Instagram Search Reels API
Scrape Instagram Search Reels data with one API call. Searches Instagram for reels matching a keyword query. Returns matching reels with view counts (engagement.views, the play count), like counts, comment counts, and author info, sourced from the Instagram surface that still carries play counts. Each row carries post.ext.author_id (the creator's numeric user id) and post.author.username. post.ext.author_followers is historical: Instagram stripped follower counts out of its search payload in August 2026, so it is null on every row: for a follower count pass post.author.username to /v1/instagram/profile?handle= (1 credit, exact current integer), or batch up to 50 creators per call through POST /v1/prism/profiles at 1 credit per resolved profile. Note: engagement.shares and engagement.saves are null on this endpoint; for a per-reel share count pass a result URL to /v1/instagram/post/stats, or use /v1/instagram/profile/reels/full to get a whole creator's reels with share counts merged in. Saves are platform-private. Instagram exposes no numeric save metric on any surface, and it is never fabricated. Result ordering is Instagram's own relevance ranking and is not stable between calls: the same query re-run minutes later can return a different, overlapping set. Rank on engagement.views client-side rather than relying on result order, and deduplicate by post.id across pages. Note on date_posted: filtered searches are served by the only Instagram surface that offers a date filter, and that surface no longer carries play counts, so engagement.views is null when date_posted is set. If you need both a date window and view counts, omit date_posted and filter on published_at yourself.
Last updated August 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
Returns reels matching a keyword, each with its view count, like count, and author; share and save counts are not included on this endpoint.
Use it for keyword based reel discovery; search/hashtag is the better choice when you have a specific tag rather than a phrase. Pass a result URL to post/stats for a reel's share count.
Searching 51 platforms in parallel
TikTok·
Instagram·
YouTube·
Facebook·
X·
LinkedIn·
Reddit·
Threads·
Pinterest·
Twitch·
Truth Social·
Snapchat·
Kick·
Bluesky·
Kwai·
Rumble·
Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·
Amazon Shop·
Google Shopping·
Trustpilot·
TripAdvisor·
Linktree·
Komi·
Pillar·
lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Google Finance·
Polymarket·
Tavily·
Hacker News·
GitHub·
Perplexity·
Naver·Utility·
Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Google Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Google Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchTikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Google Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchWhat can you do with the Search Reels API?
The Search Reels endpoint gives you structured Instagram data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/search/reels?query=workout+routine"import requests
response = requests.get(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/search/reels",
params={
'query': 'workout routine',
},
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
data = response.json()const response = await fetch(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/instagram/search/reels?query=workout+routine",
{
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
},
);
const data = await response.json();Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| query | Yes | Search keyword or phrase to find Instagram reels |
