macOS
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brew install instalooterlocal Homebrew formula metadata
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Install instalooter with Homebrew
Download any picture or video associated from an Instagram profile. Version 2.4.4 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-21.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Download any picture or video associated from an Instagram profile
Project links
Commands and aliases
- instalooter
history
Project history and usage
InstaLooter is a Python command-line downloader for Instagram pictures and videos from profiles, hashtags, posts, and batch files. Its own GitHub metadata describes it as API-less and defunct, which makes it a useful historical companion to better-maintained Instagram archiving tools.
Project history
The GitHub repository and PyPI package appeared in 2016. The README says InstaLooter can download pictures or videos associated with an Instagram profile without API access and describes it as a reimplementation of the deprecated InstaRaider project.
The 1.0.0 line was rewritten from scratch and intentionally risked breaking script compatibility while trying to keep the CLI familiar. The changelog records a semantic-versioned release stream through the 2.x series, including fixes for Instagram-side API and login changes.
Adoption history
InstaLooter was distributed through PyPI and packaged by Homebrew. The official Read the Docs build, README badges, and PyPI metadata show a conventional Python CLI distribution path with documentation, changelog, source repository, and package releases.
The Homebrew formula packages the PyPI source archive for version 2.4.4, while PyPI records dozens of releases beginning in 2016. That adoption is modest but real for a single-purpose scraper.
How it is used
The documented command-line interface includes user, hashtag, post, and batch subcommands. Options cover credentials, output directories, number of files, parallel jobs, filename templates, videos, metadata dumps, time limits, and authenticated downloads.
The docs describe logging in with username/password or a login subcommand, then storing a session cookie in a cache-specific folder. That credential behavior is central to how such tools handled private profiles and authenticated media access.
Why package nerds care
InstaLooter is historically interesting because it shows the fragile lifecycle of API-less social-media downloaders: quick adoption, many small fixes, rewrites after web changes, and eventual defunct status as upstream platform behavior moves.
For package maintainers, it is a cautionary package: the source archive, docs, and formula remain useful records, but the project's own description warns that its web-scraping assumptions aged out.
Timeline
- 2016: GitHub repository created and 0.1.0 uploaded to PyPI.
- 2018: v1.0.0 released after a from-scratch rewrite.
- 2018: v2.0.0 addressed Instagram API changes around April 2018.
- 2020: v2.4.4 documented in the changelog and uploaded to PyPI.
- 2023: GitHub repository metadata describes the project as defunct.
Related projects
- InstaLooter is related to InstaRaider, Instaloader, PyPI-distributed scraping CLIs, Read the Docs documentation, Homebrew Python formulas, and Instagram media archival scripts.
Sources
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for instalooter. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
- Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
instalooter | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version2.4.4
manager updated2026-05-21
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/althonos/instalooter
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/althonos/instalooternone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:instalooter |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.4.4 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/instalooter |
| Homepage | https://github.com/althonos/instalooter |
| Repository | https://github.com/althonos/instalooter |
| Upstream docs | https://instalooter.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html |
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/30/13/907e6aaba6280e1001080ab47e750068ffc5fb7174203985b3c9d678e3f2/instalooter-2.4.4.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-05-21T12:42:39Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | certifi, python@3.14 |
| Bottle | available (on all) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | instalooter |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 18 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment