---
title: "Search Instagram's popular reels on a topic"
method: GET
path: "/search/instagram"
tags: ["Search"]
---

# Search Instagram's popular reels on a topic

`GET /search/instagram`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.socially.run/v1`
- URL: `https://api.socially.run/v1/search/instagram`
- Auth: HTTP bearer

The reels Instagram lists on its public popular page for a topic: shortcode, author, caption, exact play count and the date read off the media id. This is indexed discovery, not a hashtag feed. Instagram publishes these pages for some words only (`art`, `travel` and `music` have one; `fitness` and `nasa` did not when measured), lists up to 12 reels, and says in `hasMore` when it has more that cannot be read without signing in. A word with no page answers `indexed: false` and costs nothing. Cached for thirty minutes.

## Query parameters

- `q` string, required: The topic, the way Instagram names its popular pages: one word or a few ("travel", "street photography"). Not every word has a page.
- `limit` integer: Reels to return, 1–12. One page is one read: a smaller `limit` on the same topic is served from it.
- `refresh` boolean: Read the page again instead of serving the half-hour cache. Charged like any read, and the fresh answer replaces the cached one.

## Response `200`

Search Instagram's popular reels on a topic

- object
  - `data` unknown, required

## Other responses

- `400`: VALIDATION_ERROR / INVALID_TARGET / SSRF_BLOCKED: the issues, never the values.
- `401`: UNAUTHORIZED / INVALID_TOKEN: the key is missing or wrong.
- `402`: PAYMENT_REQUIRED / PLAN_GATE: clears by upgrading or buying credits, never by waiting.
- `429`: RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED / QUOTA_EXCEEDED: Retry-After says when it clears.
- `default`: Any other failure.

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/socially/apis/socially-run-send-a-profile-link-get-its-public-data-as-json.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/socially/apis/socially-run-send-a-profile-link-get-its-public-data-as-json/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/socially/apis/socially-run-send-a-profile-link-get-its-public-data-as-json/revisions/5a0b24534b90?raw)