instamcp 2.1.2

Production-grade MCP server for Instagram — 79 tools: scraping, DMs, scheduling, uploads, social actions, sentiment analysis, multi-account pool

instagram-mcp

Production-grade MCP server for Instagram. 79 tools — 30 anonymous (no credentials), 48 authenticated, 1 auto-mode. Built on curl_cffi with Chrome TLS impersonation, adaptive rate limiting, smart caching, multi-account pool, and challenge/2FA resolver.

Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and any MCP-compatible AI client.

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Auth Tiers

Tier	Symbol	Requirement	Tools
Anonymous	🌐	None	30
Authenticated	🔐	cookies.json with valid Instagram session	48
Auto-mode	🌐/🔐	Anon by default, upgrades when cookies present	1

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Installation

pip install instamcp
instagram-mcp

Or from source:

git clone https://github.com/mpython77/instagram-mcp.git
cd instagram-mcp
pip install -e .
instagram-mcp

With uv:

uv sync && uv run --quiet instagram-mcp

Cookie Setup

1. Log in to Instagram in your browser.
2. Install Cookie-Editor and navigate to instagram.com.
3. Export cookies as JSON.
4. Save as cookies.json in the project root, or set INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES=/path/to/file.

Use a dedicated account — not your personal account. Sessions expire; refresh cookies.json if you get 401 errors.

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MCP Config

Claude Desktop

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagram": {
      "command": "instagram-mcp",
      "env": {
        "INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES": "/absolute/path/to/cookies.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

With uv:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagram": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--project", "/path/to/instagram-mcp", "instagram-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES": "/absolute/path/to/cookies.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add instagram instagram-mcp --env INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES=/path/to/cookies.json

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Docker

docker run -d \
  -e INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES=/data/cookies.json \
  -v /path/to/cookies.json:/data/cookies.json:ro \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  ghcr.io/mpython77/instagram-mcp:latest

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Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES	""	Path to cookies.json or cookies.txt
INSTAGRAM_MCP_PROXIES	""	Comma-separated proxy URLs (or use proxies.txt, one per line)
INSTAGRAM_MCP_IMPERSONATE	chrome142	curl_cffi impersonation profile
INSTAGRAM_MCP_TIMEOUT	10	Per-request timeout in seconds
INSTAGRAM_MCP_EXPORT_DIR	./exports	Auto-export directory for JSON results
INSTAGRAM_MCP_TOOLSETS	all	Comma-separated toolsets to enable: profile, analysis, content, social_graph, batch, server
INSTAGRAM_MCP_HIDE_AUTH_WHEN_NO_COOKIES	""	Set 1 to hide auth-only tools when no cookies are loaded
INSTAGRAM_MCP_CACHE_DISABLED	""	Set 1 to disable all caching

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Tools

🌐 Profile & Feed

Tool	Description
instagram_profile	Profile metadata, feed tags (up to 12 posts), activity status
instagram_feed_deep	Paginated feed — up to 200 posts with date filtering
instagram_bulk_check	Check up to 20 accounts in parallel with activity status
instagram_compare_profiles	Side-by-side comparison of 2–5 accounts

🌐 Analysis

Tool	Description
instagram_analyze_engagement	ER%, content mix, best posting days, top hashtags across up to 200 posts
instagram_find_collab_network	Map usertags, @mentions, co-authors, and paid sponsors across posts
instagram_account_report	Full profile + engagement + collab network in one call
instagram_caption_analyze	Caption patterns: avg length, hashtag density, emoji/CTA rates
instagram_compare_followers	Compare follower/following sets — find unfollowers or non-mutuals
instagram_analyze_comments	Sentiment analysis on comments — pos/neu/neg, emoji stats, keywords (EN/UZ/RU)

🌐 Content

Tool	Description
instagram_post	Full post details: location (GPS + Maps), music, usertags, coauthors
instagram_post_bulk	Fetch up to 50 posts in parallel by shortcode or URL
instagram_post_comments	Fetch comments with likes and thread structure (up to 500)

🌐/🔐 Hashtag & Discovery

Tool	Description
instagram_hashtag	Top posts for a hashtag — anon: 12 posts; auth: up to 300. Auto-upgrades.
instagram_hashtag_deep	Top accounts, content breakdown, best posting hour across up to 500 posts
instagram_niche_top	Account leaderboard for a hashtag ranked by engagement/post count/total likes
instagram_hashtag_suggest	Related hashtag suggestions by analyzing top posts under a seed tag

🌐 Threads

Tool	Description
instagram_threads_profile	Profile metadata from Threads (threads.net)
instagram_threads_posts	Recent posts for a Threads user

🔐 Authenticated Feed & Activity

Tool	Description
instagram_home_feed	Your authenticated home feed
instagram_saved_posts	Your bookmarked posts
instagram_liked_posts	Posts you have liked
instagram_activity_feed	Your recent activity notifications
instagram_post_likers	Users who liked a specific post (up to ~98)

🔐 Discovery

Tool	Description
instagram_similar_accounts	Accounts Instagram considers similar (internal chaining API)
instagram_search	Search users + hashtags by keyword
instagram_user_search	User search with higher-quality ranking (authenticated API)
instagram_user_id_lookup	Look up a user's numeric ID by username