| date_posted | No | Date posted (last-hour | last-day | last-week | last-month | last-year) |
| page | No | The page number to return. |
What does the Instagram Search Reels API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"endpoint": "/v1/tiktok/profile/videos",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"post": {
"id": "7658005300657638669",
"url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@charlidamelio/video/7658005300657638669",
"content": {
"text": "dc @lara.joanna ",
"media_urls": "https://v19.tiktokcdn-eu.com/4a08329b68e24d90b840a05c9244ba65/6a498c37/video/tos/alisg/tos-alisg-ve-37c799-sg/ocXRU4saOAVGYeJRAAygAjFIzOGsgRf4peSeXk/?a=1233&bti=MzU8OGYpNHYpNzo5ZjEuLjpkLTptNDQwOg%3D%3D&&bt=1135&ft=ERfCkaZWD00Q12Nvr-HxzIxRA7lGF3_45SY&mime_type=video_mp4&rc=OTg8NGkzZTQ8PDo1NmQ2O0BpanEzd205cmRlPDMzZzczNEAvNWM0NDFfNi8xMjExNF5eYSNmMGwyMmQ0LzBhLS1kMS9zcw%3D%3D&vvpl=1&l=20260703224143F66ABC3BD3A97DB0685C&btag=e000b0000",
"thumbnail_url": "https://p16-common-sign.tiktokcdn-eu.com/tos-useast5-p-0068-tx/owxEmiGPia440JkI3PgALU3bB7aBAlzdBEsKB~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:300:400:q70.heic?dr=9232&refresh_token=bf18ce44&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=8AANrRWOCWfS6xtQ9JJiHB77vxo%3D&t=bacd0480&ps=933b5bde&shp=d05b14bd&shcp=132edbea&idc=no1a&biz_tag=tt_video&s=PUBLISH&sc=cover",
"duration_seconds": 16.903
},
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"display_name": "charli d’amelio",
"avatar_url": "https://p16-common-sign.tiktokcdn-eu.com/tos-maliva-avt-0068/ee31de49ddf64b45c5b2e3c55fbd0ea4~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:1080:1080:q70.heic?dr=9608&idc=no1a&ps=87d6e48a&refresh_token=e0b099bd&s=PUBLISH&sc=avatar&shcp=132edbea&shp=d05b14bd&t=223449c4&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=9SsuimlpGdsdlerisiaqvDVLV3c%3D",
"verified": true
},
"engagement": {
"views": 3417578,
"likes": 501973,
"comments": 2618,
"shares": 6304,
"saves": 22989
},
"flags": {
"nsfw": null,
"spoiler": null,
"pinned": false,
"deleted": false
},
"published_at": "2026-07-02T18:51:58.000Z",
"ext": {
"music_id": "7656080164593437471",
"published_at_epoch": 1783018318
}
},
"computed": {
"engagement_rate": 0.14949,
"language": null,
"content_category": "other",
"estimated_reach": 4101094
}
},
{
"post": {
"id": "7657606229484670221",
"url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@charlidamelio/video/7657606229484670221",
"content": {
"text": "@Alexa Davis ",
"media_urls": "https://v19.tiktokcdn-eu.com/07ada727f60ed77f8504c4c9aee6f992/6a498c31/video/tos/alisg/tos-alisg-ve-37c799-sg/oAmE41FRfIDnKlQAZjDgfcEsqFENRqYDSBGUSB/?a=1233&bti=MzU8OGYpNHYpNzo5ZjEuLjpkLTptNDQwOg%3D%3D&&bt=857&ft=ERfCkaZWD00Q12Nvr-HxzIxRA7lGF3_45SY&mime_type=video_mp4&rc=NWU8OTg2aTw6ODlpNDU1PEBpanlrNmw5cmxuPDMzZzczNEBfLTEtMy8tXzYxLzYvYTNfYSNlbGVvMmRrYC9hLS1kMS9zcw%3D%3D&vvpl=1&l=20260703224143F66ABC3BD3A97DB0685C&btag=e000b0000",
"thumbnail_url": "https://p16-common-sign.tiktokcdn-eu.com/tos-useast5-p-0068-tx/ooZRDflKEE2SIFSfsAqgFBcFEORUAY4jBDl2Yc~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:300:400:q70.heic?dr=9232&refresh_token=0ee7ce0e&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=DiqCJ1sMgLvKp5k1aK2lKgBm7CU%3D&t=bacd0480&ps=933b5bde&shp=d05b14bd&shcp=132edbea&idc=no1a&biz_tag=tt_video&s=PUBLISH&sc=cover",
"duration_seconds": 10.123
},
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"display_name": "charli d’amelio",
