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datalux/osintgram

12,800PythonAudience · researcherComplexity · 2/5Setup · moderate

TLDR

Osintgram is a Python command-line tool for collecting publicly available information from Instagram accounts, photos, followers, captions, hashtags, and more, for educational and research use.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Osintgram))
    What it does
      Instagram OSINT
      Public data collection
    Data types
      Photos
      Captions
      Followers
      Hashtags
    Setup
      Python virtualenv
      Instagram credentials
      Docker option
    Limits
      Public accounts only
      Educational use
      Bot detection risk
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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Research a public Instagram account to gather captions, hashtags, and tagged users for academic social media analysis.

USE CASE 2

Download photos and profile data from a public account for journalistic or OSINT investigation purposes.

USE CASE 3

Map follower and following relationships on public accounts to understand social network structures.

USE CASE 4

Run the tool in a Docker container to avoid modifying your local Python environment when experimenting with it.

Tech stack

PythonDocker

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a dedicated Instagram account (not your main account) in a config file, Instagram may flag automated activity.

In plain English

Osintgram is a Python command-line tool for gathering publicly available information about Instagram accounts. You point it at a target username and an interactive shell opens where you can run specific commands to collect profile data, photos, stories, follower and following lists, post captions, hashtags, tagged users, comment counts, and like totals. The project carries a clear educational-purpose disclaimer, and contributors take no responsibility for how the tool is used. The range of data the tool can pull is broad. For any public account, you can download photos and profile pictures, retrieve the text captions on each post, get a list of everyone who commented or tagged the target, and pull hashtags the account has used. For followers and people the target follows, the tool also attempts to surface any email addresses or phone numbers those users have made publicly visible on their own profiles. Private accounts are off-limits, the FAQ confirms this directly and notes that tools claiming otherwise are scams. Installation involves cloning the repository, creating a Python virtual environment, installing dependencies from a requirements file, and adding your Instagram credentials to a config file. The tool also supports Docker, so you can run it inside a container without modifying your local Python setup. A Makefile provides shortcuts for common tasks like credential setup and container launch. Instagram may flag the account you use as a bot and trigger a verification challenge if the activity looks suspicious. The README explicitly warns against using your primary personal account. A beta v2 branch is available with a faster command interface and some improvements over the stable release.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I want to use Osintgram to research a public Instagram account for a journalism project. Walk me through the setup steps: cloning the repo, creating a virtual environment, installing dependencies, and configuring credentials safely.
Prompt 2
Show me all the Osintgram commands available in the interactive shell and explain what data each one retrieves from a public Instagram account.
Prompt 3
I want to run Osintgram using Docker to keep it isolated from my main system. Give me the Docker commands to build the image, set up my Instagram credentials, and start an interactive session.
Prompt 4
What are the risks of using Osintgram with my personal Instagram account, and what precautions should I take to avoid getting flagged as a bot?
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