igdl

A small command-line tool to download images and videos from Instagram posts, reels, and IGTV links. Files are saved as <username>_<shortcode>_<mmddyy>[_<n>].<ext>.

Install

pipx install igdl

For First-time Terminal Users

For macOS users who new to terminal, you’ll need to install two things first. Takes less than 3 minutes if you just read the bold text below and paste in the commands.

Do not run these commands all at once or close terminal. Homebrew need some seconds to install.

1. Homebrew — /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" Just follow the prompts in terminal. It’ll ask you to hit enter a few times, and enter your Mac password, which is normal. After Homebrew finishes, it prints a "Next steps" section with two or three commands mentioning brew shellenv. Copy those exact lines and run them. Now your computer recognizes the brew command.

2. pipx — brew install pipx, then pipx ensurepath, then restart the terminal.

3. igdl — pipx install igdl. Now quit and restart terminal. and done! Sign into instagram via your browser (Chrome by default, it doesn’t need to stay open) and try igdl 'https://www.instagram.com/p/XXXXXXXXXXX/' with quotes around the link. You can see how to set the output directory below in the usage section.

This is a standalone CLI, so pipx (which installs it in its own isolated environment - Python venv) is the recommended way. It pulls in its downloader engine, gallery-dl, automatically.

Usage

igdl 'https://www.instagram.com/p/XXXXXXXXXXX/'

Don’t forget quotes around the link!

On first run, igdl asks where to save downloads and remembers your choice. Change it anytime:

igdl config --dir ~/Pictures/instagram
igdl config                       # show current settings

Login / authentication

Instagram blocks most anonymous downloads, so igdl reuses the Instagram session from a browser you're already signed in to — you never type a password into igdl and there is no login step. By default it reads cookies from Chrome; pick another browser with:

igdl config --browser firefox     # or: safari, edge, brave, chromium, ...
igdl <url> --browser safari        # one-off override
igdl <url> --no-cookies            # attempt a fully anonymous download

Supported browsers: brave, chrome, chromium, edge, opera, thorium, vivaldi, firefox, librewolf, zen, floorp, safari, orion.

Safari on macOS: reading Safari's cookies may require granting your terminal app Full Disk Access in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

License

MIT