Installation¶

Requirements¶

Python 3.11+ (uses dataclass(slots=True), X | Y union syntax, and datetime.fromisoformat accepting Z)
A HikerAPI token (default backend) — grab a free one at hikerapi.com (100 requests, no card)

Install from PyPI¶

pip install instagram-dl

The PyPI distribution is called instagram-dl (because insta-dl is blocked by a similarly-named abandoned package). The installed CLI command is still insta-dl, and the Python import path is still insta_dl.

With pipx (recommended for CLI-only use)¶

If you only want the insta-dl command and don't plan to import the library, install it in an isolated environment with pipx:

pipx install instagram-dl

With Docker¶

A multi-arch image is published to GitHub Container Registry on every tagged release:

docker run --rm \
    -v "$PWD/out:/data" \
    -e HIKERAPI_TOKEN \
    ghcr.io/subzeroid/insta-dl:latest instagram

The container writes to /data, which we mount to ./out on the host. Pin to a specific version with ghcr.io/subzeroid/insta-dl:0.0.1 if you don't want latest to float.

Install from source¶

git clone https://github.com/subzeroid/insta-dl
cd insta-dl
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

For development (tests + docs):

pip install -e '.[dev]'   # pytest + pytest-asyncio + pytest-cov
pip install -e '.[docs]'  # mkdocs-material

Get a HikerAPI token¶

Sign up at hikerapi.com — first 100 requests are free, no credit card.
Copy your access token from the dashboard.
Make it available to insta-dl:

# environment variable (recommended)
export HIKERAPI_TOKEN='your_token_here'

# or pass via flag every time
insta-dl --hiker-token 'your_token_here' instagram

For shells started fresh, add the export to ~/.zshrc / ~/.bashrc or use a secret manager (1Password CLI, pass, direnv).

Set up aiograpi (optional)¶

The aiograpi backend uses your real Instagram credentials. Its transitive Rust deps (pydantic-core, orjson) are not pulled in by the default install — opt in with an extra:

pip install 'instagram-dl[aiograpi]'

First-run login (creates a session file you can reuse):

insta-dl --backend aiograpi --login YOUR_USER --password YOUR_PASS \
    --session ~/.config/insta-dl/session.json instagram

Subsequent runs only need --session — insta-dl loads the saved cookies, skips login, and avoids 2FA prompts. If the session has expired and you also pass --login/--password, it transparently re-logs in and overwrites the file.

Verify the install¶

insta-dl --help
insta-dl --dest /tmp/test-out post:DXZlTiKEpxw   # downloads one post
ls -la /tmp/test-out/instagram/

You should see one .mp4 (or .jpg) and one .json sidecar with the post date as mtime.

Uninstall¶

pip uninstall instagram-dl