---
title: "Scrape Creators API / Popular Search"
description: "ScrapeCreators tool scrapecreators-instagram-search-popular on looot: input fields, $0.00188 per call, output shape, and code to run it with curl, JavaScript or Python."
sidebar:
  hidden: true
---

{/* Generated by scripts/generate-api-reference.mjs from data/api-reference.json. Do not edit. */}

Use this to explore an Instagram topic and the posts Instagram curates for it. It scrapes the public /popular/\{query\} page without requiring an Instagram login. The first page returns the topic title, numeric total media count, Instagram's generated description and sources, suggested terms, posts, and an opaque cursor. Pass that cursor with the same query to fetch more posts. Later pages return query, posts, cursor, and has_more only. For an exact hashtag through Google-indexed results, use /v1/instagram/search/hashtag. For reels only, use /v2/instagram/reels/search. Each successful request costs 1 credit.

- **Tool id:** `scrapecreators-instagram-search-popular`
- **Provider:** [ScrapeCreators](/providers/scrapecreators)
- **Job:** [Search Instagram for a keyword](/reference/jobs/instagram-search-top) (`instagram.search.top`)
- **Price:** $0.00188 per call. A call that fails at the provider costs $0.

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `cursor` | string | no |   |
| `query` | string | yes | Example: "basketball" |

## Output

The run's `result` holds the provider's answer. Signed in, `looot inspect scrapecreators-instagram-search-popular` prints its fields.

## Run it

Every call needs your API token in `LOOOT_TOKEN`; [Sign in](/get-started/sign-in#use-the-token-in-scripts-and-agents) shows how to get one. Each run also needs a new idempotency key, so a retry never pays twice. With `wait: 30` the answer comes back inline when the run ends within 30 seconds. Otherwise you get the running run back: poll `GET /v1/runs/<runId>`.

Example input with placeholder values:

<CodeGroup>

```bash curl
curl -X POST "https://api.looot.ai/v1/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOOOT_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{"endpointId":"scrapecreators-instagram-search-popular","input":{"query":"basketball","cursor":"<cursor>"},"wait":30}'
```

```js JavaScript
const response = await fetch("https://api.looot.ai/v1/runs", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.LOOOT_TOKEN}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Idempotency-Key": crypto.randomUUID(),
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    endpointId: "scrapecreators-instagram-search-popular",
    input: {
      query: "basketball",
      cursor: "<cursor>",
    },
    wait: 30,
  }),
});
const run = await response.json();
console.log(run.status, run.result);
```

```python Python
import os
import uuid

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.looot.ai/v1/runs",
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['LOOOT_TOKEN']}",
        "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4()),
    },
    json={
        "endpointId": "scrapecreators-instagram-search-popular",
        "input": {
            "query": "basketball",
            "cursor": "<cursor>",
        },
        "wait": 30,
    },
    timeout=90,
)
run = response.json()
print(run["status"], run.get("result"))
```

</CodeGroup>

To let looot pick among every provider of this job instead, send `job:instagram.search.top` as `endpointId`; see [the job page](/reference/jobs/instagram-search-top).