Instagram Search Reels API

Public web discovery for reel URLs

Discover public Instagram reels through web search pagination, then crawl each discovered URL into normalized reel detail in one response.

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1 CreditCost
Web DiscoverySearch Type
CursorPagination
50Max Results

Quick Start

Get started with a simple API call.

const response = await fetch('https://api.crawlkit.sh/v1/crawl/instagram/search-reels', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    query: 'street food istanbul',
    cursor: null,
    options: {
      region: 'tr-tr',
      maxResults: 10,
      timeRange: 'm',
      timeout: 30000
    }
  })
});

const { data } = await response.json();
console.log(data.results[0]?.reel?.shortcode, data.pagination?.nextCursor);

Key Features

Everything you need for reliable instagram search reels workflows.

Reel Discovery Query

Runs a public discovery query across the web to find Instagram reel URLs matching a topic, brand, or phrase.

Reel Detail Included

Each result includes search metadata plus normalized reel detail scraped from the discovered Instagram URL.

Search Pagination

Pass nextCursor from the previous response to continue discovery through the public web search layer.

Dedupe Built In

Duplicate reel URLs are removed automatically before results are returned.

How It Works

Get started in minutes with our simple API.

1

Get Your API Key

Sign up for free and get your API key instantly. No credit card required.

2

Make Your First Request

Use our simple REST API with your favorite programming language.

3

Get Structured Data

Receive clean JSON responses ready to use in your application.

API Response

Get clean, structured JSON data with every request. Our API returns comprehensive data including status codes, timing information, and your remaining credits.

  • Consistent JSON structure
  • Detailed timing metrics
  • Credit usage tracking
  • Error handling built-in
Response
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "query": "street food istanbul",
    "results": [
      {
        "position": 1,
        "title": "Street Food Istanbul • Instagram reel",
        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/DABCD12345/",
        "snippet": "A popular reel featuring street food in Istanbul.",
        "shortcode": "DABCD12345",
        "username": null,
        "reel": {
          "id": "3654019287123456789",
          "shortcode": "DABCD12345",
          "taken_at": 1743235200,
          "media_type": "video",
          "product_type": "clips",
          "width": 1080,
          "height": 1920,
          "like_count": 1240,
          "comment_count": 85,
          "caption": "Best street food in Istanbul",
          "has_audio": true,
          "display_url": "https://instagram.example.com/reel-display.jpg",
          "video_url": "https://instagram.example.com/reel-video.mp4",
          "thumbnail_url": "https://instagram.example.com/reel-thumb.jpg",
          "owner": {
            "id": "25025320",
            "username": "streetfoodistanbul",
            "full_name": "Street Food Istanbul",
            "profile_pic_url": "https://instagram.example.com/profile.jpg",
            "is_verified": false
          },
          "audio_info": {
            "title": "Original Audio",
            "artist_username": "streetfoodistanbul",
            "is_original": true
          },
          "carousel_media": null
        }
      }
    ],
    "pagination": {
      "nextCursor": "eyJuZXh0UGFyYW1zIjp7InM...",
      "hasMore": true
    },
    "timing": { "total": 1430 },
    "creditsUsed": 1,
    "creditsRemaining": 99
  }
}

Use Cases

Common applications for Instagram Search Reels.

Trend Discovery

Find public Instagram reels around a keyword or market topic.

Research Pipelines

Discover reels and get crawl-ready reel detail in the same response.

Competitive Monitoring

Discover public reels mentioning a brand, product, or campaign term.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about the Instagram Search Reels API.

No. This endpoint uses public web discovery to find Instagram reel URLs. It is not a native Instagram internal search API.

Each result already includes normalized reel detail. Use Instagram Content only when you want to refetch a specific reel by shortcode or URL.

Some public search results do not expose a parseable username in the discovered URL path. The shortcode remains available for follow-up crawling.

Pass data.pagination.nextCursor back as cursor in the next request. This endpoint paginates on the web discovery layer, then crawls reel detail for each discovered URL.

Start Using Instagram Search Reels API Today

Get 100 free credits to test the API. No credit card required.

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