"avatar_url": "https://p16-common-sign.tiktokcdn-eu.com/tos-maliva-avt-0068/ee31de49ddf64b45c5b2e3c55fbd0ea4~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:1080:1080:q70.heic?dr=9608&idc=no1a&ps=87d6e48a&refresh_token=e0b099bd&s=PUBLISH&sc=avatar&shcp=132edbea&shp=d05b14bd&t=223449c4&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=9SsuimlpGdsdlerisiaqvDVLV3c%3D",
"verified": true
},
"engagement": {
"views": 7205601,
"likes": 739100,
"comments": 1943,
"shares": 6268,
"saves": 28516
},
"flags": {
"nsfw": null,
"spoiler": null,
"pinned": false,
"deleted": false
},
"published_at": "2026-07-01T17:03:22.000Z",
"ext": {
"music_id": "7656080164593437471",
"published_at_epoch": 1782925402
}
},
"computed": {
"engagement_rate": 0.103713,
"language": null,
"content_category": "other",
"estimated_reach": 8646721
}
},
{
"post": {
"id": "7657287641641143565",
"url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@charlidamelio/video/7657287641641143565",
"content": {
"text": null,
"media_urls": "https://v19.tiktokcdn-eu.com/24d5a0ceaf069ce4435f27d4a1fb7fa5/6a498c2d/video/tos/alisg/tos-alisg-ve-37c799-sg/o4IuEqzEKBC3UgRghYEA5FEDZJDB2RL2JfePpS/?a=1233&bti=M0BzMzU8OGYpNzo5Zi5wIzEuLjpkNDQwOg%3D%3D&&bt=939&ft=ERfCkaZWD00Q12Nvr-HxzIxRA7lGF3_45SY&mime_type=video_mp4&rc=O2Q8M2k1Nzo7ODkzPGQ2NkBpM3VrZmo5cm01PDMzZzczNEBiYC0yLjU0XjQxNTMxX2FhYSNjZy5mMmRzYC9hLS1kMS9zcw%3D%3D&vvpl=1&l=20260703224143F66ABC3BD3A97DB0685C&btag=e000b0000",
"thumbnail_url": "https://p16-common-sign.tiktokcdn-eu.com/tos-useast5-p-0068-tx/oEEehFBRSDqxRYEZJgMgAQpzEf2PJiDEJNI7CB~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:300:400:q70.heic?dr=9232&refresh_token=7ef5f605&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=10x4mFTkwGHZf2I3P%2FcRrZr6vTo%3D&t=bacd0480&ps=933b5bde&shp=d05b14bd&shcp=132edbea&idc=no1a&biz_tag=tt_video&s=PUBLISH&sc=cover",
"duration_seconds": 6.467
},
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"display_name": "charli d’amelio",
"avatar_url": "https://p16-common-sign.tiktokcdn-eu.com/tos-maliva-avt-0068/ee31de49ddf64b45c5b2e3c55fbd0ea4~tplv-tiktokx-cropcenter-q:1080:1080:q70.heic?dr=9608&idc=no1a&ps=87d6e48a&refresh_token=e0b099bd&s=PUBLISH&sc=avatar&shcp=132edbea&shp=d05b14bd&t=223449c4&x-expires=1783202400&x-signature=9SsuimlpGdsdlerisiaqvDVLV3c%3D",
"verified": true
},
"engagement": {
"views": 5941789,
"likes": 941067,
"comments": 3165,
"shares": 17173,
"saves": 18760
},
"flags": {
"nsfw": null,
"spoiler": null,
"pinned": false,
"deleted": false
},
"published_at": "2026-06-30T20:27:04.000Z",
"ext": {
"music_id": "7530783142774065975",
"published_at_epoch": 1782851224
}
},
"computed": {
"engagement_rate": 0.161804,
"language": null,
"content_category": null,
"estimated_reach": 7130147
}
}
],
"next_cursor": "1782516110000",
"total": 10,
"dropped": 0
},
"credits_used": 1,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"request_id": "req-8Kq2ZmR4vT9xLb3P",
"cached": false,
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": "sc.eyJ2IjoyLCJjIjoiMTc4MjUxNjExMDAwMCIsInAiOiJtYXhfY3Vyc29yIn0",
"has_more": true,
"page_size": 10
}
}Example captured from the TikTok API. Every SocialCrawl endpoint returns this same unified schema, so your Instagram Search Reels response has the same fields.
How does the Instagram Search Reels API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 51 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 51 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I search Instagram reels with an API?
Can I filter reels by date posted?
What search queries work best for reels?
Does the Instagram Reels Search API return private reels?
How much does the Instagram Reels Search API cost?
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