id, owner_username, owner_full_name, owner_is_verified, owner_is_private, owner_profile_pic_url
Caption and publication	caption, caption_created_at, caption_is_edited, accessibility_caption, hashtags, mentions, published_at, published_timestamp
Engagement	like_count, comment_count, play_count, view_count, like_and_view_counts_disabled
Media	media_count, image_count, video_count, is_carousel, has_video, has_audio, media_items
Location	location_id, location_name, location_lat, location_lng, location_address, location_city
Accounts and comments	tagged_users, coauthors, comments_disabled, can_viewer_save, can_viewer_reshare, is_paid_partnership, sponsor_tags, top_comments
Audio	audio_type, audio_title, audio_artist, audio_asset_id, audio_canonical_id, audio_duration_ms, audio_cover_url, audio_preview_url, audio_owner_username, audio_is_original, audio_is_reuse_allowed, audio_is_trending, audio_mashups_count

This abbreviated item is illustrative and uses the same one-result Canada scenario shown throughout this guide:

{
  "cover_url": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/STORE_ID/records/media-cover.jpg",
  "processor": "https://apify.com/truefetch/instagram-explore-post",
  "processed_at": "2026-07-28T10:30:00+00:00",
  "post_id": "3930000000000000000_25025320",
  "shortcode": "DaTSSukB-Lb",
  "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaTSSukB-Lb/",
  "explore_section": "Fashion & Beauty",
  "explore_topic": "Street Fashion",
  "post_type": "reel",
  "owner_username": "instagram",
  "caption": "time to create",
  "like_count": 333091,
  "comment_count": 18435,
  "play_count": 61839889,
  "media_count": 1,
  "has_video": true,
  "media_items": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "media_id": "3930000000000000000",
      "media_type": "video",
      "media_url": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/STORE_ID/records/media-video.mp4",
      "cover_url": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/STORE_ID/records/media-cover.jpg",
      "width": 720,
      "height": 1280,
      "duration_seconds": 22.033,
      "has_audio": true,
      "accessibility_caption": null
    }
  ]
}

What inputs can I configure?

Input	Type	Required	Accepted values	Effect
max_results	integer	Yes	1 to 500	Sets the maximum requested post count for the run.
country	string	Yes	One of 35 schema options	Selects the country localization used for Explore discovery.

The schema order is max_results, then country. Both fields are required and include matching prefill and example values in the input form. Media archival is automatic and cannot be enabled or disabled through the current public input.

What platforms and markets does Instagram Explore Post cover?

This Actor covers public Instagram Explore posts. It does not combine other social networks into the same run. The country list contains 35 options:

• Americas: United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.
• Europe: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, and Portugal.
• Asia-Pacific: Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
• Middle East and Africa: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and South Africa.

Country localization can influence the request context, but it does not certify that every returned post originates in that country or represents a national chart. Language, topic availability, post visibility, and engagement fields remain source-dependent.

Why use Instagram Explore Post?

Capability	Benefit for data work
Explore section and topic labels	Segment a snapshot using labels exposed with the source post rather than caption keywords alone.
One normalized post model	Compare images, videos, reels, IGTV items, and carousels through consistent fields.
Creator, caption, engagement, location, comment, and audio groups	Reduce the number of separate exports needed for a research dataset.
Automatic post-media archival	Receive stored post covers, images, and videos without maintaining a separate download setting.
Dataset and API output	Move the same rows into spreadsheets, scripts, dashboards, or agent workflows.

The trade-off is that Explore is dynamic. A scheduled series of small, comparable snapshots is usually more defensible than treating one large run as a permanent description of what is popular.

Who is Instagram Explore Post for?

Instagram Explore Post is primarily for developers and data teams building repeatable social-content research workflows. Content strategists can compare formats and topics; social-listening teams can monitor public captions and engagement snapshots; analysts can construct time-series datasets; and AI teams can ground a workflow in fresh Dataset rows instead of relying only on model memory.

A useful scenario is a weekly Canada snapshot with max_results: 1 for validation before increasing the cap. The team can compare explore_section, explore_topic, post_type, and engagement fields while keeping the first run's result and storage exposure bounded.

This Actor is not a good fit for users who need private content, direct messages, follower relationships, guaranteed national rankings, or authenticated analytics for an account they manage. Those use cases require different data sources and permissions.

How can I use Instagram Explore Post through the API or MCP?

The verified Actor ID is ecd1FhF9Ipe7t98Ms; use the name-based API form truefetch~instagram-explore-post in REST paths.

