Search Instagram posts

Search Instagram by keyword or hashtag. The query is passed to Instagram's native search, which is relevance-ranked.

GET /v1/instagram/search

No boolean operators

Instagram's search is a relevance engine, not a boolean index. Operators like AND / OR / NOT are not supported — they'd be treated as literal words. Just pass natural keywords (e.g. dentist teeth whitening) or a hashtag.

Query parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`query`	string	—	Required. A keyword or hashtag, e.g. `#dentist` or `dentist teeth whitening`.
`max_pages`	integer	`1`	Number of Instagram pages to fetch. Maximum 100.

Pagination follows Instagram: one page ≈ 18 posts (whatever the grid returns). Fetching max_pages pages returns those pages' posts, deduplicated across pages, in Instagram's relevance order. Fewer pages may come back if Instagram has no more results.

Examples

Hashtag:

curl -G "$LISTENX_BASE/v1/instagram/search" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $LISTENX_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode 'query=#dentist'

Multi-word keyword, three pages (~54 posts):

curl -G "$LISTENX_BASE/v1/instagram/search" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $LISTENX_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode 'query=dentist teeth whitening' \
  --data-urlencode 'max_pages=3'

Response

{
  "query": "#dentist",
  "pages_requested": 3,
  "pages_fetched": 3,
  "returned": 42,
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "3617860230227174032",
      "shortcode": "DI1OLYNtCKQ",
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DI1OLYNtCKQ/",
      "type": "reel",
      "taken_at": "2025-04-24T13:52:19+00:00",
      "caption": "…",
      "author": {
        "id": "15904929129",
        "username": "jasmin_momlife",
        "full_name": "Jasmin | Mama Alltag & Family Bloggerin",
        "is_verified": false
      },
      "engagement": {
        "like_count": 4045,
        "comment_count": 238,
        "play_count": 185300,
        "view_count": 185300
      },
      "thumbnail_url": "https://…"
    }
  ],
  "billing": {
    "endpoint": "instagram.search",
    "units": 3,
    "unit_price": "0.010000",
    "amount": "0.030000",
    "balance_after": "97.240000",
    "request_id": "…"
  }
}

Fields

Field	Description
`pages_requested`	The `max_pages` you asked for.
`pages_fetched`	Instagram pages actually fetched (also the number of billed units).
`returned`	Number of posts in `results` (deduplicated across pages).
`results[]`	Lightweight post records, in Instagram's relevance order.

Billing

Search is billed per page fetched — units = pages_fetched, minimum 1. So max_pages=3 costs up to 3 units (fewer if Instagram runs out of pages sooner). See Billing.

Notes

To fetch complete details (all engagement metrics, media URLs, tagged users, music, etc.) for a specific result, call the post endpoint with its shortcode.
Instagram's search is a discovery surface; results are not exhaustive and can shift over time. Some multi-word queries return few or no results — try broader terms or a hashtag.

Query parameters​

Examples​

Response​

Fields​

Billing​

Notes​