Resolve an Instagram shortcode to a media ID · Instagram API
Convert an Instagram post shortcode into its numeric `media_id`. A lookup helper — useful for pre-resolving and caching the ID that some media-level operations require. Computed locally; it does not check that the post exists.
Using ChatGPT, Claude Code or another client? See the setup steps
curl https://api.unifapi.com/instagram/resolve/media-id?shortcode= \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $UNIFAPI_KEY"
Parameters
- shortcodequeryrequired
This operation is part of the Instagram API in the social platforms category. It uses the same Bearer token, request tracing, error model, and billing envelope as every UnifAPI endpoint, so agents can switch between platforms without custom per-vendor glue code.
Use it when a workflow needs Instagram public data alongside other social networks, but should still keep one API key, one account balance, and one predictable JSON contract.
Common agent workflows
- Look up public Instagram data for agents that need reliable open-web context.
- Give an AI agent a stable Instagram data source without building a per-platform integration.
- Normalize Instagram responses into the same UnifAPI envelope used across the catalog.
Unified envelope, platform-native fields
- Lookup responses return one canonical object in `data` with stable identifiers, source URLs where available, and platform-specific metadata normalized into predictable JSON.
- The `billing.records_charged` field reports the charged billable-record quantity for the successful response.
- A not-found or invalid-input condition uses the unified UnifAPI error shape, so callers do not need special handling for each source platform.
Response status codes
Billing
This operation charges 1 credit per billable record, with a 1 credit ($0.001) operation minimum. Public responses include billing metadata with credits charged, records charged, and remaining workspace balance. Incorrect Credit deductions caused by platform failures can be restored as billing corrections.
Errors and retries
Authentication, validation, rate-limit, not-found, and provider errors use the unified UnifAPI error format. Agents should log `request_id`, retry only retryable failures, and treat invalid API keys, disabled keys, and expired keys as the same public `unauthorized` error type.
Fields in the data object
A successful Resolve an Instagram shortcode to a media ID call returns one data object with these fields.
- shortcodestring
- media_idstring
Agents & Skills built on Instagram
You rarely call Resolve an Instagram shortcode to a media ID by hand. These prebuilt agents and skills already read Instagram data inside Claude or Codex — start from one of them, or call this endpoint yourself.
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