Scraping Instagram Location Posts

Scraping Instagram Location Posts

Exports Instagram posts tagged at any physical location. Uses Instagram's location ID or place name to collect geo-tagged content.

Prerequisites

• APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
• Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Resolve location ID
- [ ] Step 2: Run instagram-location-scraper
- [ ] Step 3: Poll for SUCCEEDED
- [ ] Step 4: Deliver post dataset

Step 2: Run the Actor

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

If Apify MCP is available:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~instagram-location-scraper"
Input:
{
  "locationIds": ["<LOCATION_ID>"],
  "maxItems": 100
}

REST API fallback:

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~instagram-location-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"locationIds": ["<LOCATION_ID>"], "maxItems": 100}'

Save id as RUN_ID. Poll until status = SUCCEEDED:

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" | grep '"status"'

Fetch results:

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID/dataset/items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN&format=json"

Step 3: Handle Edge Cases

• Location ID not found: Invalid ID or location removed from Instagram — report to user.
• Low post volume: Niche locations may have < 20 posts — return all available.
• Private account posts in feed: Metadata visible but media may be restricted.

Output Format

# Instagram Location Posts: <location name>
Location ID: <id> | Posts collected: N

| Post ID | Author | Caption (truncated) | Likes | Comments | Type | Timestamp |
|---------|--------|---------------------|-------|----------|------|-----------|
| ...     | ...    | ...                 | ...   | ...      | ...  | ...       |

Troubleshooting

Don't have the Location ID: Visit https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/ and search — the ID is in the URL. 0 results: Location may have been renamed or merged — search for new ID.