I recently experimented with building an Instagram OSINT project on Linux using Python and HikerAPI. Originally I tried older scraping libraries and unofficial Instagram API wrappers, but many of them were unreliable because Instagram now aggressively blocks automation attempts.
After some testing, I found that using an external API service like HikerAPI was much more stable for learning and development purposes.
Why I Switched #
At first I used tools based on:
- instagram-private-api
- old scraping scripts
- login-based automation
The problem was:
- constant login checkpoints
- “bad_password” errors even with correct credentials
- temporary account locks
- broken endpoints
Modern Instagram protection systems make direct scraping much harder than before.
My Setup #
I used:
- Arch Linux
- Hyprland
- Python virtual environment
- HikerAPI
Creating the virtual environment:
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate.fish
Installing dependencies:
pip install requests httpx
Basic HikerAPI Example #
Here’s a simple request example:
import requests
headers = {
"x-access-key": "YOUR_KEY"
}
r = requests.get(
"https://api.hikerapi.com/v2/user/by/username?username=instagram",
headers=headers
)
print(r.json())
What I Learned #
A few things became obvious during testing:
- Old Instagram scraping methods are becoming unreliable.
- API-based approaches are much easier to maintain.
- Using a Python virtual environment on Linux avoids dependency issues.
- Sherlock and other username OSINT tools are still useful alongside APIs.
Tradeoffs #
HikerAPI is convenient, but it’s not fully free. You need credits for larger usage. For hobby projects and learning, that may still be easier than constantly fixing broken scrapers.
Meanwhile, tools like:
- Sherlock
- Maigret
- Google Dorking
- Wayback Machine
are still excellent for public OSINT workflows.
Final Thoughts #
This was a fun experiment for learning Python, Linux tooling, and OSINT workflows. If you’re building similar projects, I’d strongly recommend:
- using virtual environments
- avoiding your main Instagram account
- testing on dummy accounts
- learning public OSINT techniques first
HikerAPI definitely simplified the process compared to older scraping approaches.