Social media operations
Store searchable text beside approved campaign Reels and reduce manual listening during content review.
Instagram transcription API for Reels and video posts
Add permitted Instagram video transcription to your product with the same REST job model used across Fast Transcriber. Send one public Reel or video-post URL, track the asynchronous job, and consume structured transcript results.
Use it from your product backend or connect a compatible AI agent over MCP.
- Bearer authentication
- Asynchronous jobs
- Structured JSON
Queue a public Instagram Reel
curl --include --request POST https://fast-transcriber.com/api/v1/transcriptions \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $FAST_TRANSCRIBER_API_TOKEN" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"source_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/",
"speaker_diarization": false
}'202 Accepted · Location: /api/v1/transcriptions/{id}
One integration for Instagram video-to-text
The source_url contract accepts supported public Instagram media without requiring a different result schema. Reels and compatible single-video posts flow into the same job table, polling code, and completed transcript handling as other sources.
Access can change after a link is submitted. Treat 202 Accepted as confirmation that the job was queued, not proof that Instagram will still expose the media when the worker resolves it. Your application should handle a later failed state cleanly.
With Fast Transcriber
- One asynchronous job lifecycle across supported sources
- Source resolution and media retrieval handled server-side
- One transcript response with text and timestamped segments
- A direct-upload fallback for authorized private media
Building every source yourself
- Separate URL and access handling for every source
- Queue, retry, polling, and failure-state infrastructure
- Source-specific results that need normalization
- Ongoing maintenance as external sources change
One API family
One source workflow. One predictable job model.
Use the same status lifecycle and transcript fields across supported public URLs and account-owned uploads.
What this endpoint accepts
Supported inputs
- Public instagram.com/reel and /reels links
- Public single-video instagram.com/p posts
- Public legacy /tv video URLs while available
- One resolvable video per job
Access and input boundaries
- The post must open without an Instagram login or private session.
- Profiles, Stories, image-only posts, and carousels without one resolvable video are not supported source inputs.
- Private, removed, restricted, or expired media may fail during asynchronous resolution.
- Use the upload API for media you can lawfully access but cannot make publicly downloadable.
Queue once, then follow the job
Transcription runs outside the original HTTP request. Save the returned job identity and poll its status instead of submitting duplicate work.
- 01
Send one Instagram URL
POST source_url to /api/v1/transcriptions with a bearer API key. Create one job for each media item.
- 02
Save the job location
A valid request returns 202 Accepted. Persist the Location header and job ID instead of repeating the POST.
- 03
Poll to a final state
GET the job URL with bounded backoff until status is completed or failed, then stop polling.
Built for production transcription workflows
Creator tools
Turn a creator-authorized Reel into an editable draft for captions, descriptions, and content repurposing.
Media monitoring
Add transcript text and timestamps to your own permitted asset record for later review and classification.
Send a real API request
Authenticate from your backend, create the job, and store the returned Location header for status retrieval.
Queue a public Instagram Reel
curl --include --request POST https://fast-transcriber.com/api/v1/transcriptions \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $FAST_TRANSCRIBER_API_TOKEN" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"source_url": "https://www.instagram.com/reel/SHORTCODE/",
"speaker_diarization": false
}'202 Accepted · Location: /api/v1/transcriptions/{id}
Implement the complete request flow
Authentication, source rules, request fields, and status handling are covered in the technical guide.
One predictable transcript response
A completed Instagram job uses the standard response envelope, including full text and timestamped segments. Source-specific logic stays at ingestion rather than spreading into the rest of your application.
- status
- Use completed and failed as terminal states.
- text
- The complete transcript becomes available on completion.
- segments[]
- Each segment includes start, end, and text values.
- duration_seconds
- The detected duration of the processed recording.
application/json
{
"data": {
"id": "95c3fdd8-...",
"filename": "source-media.mp4",
"status": "completed",
"created_at": "2026-08-24T16:30:00.000Z",
"duration_seconds": 1842,
"text": "Completed transcript text...",
"segments": [
{ "start": 0, "end": 4.2, "text": "Welcome." }
]
}
}200 OK · completed transcript
Instagram API FAQ
- Can I submit an Instagram profile URL?
- No. Submit the URL of one public Reel or supported video post rather than a profile, feed, or hashtag page.
- Can Fast Transcriber access private Reels?
- No. The public-link worker does not use your Instagram login or cookies. Use an authorized download and direct upload for private media you are permitted to process.
- Why can an Instagram job fail after returning 202?
- The initial response confirms queueing. The post may later be removed, restricted, or inaccessible when the asynchronous worker tries to retrieve it.
- Does Instagram require a separate results endpoint?
- No. Poll /api/v1/transcriptions/{id} and read the same completed result fields used for every supported source.
Related endpoints
API overviewUse the same job model elsewhere
Ready to build?
Add Instagram transcription to your product.
Create a key, then follow the source guide to queue your first job.