Instaloader
Command-line tool that downloads Instagram photos, videos, captions and metadata.
- Stars
- 13.8k
- Forks
- 1.6k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Python
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- CLI
What it is
Instaloader is a Python tool for saving content from Instagram to your computer. According to its description, it downloads pictures or videos together with their captions and other metadata. People use it to keep local copies of public posts or to archive profiles they follow.
- Download all public photos and videos from a profile
- Save captions and metadata for posts in a local archive
- Fetch content from a list of hashtags or specific post URLs
- Back up your own account's content
Great for
- Users comfortable running commands in a terminal
- People archiving posts and captions from public Instagram profiles
- Researchers who want metadata saved alongside media files
- Developers who want to script Instagram downloads in Python
Not ideal for
- Non-technical users who want a point-and-click app, since the README gives no graphical interface
- Anyone wanting to scrape private content they have no access to, which the project's terms and Instagram's rules do not permit
- Users needing a guaranteed long-term workflow, because Instagram changes can break scrapers
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Python 3
Install from PyPI
pip install instaloader - 2
Run it
- Install Instaloader with pip
- Run instaloader --help to see available options
- Download a public profile by running instaloader <profile-name>
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Check the official documentation at https://instaloader.github.io/ for options and examples
- Use the Python API to script downloads and process metadata
- Log in with your own account to access content you are allowed to see
Downloads
Strengths
- Saves captions and metadata along with the media
- Open source under the MIT license
- Actively maintained, with a recent release listed (v4.16)
Trade-offs
- Depends on Instagram's website and API behavior, which can change without notice
- Requires command-line use; the README does not describe a graphical interface
- Full README was not available for this review, so some details are unverified
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| instaloader (this) | 13.8k | CLI | intermediate | 4 days ago | Users comfortable running commands in a terminal |
| lux | 31.8k | CLI | beginner | 7 months ago | People who want to save videos from supported sites to a local file from the command line |
| N_m3u8DL-CLI | 16.2k | CLI | intermediate | 3.4 years ago | Windows users who want a scriptable command-line m3u8 downloader |
| BBDown | 13.8k | CLI | intermediate | 6 months ago | Users who already have a working copy of an earlier release and only need a reference |
| YoutubeDownloader | 16.6k | App | beginner | 4 days ago | People who want to keep a local copy of YouTube videos or playlists |
| IGListKit | 13.1k | Library | intermediate | 14 days ago | iOS developers building list or feed screens with UICollectionView |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.