How to post pictures to instagram using API

Question

Update:

Instagram are now banning accounts and removing the images based on this method. Please use with caution.

---

It seems that everyone who has answered this question with something along the lines of it can't be done is somewhat correct. Officially, you cannot post a photo to Instagram with their API. However, if you reverse engineer the API, you can.

function SendRequest($url, $post, $post_data, $user_agent, $cookies) {
    $ch = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://i.instagram.com/api/v1/'.$url);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, $user_agent);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);

    if($post) {
        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data);
    }

    if($cookies) {
        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEFILE, 'cookies.txt');            
    } else {
        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEJAR, 'cookies.txt');
    }

    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    $http = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
    curl_close($ch);

   return array($http, $response);
}

function GenerateGuid() {
     return sprintf('%04x%04x-%04x-%04x-%04x-%04x%04x%04x', 
            mt_rand(0, 65535), 
            mt_rand(0, 65535), 
            mt_rand(0, 65535), 
            mt_rand(16384, 20479), 
            mt_rand(32768, 49151), 
            mt_rand(0, 65535), 
            mt_rand(0, 65535), 
            mt_rand(0, 65535));
}

function GenerateUserAgent() {  
     $resolutions = array('720x1280', '320x480', '480x800', '1024x768', '1280x720', '768x1024', '480x320');
     $versions = array('GT-N7000', 'SM-N9000', 'GT-I9220', 'GT-I9100');
     $dpis = array('120', '160', '320', '240');

     $ver = $versions[array_rand($versions)];
     $dpi = $dpis[array_rand($dpis)];
     $res = $resolutions[array_rand($resolutions)];

     return 'Instagram 4.'.mt_rand(1,2).'.'.mt_rand(0,2).' Android ('.mt_rand(10,11).'/'.mt_rand(1,3).'.'.mt_rand(3,5).'.'.mt_rand(0,5).'; '.$dpi.'; '.$res.'; samsung; '.$ver.'; '.$ver.'; smdkc210; en_US)';
 }

function GenerateSignature($data) {
     return hash_hmac('sha256', $data, 'b4a23f5e39b5929e0666ac5de94c89d1618a2916');
}

function GetPostData($filename) {
    if(!$filename) {
        echo "The image doesn't exist ".$filename;
    } else {
        $post_data = array('device_timestamp' => time(), 
                        'photo' => '@'.$filename);
        return $post_data;
    }
}


// Set the username and password of the account that you wish to post a photo to
$username = 'ig_username';
$password = 'ig_password';

// Set the path to the file that you wish to post.
// This must be jpeg format and it must be a perfect square
$filename = 'pictures/test.jpg';

// Set the caption for the photo
$caption = "Test caption";

// Define the user agent
$agent = GenerateUserAgent();

// Define the GuID
$guid = GenerateGuid();

// Set the devide ID
$device_id = "android-".$guid;

/* LOG IN */
// You must be logged in to the account that you wish to post a photo too
// Set all of the parameters in the string, and then sign it with their API key using SHA-256
$data ='{"device_id":"'.$device_id.'","guid":"'.$guid.'","username":"'.$username.'","password":"'.$password.'","Content-Type":"application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8"}';
$sig = GenerateSignature($data);
$data = 'signed_body='.$sig.'.'.urlencode($data).'&ig_sig_key_version=4';
$login = SendRequest('accounts/login/', true, $data, $agent, false);

if(strpos($login[1], "Sorry, an error occurred while processing this request.")) {
    echo "Request failed, there's a chance that this proxy/ip is blocked";
} else {            
    if(empty($login[1])) {
        echo "Empty response received from the server while trying to login";
    } else {            
        // Decode the array that is returned
        $obj = @json_decode($login[1], true);

        if(empty($obj)) {
            echo "Could not decode the response: ".$body;
        } else {
            // Post the picture
            $data = GetPostData($filename);
            $post = SendRequest('media/upload/', true, $data, $agent, true);    

            if(empty($post[1])) {
                 echo "Empty response received from the server while trying to post the image";
            } else {
                // Decode the response 
                $obj = @json_decode($post[1], true);

                if(empty($obj)) {
                    echo "Could not decode the response";
                } else {
                    $status = $obj['status'];

                    if($status == 'ok') {
                        // Remove and line breaks from the caption
                        $caption = preg_replace("/\r|\n/", "", $caption);