🔐 Social Graph

Tool	Description
instagram_followers_list	Recent followers with mutual follow status
instagram_following_list	Full following list with close-friends detection
instagram_user_followers	Paginated followers for any user by numeric user_id
instagram_user_following	Paginated following for any user by numeric user_id
instagram_tagged_by	Posts by other accounts that tag this account
instagram_reposts	Content this account actively reposted

🔐 Media

Tool	Description
instagram_reels	Account's reels with play counts (only tool that exposes play_count)
instagram_stories	Currently active stories (cached 2 min)
instagram_highlights	Highlights tray + optional story items inside
instagram_audio_reels	Reels using a specific audio track by audio_cluster_id
instagram_location_posts	Top posts at a location by Instagram location ID or name
instagram_media_insights	Impressions, reach, saves for your own posts (Business/Creator only)

🔐 Interactions

Tool	Description
instagram_post_like	Like or unlike a post
instagram_post_save	Save or unsave (bookmark) a post
instagram_post_comment	Post a comment
instagram_comment_reply	Reply to a comment
instagram_comment_like	Like or unlike a comment
instagram_comment_hide	Hide a comment on your own post
instagram_delete_comment	Delete a comment
instagram_toggle_comments	Disable or enable comments on your post
instagram_post_delete	Delete one of your own posts
instagram_follow_user	Follow or unfollow a user
instagram_block_user	Block or unblock a user
instagram_account_privacy	Switch account between public and private
instagram_edit_profile	Edit bio, display name, website, email, or phone
instagram_publish_story	Publish a photo as a Story (24h)
instagram_story_mark_seen	Mark stories as viewed
instagram_story_reply	Reply to a story via DM

🔐 DM

Tool	Description
instagram_dm_inbox	Read DM inbox (threads list)
instagram_dm_thread	Fetch messages in a specific thread
instagram_dm_send	Send a text message
instagram_dm_send_photo	Send a photo
instagram_dm_send_video	Send a video
instagram_dm_media_messages	Fetch media messages in a thread
instagram_dm_react	Add or remove an emoji reaction on a message
instagram_dm_unsend	Delete a sent message
instagram_dm_mute	Mute or unmute a thread
instagram_dm_share_post	Share a post to a DM thread
instagram_dm_mark_seen	Mark a thread as seen

🔐 Upload & Download

Tool	Description
instagram_upload_photo	Upload 1–10 images as a post or carousel
instagram_upload_reel	Upload an MP4 as a Reel
instagram_upload_video	Upload an MP4 as a regular video post
instagram_download	Download all media from a post (single/video/carousel) to local disk

🔐 Broadcast & Automation

Tool	Description
instagram_broadcast_channel	Read a creator's Broadcast Channel (info or messages)
instagram_schedule	Schedule posts for future publishing (add/list/cancel/status)
instagram_monitor	Poll accounts for new posts; fire webhooks on new post
instagram_sessions	Manage multiple accounts via INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES_<ALIAS> env vars
instagram_oauth	Full Graph API OAuth 2.0 flow (init_flow/exchange_code/refresh_token/status)

🌐 Batch & Server

Tool	Description
instagram_batch_scrape	Scrape up to 2000 profiles; profile_only=True gives 30–60× speedup
instagram_server	Diagnostics and cache management (status/clear_cache/clear_user/reload_cookies)
instagram_submit_verification_code	Submit SMS/Email/2FA code to resolve a pending checkpoint and restore the session

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Limitations

• Private accounts: Feed, posts, stories, and highlights are not accessible without following the account.
• Follower pagination: Restricted to ~50 for other accounts; unlimited only for your own account.
• Play counts: Only instagram_reels exposes play_count — the standard feed API omits it.
• Session expiry: Cookies expire. Use instagram_server action=reload_cookies to refresh without restarting.
• Write operations: Like, comment, follow, upload, DM actions — rate limits apply. Avoid rapid consecutive writes.
• Anonymous hashtag blocks: Some hashtags (#swimwear, #fitness, etc.) block anonymous HTML scraping.
• Account restrictions: Comment, reply, and follow may return "something went wrong" on new or restricted accounts — this is Instagram-side, not a bug.

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FAQ

Do I need to log in?
No. 30 tools work anonymously with no credentials. 48 tools require cookies.json. instagram_hashtag auto-switches based on whether cookies are present.

Why curl_cffi instead of requests?
Instagram blocks requests and aiohttp at the TLS handshake level by JA3/JA4 fingerprint. curl_cffi impersonates Chrome's TLS stack, bypassing this check.

How do I get play counts for reels?
Use instagram_reels. The standard feed API (instagram_feed_deep) does not include play_count.

What happens on rate limiting?
The adaptive rate limiter detects 429s, backs off (×0.7 RPS), rotates proxy, and retries. After 5 consecutive 429s the circuit breaker opens for 60s.

How do I use multiple Instagram accounts?
Set INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES_<ALIAS> env vars (e.g., INSTAGRAM_MCP_COOKIES_BRAND=cookies_brand.json). Use instagram_sessions action=list to see available sessions.

Are exports/ files safe to commit?
No — they may contain PII. Add exports/ to .gitignore.

How do I refresh cookies without restarting?
instagram_server action=reload_cookies