Instagram Channel Reels API

The Instagram Channel Reels API retrieves the reels-only feed for an Instagram profile, with cursor-based pagination. Each item includes the reel video URL, thumbnail, view/like/comment counts, caption, duration, and author details.

Endpoint

https://api.socialkit.dev/instagram/channel-reels

Example Request

GET https://api.socialkit.dev/instagram/channel-reels?access_key=<your-access-key>&url=https://www.instagram.com/nasa&limit=2

Response

{
	"success": true,
	"data": {
		"profileUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/nasa",
		"username": "nasa",
		"items": [
			{
				"id": "3890548995286221889",
				"shortcode": "DW-toGVj4I4",
				"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DW-toGVj4I4/",
				"type": "reel",
				"isVideo": true,
				"caption": "Let's run that back. One more time... Or two? Our @NASAArtemis astronauts are n...",
				"likes": 1238352,
				"comments": 10639,
				"views": 24216808,
				"plays": 24216808,
				"duration": 83,
				"timestamp": 1777920984,
				"thumbnailUrl": "https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/...",
				"videoUrl": "https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t50.71878-16/...",
				"width": 1080,
				"height": 1920,
				"productType": "clips",
				"author": {
					"id": "528817151",
					"username": "nasa",
					"fullName": "NASA",
					"isVerified": true,
					"profilePicUrl": "https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/..."
				}
			},
			{
				"id": "3889794756554018042",
				"shortcode": "DW2k9pLTeQ4",
				"url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DW2k9pLTeQ4/",
				"type": "reel",
				"isVideo": true,
				"caption": "Auroras dance across Earth's polar skies — see them from the @ISS...",
				"likes": 884532,
				"comments": 5128,
				"views": 12530194,
				"plays": 12530194,
				"duration": 47.5,
				"timestamp": 1777748400,
				"thumbnailUrl": "https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.71878-15/...",
				"videoUrl": "https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t50.71878-16/...",
				"width": 1080,
				"height": 1920,
				"productType": "clips",
				"author": {
					"id": "528817151",
					"username": "nasa",
					"fullName": "NASA",
					"isVerified": true,
					"profilePicUrl": "https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/..."
				}
			}
		],
		"count": 2,
		"hasMore": true,
		"cursor": "QVFBQk9teGRwTHZOQUJ6..."
	}
}

Parameters

url string Required
The Instagram profile URL to fetch reels from (e.g., https://www.instagram.com/username). Both instagram.com/username and instagram.com/username/ formats are accepted.

access_key string Required
Your API access key. Can be provided via the access_key query parameter, x-access-key header, or request body.

limit number Optional Defaults to 12
The number of reels to return per request (maximum 100). To retrieve more reels beyond the limit, use the cursor parameter for pagination.

Credit cost: 1 credit per 20 results (e.g., up to 20 results = 1 credit, 21-40 = 2 credits)

cursor string Optional
Pagination cursor to retrieve the next page of reels. Pass the cursor value from a previous response to resume. When hasMore is true, more reels are available.

Response Fields

Top-level Fields

profileUrl: The original profile URL that was queried
username: The Instagram handle (without @ prefix)
count: Number of reels returned in this response
cursor: Pagination cursor — pass this value in the next request to fetch more reels. null when there are no more reels.
hasMore: true if more reels are available

Reel Item

Each entry in the items array contains:

id: Unique Instagram media identifier
shortcode: The reel shortcode used in instagram.com/reel/<shortcode>/
url: Canonical Instagram reel URL (using the /p/ form, which redirects to /reel/)
type: Always "reel" for this endpoint
isVideo: Always true for reels
caption: Reel caption text (may include emojis, hashtags, mentions)
likes: Number of likes on the reel
comments: Number of comments on the reel
views: Total reel view count
plays: Total reel play count (often identical to views)
duration: Reel duration in seconds
timestamp: Reel creation time as a Unix timestamp (seconds)
thumbnailUrl: Best-quality cover image URL
videoUrl: Direct video URL (subject to expiry — fetch fresh when needed)
width: Original video width in pixels
height: Original video height in pixels (typically taller than wide for reels)
productType: Always "clips" for reels
author: Object containing the reel author’s id, username, fullName, isVerified, and profilePicUrl

Use Cases

Reels Performance Tracking: Pull view, like, and comment counts for every reel a creator has published
Influencer Vetting: Filter creators by median reel views or engagement before partnering
Trend Discovery: Surface a creator’s top-performing reels for inspiration or paid promotion
Content Workflow: Feed reel URLs into the Transcript and Stats endpoints for downstream analysis
Competitor Monitoring: Track competitors’ reels output and reach over time
Reporting Dashboards: Build a “reels feed” view of any public Instagram account inside your product
Engagement Benchmarks: Calculate average reel reach for verticals (sports, beauty, food, tech)
Hook Library Building: Mine top creators’ reels captions and openings for swipe files

Notes

Reels are returned in reverse chronological order (newest first)
The cursor is an opaque token — pass it back verbatim to resume pagination
Direct videoUrl links are signed Instagram CDN URLs and expire after several hours — re-fetch when you need to download
For a mixed posts feed (images + videos + carousels), use the Instagram Channel Posts API instead
The first call for a previously-unseen username runs a one-time profile resolution (~5–10 s); subsequent calls are fast
Some accounts have very few or zero reels — in that case count will be 0 and hasMore will be false
Profile picture and media URLs are signed CDN links and may expire after several hours

Instagram Channel Posts API Facebook Transcript API