Keeping an archive up to date

Once a profile is downloaded, you will want to fetch only what is new from time to time. This page explains the options for that, and how to run updates automatically.

Contents

• Running the same command again
• Fast updates
• Latest stamps
• Fast updates or latest stamps?
• Limiting the number of posts
• Keeping a list of profiles
• Scheduled downloads

Running the same command again

The simplest way to update a download is to run the same command again. Files that already exist are skipped (... exists), so only new posts are downloaded, and the metadata of all posts is refreshed. For a large profile this still goes through all its posts, which takes long and makes many requests. The two options below stop early instead.

Fast updates

InstaloaderSharp.exe --fast-update profilename

With --fast-update (-F), the download of each target stops at the first post for which nothing new was downloaded, because all its files already exist. Since Instagram lists posts newest first, everything after that post was downloaded before.

• A profile can pin up to three posts to the top of its profile. Pinned posts are not in date order, so the first three posts of a profile do not stop a fast update.
• For stories, the download of a profile's stories stops at the first story item that exists already.
• --fast-update works for every kind of target: profiles, hashtags, locations, :feed, :saved, :stories, and the --tagged and --reels downloads.
• It relies on the downloaded files. If you delete or move them, the next fast update downloads them again. It cannot be combined with --no-pictures.

Latest stamps

InstaloaderSharp.exe --latest-stamps profilename

With --latest-stamps, the program remembers, for every profile, the time of the newest post, story, tagged post and reel it downloaded, in a small database file. The next time, it only downloads items that are newer, and stops at the first older one. Up to three pinned posts are taken into account, as with --fast-update.

The database is %LOCALAPPDATA%\Instaloader\latest-stamps.ini by default. Give a file name after the option to use another one:

InstaloaderSharp.exe --latest-stamps D:\Instagram\latest-stamps.ini profilename

Because the option takes an optional file name, put the targets after another option or after -- if the next word could be mistaken for a file name: --latest-stamps -- profilename uses the default file.

For each profile, the file stores:

Key	Meaning
profile-id	The profile's numeric ID, for finding renamed profiles (instead of the id file)
profile-pic	The file name of the last downloaded profile picture; it is downloaded again only when it changes
post-timestamp	Time of the newest downloaded post
tagged-timestamp	Time of the newest downloaded tagged post (--tagged)
reels-timestamp	Time of the newest downloaded reel (--reels)
story-timestamp	Time of the newest downloaded story item (--stories)
igtv-timestamp	Kept from earlier versions; IGTV is retired

The file is a plain text INI file and can be edited, for example to download a profile again from a certain date:

[profilename]
profile-id = 25025320
profile-pic = 552315460_18667771684001234_n.jpg
post-timestamp = 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000000+0000
story-timestamp = 2026-10-19T18:01:46.000000+0200

The time must be written exactly in this format, including the six digits after the seconds and the time zone offset. A value the program cannot read counts as 1 January 1970, which means everything is downloaded again. The format is the same as Instaloader's, so both programs can share the file; see File formats.

Instagram lists tagged posts in the order in which the profile was tagged, not by the posts' dates. An old post in which the profile was tagged recently therefore stops a --fast-update or --latest-stamps download of tagged posts early. Download tagged posts without these options from time to time to catch everything.

Latest stamps apply to profile targets and the --stories, --tagged and --reels downloads of profiles. Hashtags, locations, :feed, :saved and :stories do not use them; use --fast-update or --count for those.

Fast updates or latest stamps?

	--fast-update	--latest-stamps
Decides by	Files in the download folder	Times stored in the stamps file
Downloads again after you delete files	Yes	No
Works if you move or reorganize downloads	No	Yes
Works with --no-pictures	No	Yes
Works for hashtags, locations, feed, saved posts	Yes	No
Re-downloads the profile picture	Only if missing (or larger, when logged in)	Only if it changed

Use --latest-stamps if you process or move the downloaded files afterwards; use --fast-update if the download folders are your archive. Both can be given together.

Limiting the number of posts

--count N (-c N) stops after N posts of each hashtag, location, :feed and :saved target:

InstaloaderSharp.exe --login YOUR-USERNAME --count 50 "#sunset" :feed

It does not apply to profiles; to download only recent posts of a profile, use a filter such as --post-filter "date_utc >= datetime(2026, 1, 1)", or --latest-stamps with an edited time.

Keeping a list of profiles

Put the options and targets in a text file, one per line, and pass it with a + in front of its name:

InstaloaderSharp.exe +archive.txt

archive.txt:

--login=YOUR-USERNAME
--fast-update
--stories
--highlights
profile1
profile2
profile3

Options and targets can also be mixed: InstaloaderSharp.exe --fast-update +profiles.txt. See Command-line options.

Scheduled downloads

Windows' Task Scheduler can run updates automatically, for example every night. Log in interactively once first, so that a session file exists. Then create a batch file, for example D:\Instagram\update.cmd:

@echo off
cd /d D:\Instagram
C:\Tools\InstaloaderSharp.exe --quiet --login YOUR-USERNAME --fast-update --stories +profiles.txt >> update.log 2>&1

• cd /d makes the downloads go to D:\Instagram; scheduled tasks otherwise start in C:\Windows\System32.
• --quiet prints only errors and never waits for input. If the session has expired, the program exits with code 3 instead of asking for a password.
• >> update.log 2>&1 appends all output, including errors, to a log file.

Create the task in a command prompt:

schtasks /create /tn "Instagram archive" /tr "D:\Instagram\update.cmd" /sc daily /st 03:00

or with Task Scheduler → Create Basic Task. Check the log and the task's Last Run Result from time to time: it shows the program's exit code, where 0 means success, 1 that some items failed, and 3 that you need to log in again.

Do not schedule several downloads with the same account at the same time, and do not run them too often: once or twice a day is enough for posts. Stories need a daily run to catch everything, since they disappear after 24 hours.