InstagrAPI Server#

The instagram API Extractor requires access to a running instance of the InstagrAPI server. We have a lightweight script with the endpoints required for our Instagram API Extractor module which you can run locally, or via Docker.

⚠️ Warning: Remember that it’s best not to use your own personal account for archiving. Here’s why.

Quick Start: Using Docker#

We’ve provided a convenient shell script (run_instagrapi_server.sh) that simplifies the process of setting up and running the Instagrapi server in Docker. This script handles building the Docker image, setting up credentials, and starting the container.

🔧 Running the script:#

Run this script either from the repository root or from within the scripts/instagrapi_server directory:

./scripts/instagrapi_server/run_instagrapi_server.sh

This script will:

Prompt for your Instagram username and password.
Create the necessary .env file.
Build the Docker image.
Start the Docker container and authenticate with Instagram, creating a session automatically.

⏱ To run the server again later:#

docker start ig-instasrv

🐛 Debugging:#

View logs:

docker logs ig-instasrv

Overview: How the Setup Works#

You enter your Instagram credentials in a local .env file
You run the server once locally to generate a session file
After that, you can choose to run the server again locally or inside Docker without needing to log in again

Optional: Manual / Local Setup#

If you’d prefer to run the server manually (without Docker), you can follow these steps:

Navigate to the server folder (and stay there for the rest of this guide):
```
cd scripts/instagrapi_server
```
Create a secrets/ folder (if it doesn’t already exist in scripts/instagrapi_server):
```
mkdir -p secrets
```

Create a .env file inside secrets/ with your Instagram credentials:

INSTAGRAM_USERNAME="your_username"
INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD="your_password"

Install dependencies using the pyproject.toml file:
```
poetry install --no-root
```

Run the server locally:

poetry run uvicorn src.instaserver:app --port 8000

Watch for the message:
```
Login successful, session saved.
```

✅ Your session is now saved to secrets/instagrapi_session.json.

To run it again locally:#

poetry run uvicorn src.instaserver:app --port 8000

Adding the API Endpoint to Auto Archiver#

The server should now be running within that session, and accessible at http://127.0.0.1:8000

You can set this in the Auto Archiver orchestration.yaml file like this:

instagram_api_extractor:
  api_endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:8000

2. Running the Server Again#

Once the session file is created, you should be able to run the server without logging in again.

To run it locally (from scripts/instagrapi_server):#

poetry run uvicorn src.instgrapinstance.instaserver:app --port 8000

3. Running via Docker (After Setup is Complete, either locally or via the script)#

Once the instagrapi_session.json and .env files are set up, you can pass them Docker and it should authenticate successfully.

🔨 Build the Docker image manually:#

docker build -t instagrapi-server .

▶️ Run the container:#

docker run -d \
  --env-file secrets/.env \
  -v "$(pwd)/secrets:/app/secrets" \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  --name ig-instasrv \
  instagrapi-server

This passes the /secrets/ directory to docker as well as the environment variables from the .env file.

4. Optional Cleanup#

Stop the Docker container:
```
docker stop ig-instasrv
```
Remove the container:
```
docker rm ig-instasrv
```
Remove the Docker image:
```
docker rmi instagrapi-server
```

⏱ To run again later:#

docker start ig-instasrv

Notes#

Never share your .env or instagrapi_session.json — these contain sensitive login data.
If you want to reset your session, simply delete the secrets/instagrapi_session.json file and re-run the local server.

InstagrAPI Server

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