                        $media_id = $obj['media_id'];
                        $device_id = "android-".$guid;
                        $data = '{"device_id":"'.$device_id.'","guid":"'.$guid.'","media_id":"'.$media_id.'","caption":"'.trim($caption).'","device_timestamp":"'.time().'","source_type":"5","filter_type":"0","extra":"{}","Content-Type":"application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8"}';   
                        $sig = GenerateSignature($data);
                        $new_data = 'signed_body='.$sig.'.'.urlencode($data).'&ig_sig_key_version=4';

                       // Now, configure the photo
                       $conf = SendRequest('media/configure/', true, $new_data, $agent, true);

                       if(empty($conf[1])) {
                           echo "Empty response received from the server while trying to configure the image";
                       } else {
                           if(strpos($conf[1], "login_required")) {
                                echo "You are not logged in. There's a chance that the account is banned";
                            } else {
                                $obj = @json_decode($conf[1], true);
                                $status = $obj['status'];

                                if($status != 'fail') {
                                    echo "Success";
                                } else {
                                    echo 'Fail';
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    } else {
                        echo "Status isn't okay";
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Just copy and paste the code above in your text editor, change the few variables accordingly and VOILA! I wrote an article about this and I've done it many times. See a demo here.

If you read the link you shared, the accepted answer is:

You cannot post pictures to Instagram via the API.

Instagram have now said this:

Now you can post your content using Instagram APIs (New) effects from 26th Jan 2021 !

https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2021/01/26/introducing-instagram-content-publishing-api/

Hopefully you have some luck here.

UPDATE It is now possible:

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api/content-publishing

The Content Publishing API is a subset of Instagram Graph API endpoints that allow you to publish media objects. Publishing media objects with this API is a two step process — you first create a media object container, then publish the container on your Business Account.

Instagram now allows businesses to schedule their posts, using the new Content Publishing Beta endpoints.

https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2018/01/30/instagram-graph-api-updates/

However, this blog post - https://business.instagram.com/blog/instagram-api-features-updates - makes it clear that they are only opening that API to their Facebook Marketing Partners or Instagram Partners.

To get started with scheduling posts, please work with one of our Facebook Marketing Partners or Instagram Partners.

This link from Facebook - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api/content-publishing - lists it as a closed beta.

The Content Publishing API is in closed beta with Facebook Marketing Partners and Instagram Partners only. We are not accepting new applicants at this time.

But this is how you would do it:

You have a photo at...

https://www.example.com/images/bronz-fonz.jpg

You want to publish it with the hashtag "#BronzFonz".

You could use the /user/media edge to create the container like this:

POST graph.facebook.com 
  /17841400008460056/media?
    image_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.example.com%2Fimages%2Fbronz-fonz.jpg&
    caption=%23BronzFonz

This would return a container ID (let's say 17889455560051444), which you would then publish using the /user/media_publish edge, like this:

POST graph.facebook.com
  /17841405822304914/media_publish
    ?creation_id=17889455560051444

This example from the docs.

I tried using IFTTT and many other services but all were doing things or post from Instagram to another platform not to Instagram. I read more to found Instagram does not provide any such API as of now.

Using blue stack is again involving heavy installation and doing things manually only.

However, you can use your Google Chrome on the desktop version to make a post on Instagram. It needs a bit tweak.

1. Open your chrome and browse Instagram.com
2. Go to inspect element by right clicking on chrome.
3. From top right corener menu drop down on developer tools, select more tool.
4. Further select network conditions.
5. In the network selection section, see the second section there named user agent.
6. Uncheck select automatically, and select chrome for Android from the list of given user agent.
7. Refresh your Instagram.com page.

You will notice a change in UI and the option to make a post on Instagram. Your life is now easy. Let me know an easier way if you can find any.

I wrote on https://www.inteligentcomp.com/2018/11/how-to-upload-to-instagram-from-pc-mac.html about it.

Working Screenshot