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/truefetch~instagram-explore-post/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"max_results":1,"country":"Canada"}'

Apify's current hosted MCP server uses Streamable HTTP. This minimal configuration exposes the specific Actor tool and uses OAuth when the client first connects:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=truefetch/instagram-explore-post"
    }
  }
}

Ask the MCP client to run truefetch/instagram-explore-post with the same one-result input shown above. Review Apify's MCP server documentation for OAuth, bearer-token, and client-specific setup, or open the Actor's generated API page for SDK and OpenAPI examples.

How much does Instagram Explore Post cost?

The current local configuration contains one automatic start event and one data event. Result maps to a row written to the default Dataset. Automatic media archival has no separate declared event in the current pricingInfos configuration.

Event	Billing unit	FREE	BRONZE	SILVER	GOLD	PLATINUM	DIAMOND
Actor Start	Run start; count depends on memory, minimum one	$0.01000	$0.01000	$0.01000	$0.01000	$0.01000	$0.01000
Result	One default Dataset row	$0.00750	$0.00675	$0.00600	$0.00563	$0.00563	$0.00563
For the one-result test at default 256 MB memory, the FREE-tier configured event total is $0.01 + (1 × $0.00750) = $0.01750. Prices can change; check the live pricing tab before a larger run.

How does Instagram Explore Post compare with alternatives?

Option	Best fit	Main trade-off
Instagram Explore Post	Explore-first discovery with topic, creator, engagement, post, and automatically archived media fields	Output depends on the public Explore snapshot available during the run.
Instagram Post Scraper	Known post URLs that need focused post-level extraction	It does not answer the broader Explore discovery question by itself.
Instagram Profile	Research that begins with a known public account	Account-first collection differs from country-localized Explore discovery.
Manual Explore review	Small qualitative checks where visual interpretation matters immediately	It does not create a repeatable structured Dataset without additional work.

If your use case depends on authorized account insights or private data, use an appropriate official or permissioned source instead. Choose this Actor when public Explore discovery and normalized export are the core requirements.

What are the limits and troubleshooting steps?

Symptom or limit	Explanation	Next step
Fewer rows than max_results	The value is a cap; the current source may expose fewer complete, distinct posts.	Retry later with the smallest input and compare the run log.
A metric is null	Not every post exposes every engagement, location, comment, or audio value.	Treat missing values as unknown, not zero.
Country snapshots look similar	Localization is not an official country chart or origin filter.	Compare multiple runs before making a country-level inference.
An auxiliary URL later expires	Post media is archived automatically, but profile pictures and audio previews can remain source-provided.	Treat auxiliary URLs as temporary and retain only data you are authorized to use.
A run produces no rows	Public Explore or post details may be temporarily unavailable.	Reproduce with the one-result Canada input and attach the run ID to an issue.

Do not include your Apify token in issue text or screenshots. A run ID, input with secrets removed, timestamp, and affected post shortcode are enough for a reproducible report.

Frequently asked questions

Is max_results guaranteed?

No. It is the maximum requested result count for one run. The actual Dataset can contain fewer rows.

Can I request one result?

Yes. The validated range is 1–500, so the smallest safe test uses max_results: 1.

Does the Actor need my Instagram username or password?

No public input requests Instagram credentials. The Actor is limited to public Explore content available to its source path.

Can I disable automatic media archival?

No. The public input contains only max_results and country. The runtime archives available post covers, images, and videos for each completed row, and the current metadata declares no separate media event.

Why are lists sometimes empty?

Fields such as hashtags, mentions, tagged users, coauthors, comments, sponsors, and media-derived values depend on what the post exposes. An empty collection is different from a failed run.

Can I schedule recurring snapshots?

Yes. Apify Actors can run on schedules. Keep the same country and small cap if you want comparable snapshots, and store processed_at with each row.

What triggers billing?

Actor Start is automatic. Result corresponds to a default Dataset row. The current pricing configuration defines no separate media event.

Related TrueFetch Actors

• Instagram Post Scraper — choose it when you already have specific Instagram post URLs.
• Instagram Profile — choose it when account-level public profile data is the starting point.
• Instagram Video Transcript — choose it when speech or caption text from a known Instagram video is the required output.

Support and last updated

• Actor Store page
• API documentation
• Actor issues
• TrueFetch community
• Direct support

Last verified against the current local Actor on 2026-07-28. The public Store can continue to show an older input, output, README, or pricing snapshot until this local revision is published.

Start with one Explore result · Open the current API surface