Python Instagram and TikTok Downloader API

To download Instagram or TikTok media in Python, send the public link to POST https://developers.getinsaver.com/v1/resolve with the requests library. The API answers with direct video and image URLs, and you save them with a streamed GET. No Instagram login, cookies or headless browser runs on your side.

Steps

1. Create a free account and verify your email. You get 20 free credits, no card needed.
2. Create an API key in Dashboard → API keys and store it as the environment variable GIS_KEY on your server.
3. Install the one dependency: pip install requests.
4. Save the script below as resolve.py and run python resolve.py.

Complete Python example

It resolves one Reel, retries on rate limits and temporary failures, and saves every returned file under downloads/. Change the service ID and link for TikTok, X, Pinterest, Stories or Highlights.

Copy# pip install requests
import mimetypes, os, time
import requests

API_URL = "https://developers.getinsaver.com/v1/resolve"
API_KEY = os.environ["GIS_KEY"]  # keep the key on your server, never in a browser


def resolve(service, url, max_results=10, retries=3):
    """Turn a public link into media items: [{"type": "video", "url": ...}]."""
    for attempt in range(retries + 1):
        response = requests.post(
            API_URL,
            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}"},
            json={"service": service, "url": url, "max_results": max_results},
            timeout=130,
        )
        data = response.json()
        if response.ok:
            return data
        # 429 = rate or concurrency limit, 502/504 = platform hiccup; none of them is charged
        if response.status_code in (429, 502, 504) and attempt < retries:
            time.sleep(int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5)))
            continue
        raise RuntimeError(f"{data['code']}: {data['message']}")


def download(item, name, folder="downloads"):
    """Media URLs expire within minutes to hours, so save the file right away."""
    os.makedirs(folder, exist_ok=True)
    with requests.get(item["url"], stream=True, timeout=120) as media:
        media.raise_for_status()
        kind = media.headers.get("Content-Type", "").split(";")[0]
        path = os.path.join(folder, name + (mimetypes.guess_extension(kind) or ".bin"))
        with open(path, "wb") as f:
            for chunk in media.iter_content(chunk_size=65536):
                f.write(chunk)
    return path


if __name__ == "__main__":
    # TikTok works the same way: resolve("tiktok", "https://www.tiktok.com/@user/video/123...")
    result = resolve("instagram", "https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/")
    print(f"{result['item_count']} items, {result['credits_used']} credits")
    for i, item in enumerate(result["items"]):
        print(item["type"], download(item, f"{result['request_id']}-{i}"))

What the API returns

{
  "ok": true,
  "service": "instagram",
  "source_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/",
  "item_count": 1,
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "video",
      "url": "https://cdn.example/media.mp4"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "title": null,
    "author": "creator",
    "caption": null
  },
  "request_id": "39a3bff5-0000-4000-8000-000000000000",
  "credits_used": 1
}

A carousel returns one item per slide, up to max_results (1 to 20). credits_used is what the call cost; 1 credit per Instagram post item, 2 per Story or Highlight item.

Service IDs for other platforms

Errors to handle

Every error body is JSON with a stable code and a readable message. The full list is in the API reference.

Coming from Instaloader?

Instaloader's own documentation marks --stories and --highlights as "Requires login", so your Instagram account is in the loop. With this API the function above is the whole integration and no account of yours is involved. See the Instaloader alternative page for a side-by-side comparison.

FAQ

Related guides

• Node.js Social Media Downloader API
• Instaloader Alternative API
• PHP Instagram Downloader API

Updated 2026-10-30. The code on this page is executed by our test suite against the API server before every release.