# Instagram Highlights API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/instagram/highlights)

> Returns a list of story highlight collections for an Instagram user including highlight titles, cover images, and item counts.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/instagram/highlights` costs 1 credit per call and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `user_id` | no | Instagram user id. Use for faster response times. |
| `handle` | no | Instagram username without the @ symbol |

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/highlights" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### How do I get Instagram story highlights with an API?

Send a GET request to /v1/instagram/user/highlights with either the handle (username) or user_id parameter. SocialCrawl returns a JSON array of the user's highlight collections including each collection's title, cover image, and item count.

### What is an Instagram story highlight?

A highlight is a collection of past stories the user has pinned permanently to their profile. Unlike regular stories, highlights do not expire after 24 hours, so they remain available to scrape at any time.

### Can I see the individual stories inside a highlight?

This endpoint returns the highlight collections themselves. To fetch the actual story items inside a specific highlight, take the highlight ID from this response and call the highlight-detail endpoint with that ID.

### Can I pass handle or user_id?

Either works. Pass user_id if you already have it from a prior profile call — it skips the username-to-ID lookup and returns faster. Otherwise pass handle with the username and SocialCrawl will resolve it.

### How much does the Instagram Highlights API cost?

One request costs 1 credit on the standard tier. New accounts receive 100 free credits with no card on file, so you can list highlights for about 100 users before deciding whether to top up.

See the full Instagram API: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/instagram

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- How to archive Instagram story highlights programmatically
- Instagram API to list pinned story highlights for any user