Instagram Search API reference

Public Instagram reels matching a keyword, with a cursor. Takes a keyword, returns a cursor page, 2 credits a call.

This named API keeps Instagram fields in Instagram's own vocabulary. For a higher-level product page, see Instagram Search API.

Endpoint

GET /v1/instagram/search
Authorization: Bearer sv_live_...

`POST` is also accepted with the same parameters in the request body. Send the key in the `Authorization` header, never in the query string.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`q`	string	yes	Search term or hashtag, up to 100 characters. Trimmed and lowercased before the lookup.
`cursor`	string	no	Cursor returned by the previous page.
`limit`	integer	no	Maximum items to return, up to 50.

Sample Request

This is a copyable request shape. Replace the sample values with the public Instagram target or parameters your workflow uses.

curl -G 'https://api.sourcevine.io/v1/instagram/search' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer sv_live_...' \
  --data-urlencode 'q=latte art' \
  --data-urlencode 'limit=20'

Sample Response

A response this API returned, against the target above. Your values depend on the resource you ask about and when you ask.

{
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DSnBjkvkzWa/",
        "likes": 5356,
        "saves": null,
        "views": 277456,
        "cached": false,
        "postId": "DSnBjkvkzWa",
        "caption": "Save NOW! Easy Rosetta Tutorial 🙌⁠\n⁠\nMaybe not the easiest latte art pattern, but it's definitely doable if you follow the steps and practice!⁠\n⁠\nLet me know if you found this helpful, and I'll see you on the next one!⁠\n⁠\n#latteart #barista #coffee #starbucks #espresso #flatwhite",
        "comments": 30,
        "username": "latte_art_tutorials",
        "fetchedAt": "2026-09-02T07:23:10Z",
        "mediaType": "video",
        "profileLink": "https://www.instagram.com/latte_art_tutorials",
        "publishedAt": "2025-12-23T14:46:46Z",
        "cacheAgeSeconds": null,
        "sourceTimestamp": null
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DSG525REWAd/",
        "likes": 21986,
        "saves": null,
        "views": 720828,
        "cached": false,
        "postId": "DSG525REWAd",
        "caption": "Morning latteart \n#latteart #cafe #coffee #vsco #barista #like #art #nice #instagram #instagood",
        "comments": 84,
        "username": "barista_chow",
        "fetchedAt": "2026-09-02T07:23:10Z",
        "mediaType": "video",
        "profileLink": "https://www.instagram.com/barista_chow",
        "publishedAt": "2025-12-11T03:21:43Z",
        "cacheAgeSeconds": null,
        "sourceTimestamp": null
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DaTgdWRJx4T/",
        "likes": 13630,
        "saves": null,
        "views": 275421,
        "cached": false,
        "postId": "DaTgdWRJx4T",
        "caption": "mejora tu latte art solo con agua 💦☕️\n\n➡️ No necesitás gastar café ni leche para mejorar tu latte art.\n\n🏋🏻‍♀️ Estos 3 ejercicios con agua te van a ayudar a dominar lo que más importa: el control de flujo, los cambios de ritmo y el corte — que es donde la mayoría falla ❌\n\n💡Practica, filmate y etiquetame. Quiero ver esos cortes 🫡\n\n#LatteArt #BaristaTips #AprendeCafé #CaféEspecialidad #CaféSinFiltro",
        "comments": 50,
        "username": "cafesinfiltro_",
        "fetchedAt": "2026-09-02T07:23:10Z",
        "mediaType": "video",
        "profileLink": "https://www.instagram.com/cafesinfiltro_",
        "publishedAt": "2026-07-02T21:01:16Z",
        "cacheAgeSeconds": null,
        "sourceTimestamp": null
      }
    ],
    "cached": false,
    "fetchedAt": null,
    "nextCursor": null,
    "cacheAgeSeconds": null
  },
  "success": true,
  "available": true
}

Fields

Field	Type	Notes
`items`	array	A page of public Instagram posts or videos.
`nextCursor`	string \| null	Pass as cursor to request the next page.
`items[].views`	integer \| null	Present only where the platform reports it.
`items[].likes`	integer \| null	Per-item public like count.
`items[].cached`	boolean	Matches the page provenance on cached reads.
`fetchedAt`	ISO datetime	When Sourcevine read the public page.
`sourceTimestamp`	ISO datetime \| null	The platform timestamp when it is available.
`cached`	boolean	True when this answer repeats an identical request made moments earlier.
`cacheAgeSeconds`	integer	Seconds since the reading was taken.

Availability States

Status	Charged	Client behavior
`available`	yes for live reads	Use data.
`not_found`	yes	Store the state and stop polling.
`private`	yes	Store the state and stop polling.
`unsupported`	no	Fix the URL or call the matching API.
`upstream_unavailable`	no	Retry later with backoff.

Unavailable resources return `success: true`, `available: false`, `availability`, and `data: null`. API or authentication failures return `success: false` with an `error` object.

Billing

A call costs 2 credits. A deleted, private or empty resource is charged like any lookup and says so. An unsupported URL or a read we could not complete is not charged. The `X-Credits-Charged` response header is the source of truth for what happened on that request.

Successful responses include `fetchedAt`, the time we read the platform.

What This API Does Not Return

No contact or bio fields: Bios, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses and messenger handles are outside the response contract.
No private data: Private accounts, restricted content and unavailable resources return typed availability instead of guessed data.
No comments or downloads: List APIs return recent public post metadata and metrics. They do not return comment bodies, media files or hidden analytics.

Last updated 1 September 2026