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InstaloaderSharp manual

Welcome to the InstaloaderSharp manual. InstaloaderSharp is a free command-line program for Windows that downloads pictures and videos from Instagram, along with their captions and other metadata: whole profiles, single posts, hashtags, locations, your feed, your saved posts, stories, highlights and reels. It is a C# / .NET Framework version of Instaloader, with the same command line and file formats, so the two programs can work on the same downloads.

No previous knowledge of Instaloader is needed. If you are new, start with Getting started, then read Targets and Logging in. If you prefer a graphical user interface, have a look at InstaloaderSharp GUI.

Getting going

Page	What it covers
Getting started	Requirements, getting the program, the first download, updating a download, getting help
Targets	Profiles, single posts, hashtags, locations, feed, saved posts, stories, followees and metadata files
Logging in	Logging in with a password or two-factor authentication, importing a browser's login, session files
Downloaded files	Where files go, what each file contains, renamed profiles, changed captions

Downloading

Page	What it covers
Choosing what to download	Pictures, videos, captions, metadata, comments, geotags, stories, highlights, tagged posts, reels
Keeping an archive up to date	--fast-update, --latest-stamps, --count and scheduled downloads
Filtering posts and stories	--post-filter and --storyitem-filter expressions
File and folder names	Name templates, format specifications, caption file templates
Interrupting and resuming	Ctrl+C, resume files, skipping a single item
Rate limits and connections	How the program paces its requests, retries, timeouts, --abort-on, the user agent

Reference

Page	What it covers
Command-line options	Every option, abbreviations, option files and exit codes
Properties reference	Every property of posts, story items, profiles and other items, for filters and templates
File formats	Session files, metadata, resume files, the latest-stamps file, comments and geotags
Interoperability with Instaloader	Using InstaloaderSharp and Instaloader on the same downloads
Differences from Instaloader	Where InstaloaderSharp deliberately behaves differently, and why
Library use	Using InstaloaderSharp from your own C# or .NET program
Troubleshooting and FAQ	Common problems and their solutions
Glossary	Instagram and InstaloaderSharp terms used in this manual

Project

Page	What it covers
Building and contributing	Building from source, unit tests, reporting bugs, contributing code
Releases	Downloads of each version, and what changed in it

Conventions in this manual

• Commands are shown as they are typed in a Windows command prompt (cmd.exe), with the program named InstaloaderSharp.exe. If you renamed it, for example to instaloader.exe, use that name instead.
• YOUR-USERNAME stands for your Instagram username, profilename for the username of the profile you want to download.
• Options are shown in their long form (--fast-update); the short form, where there is one, is given in brackets (-F).
• Times in file names are in UTC unless the text says otherwise.

InstaloaderSharp is in no way affiliated with, authorized, maintained or endorsed by Instagram or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries. This is an independent and unofficial project. Use at your own risk, and respect the privacy and copyright of the people whose posts you download.