download_instagram_post
Download Instagram posts, reels, and videos to your local filesystem with optional metadata and caption extraction. Save media files from Instagram URLs for offline access.
Instructions
Download an Instagram post's media files to the local filesystem.
Args: url: Instagram post/reel/tv URL. include_videos: Whether to download videos alongside pictures. save_metadata: Save JSON metadata files when available. save_caption: Save caption into a text file when available. username: Optional Instagram username for authenticated access. password: Optional Instagram password for authenticated access. download_root: Optional override for download directory.
Returns: A JSON-serializable dict containing download results.
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | ||
| include_videos | No | ||
| save_metadata | No | ||
| save_caption | No | ||
| username | No | ||
| password | No | ||
| download_root | No |
Output Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||
Implementation Reference
- src/ig_download_mcp/server.py:290-359 (handler)The @mcp.tool()-decorated function implementing the core logic of the 'download_instagram_post' tool. It extracts the shortcode from the URL, sets up Instaloader, handles login, downloads the post media, and returns paths to downloaded files.
@mcp.tool() def download_instagram_post( url: str, include_videos: bool = True, save_metadata: bool = True, save_caption: bool = True, username: str | None = None, password: str | None = None, download_root: str | None = None, ) -> dict[str, Any]: """Download an Instagram post's media files to the local filesystem. Args: url: Instagram post/reel/tv URL. include_videos: Whether to download videos alongside pictures. save_metadata: Save JSON metadata files when available. save_caption: Save caption into a text file when available. username: Optional Instagram username for authenticated access. password: Optional Instagram password for authenticated access. download_root: Optional override for download directory. Returns: A JSON-serializable dict containing download results. """ try: shortcode = extract_shortcode(url) target_root = _resolve_download_root(download_root) loader = _build_instaloader( target_root, download_pictures=True, download_videos=include_videos, save_metadata=save_metadata, save_caption=save_caption, ) user, pwd = _resolve_credentials(username, password) _login_if_needed(loader, user, pwd) download_dir, downloaded_files = _download_post_for_shortcode( loader, shortcode, target_root, ) image_files = _collect_paths_by_suffixes( downloaded_files, {".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp"}, ) video_files = _collect_paths_by_suffixes(downloaded_files, {".mp4"}) metadata_files = _collect_paths_by_suffixes( downloaded_files, {".json"}, ) caption_files = _collect_paths_by_suffixes( downloaded_files, {".txt"}, ) return { "success": True, "shortcode": shortcode, "download_dir": str(download_dir), "image_files": image_files, "video_files": video_files, "metadata_files": metadata_files, "caption_files": caption_files, } except instaloader.exceptions.InstaloaderException as exc: return { "success": False, "error": f"Instaloader error: {exc.__class__.__name__}: {exc}", } except Exception as exc: return {"success": False, "error": str(exc)}