Termux

Termux can run many instagrapi flows, but Android does not use the same binary wheel ecosystem as desktop Linux. Keep the default install small and add media tooling only when the script really needs it.

Install

pkg update
pkg install python python-pillow
python -m pip install -U pip setuptools wheel
python -m pip install --extra-index-url https://termux-user-repository.github.io/pypi/ instagrapi

python-pillow is recommended because photo uploads use Pillow through instagrapi.image_util. Installing it with pkg avoids a slow or fragile Pillow source build in pip.

The Termux User Repository PyPI index provides Android wheels for native packages that PyPI may only publish as desktop Linux wheels. On Android, instagrapi uses pydantic==2.12.5, which depends on pydantic-core==2.41.5; that version has Android wheels for Python 3.13 in the Termux index. Newer pydantic-core releases may otherwise try to build with Rust and fail on-device.

Video Uploads

For standard MP4 uploads, pass your own thumbnail and instagrapi can read width, height, and duration with its built-in MP4 parser:

from pathlib import Path

media = cl.clip_upload(
    Path("reel.mp4"),
    "Uploaded from Termux",
    thumbnail=Path("reel-thumb.jpg"),
)

This path does not need MoviePy, NumPy, or ffmpeg.

Optional Video Helpers

Install the optional video extra only if you need automatic thumbnail generation, StoryBuilder, prepare_video(), or audio/video composition helpers:

pkg install ffmpeg
python -m pip install "instagrapi[video]"
python -m pip install --no-deps "moviepy==2.2.1"

MoviePy 2.2.1 currently declares Pillow<12, but instagrapi keeps Pillow>=12.2.0 for security fixes; the --no-deps install keeps the safe Pillow version. MoviePy 1.x is no longer supported by instagrapi’s optional video helpers.

If MoviePy cannot find ffmpeg, point ImageIO at the Termux binary before running the script:

export IMAGEIO_FFMPEG_EXE="$(command -v ffmpeg)"

If pip install "instagrapi[video]" tries to build NumPy and fails, avoid the optional video helpers on-device: prepare the MP4 and thumbnail elsewhere, then use upload methods with thumbnail=....