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Instagram integration: set up and troubleshoot

Personal Profile Scraper extracts profile data from an Instagram profile URL or handle. It runs on your own connected account.

Written by Umer Ishaq

Personal Profile Scraper extracts profile data from an Instagram profile URL or handle. It runs on your own connected account.

Before you start

  • Account: your own connected account. Nothing is charged from your wallet. Connect it first (steps below).

  • Input: the row needs an Instagram profile URL or handle.

  • Auto-run: check Auto-run at the top left of the toolbar before you run anything. See Run columns safely: Auto-run, test one row, then run the rest.

How do I connect Instagram?

  1. Open Settings, then Connections.

  2. Click Create.

  3. In the Connect an account window, find Instagram in the list and click it.

  4. Follow the steps that open for Instagram.

Then open the column's settings: the Account block shows which account the column uses, with a Manage accounts link. See Connections: Loopster-provided accounts and your own.

How do I use Personal Profile Scraper?

  1. Click Add column, then Add enrichment.

  2. Open the Enrich tab and search for Instagram or Personal Profile Scraper.

  3. Choose Personal Profile Scraper. It can also be listed as Person profile.

  4. Map the input or inputs the panel shows: click an input, press / and pick a column. See Map an enrichment's inputs.

  5. Click the arrow next to the main button and choose Add column without running.

  6. Click the play button on one row, then double-click the cell to read the result.

  7. To run the rest, click the play button on the column header and choose Run all N empty rows in the Run column dialog.

The Add column panel searching for Instagram. One enrichment is listed, Person profile (from Instagram), provided by Apify, with a key icon.

How do I check it worked?

  1. Double-click a cell.

  2. The details show the fields of the result. Hover a field and click Add to column to put it in its own column. See Put a result's fields into their own columns.

Troubleshooting

Quick answer

  1. Auto-run is off, or the column was added without running.

  2. A required input or setting has no value (the panel footer warns).

  3. The cell says Error: open it and read the message. Then check the Instagram connection under Settings, then Connections.

Nothing happens, or the cells stay empty

What you see: The column exists, but no row has run.

Why it happens: Auto-run is Off (the app says "New rows and values will not run on their own"), or you chose Add column without running.

What to do: Click a row's play button, or use the column header's Run column dialog. See Why didn't my column run?.

The footer says "Select a column for … before running"

What you see: A warning such as "Select a column for … before running." in the panel footer.

Why it happens: A required input or setting (marked with *) has no value. An input can be empty even when a suggestion names a column.

What to do: Click the input, press / and pick a column from the list. Do not close the list with Esc: a / or @ is then left in the field as plain text.

My cells say Skipped

What you see: Skipped in the cells.

Why it happens: Skipped means "Did not run because of filters or missing dependencies."

What to do: Double-click the cell and read the message. Check that every input is mapped to a column, and look under Run Settings for Add run condition ("Only run if this formula resolves to true.").

My cells say Unsatisfied

What you see: Unsatisfied in the cells.

Why it happens: Unsatisfied means "Enrichment ran correctly, but output didn't match expected format."

What to do: Double-click the cell and read the message. Check the input values in that row, and test one row before you re-run many. See What a cell's message means.

A cell says Error

What you see: The cell says Error, and the footer shows a count such as "1 cell failed".

Why it happens: Error means "Crashed, something went wrong." The message is in the cell it happened in.

What to do: Double-click the cell and read the message. Then open Settings, then Connections, and check the Status of the Instagram connection. Fix the cause before you re-run.

I am not sure which Instagram account a column uses

What you see: You want to know which Instagram account a column runs on.

Why it happens: Instagram runs on your own account, and the column's Account block shows which account it uses.

What to do: Open the column's settings and look at the Account block. Its Manage accounts link is next to it. Settings, then Connections, lists every account the workspace can run on. If Instagram is not there, click Create and find Instagram in the list.

The result did not change after I edited an input

What you see: A finished cell keeps its old result after you change an input.

Why it happens: With Auto-run on, Keep existing results is ticked: "Only errored, empty and new cells run. A completed answer is left alone even when one of its inputs changes."

What to do: Double-click the cell and click Re-run this cell, or click the play button on the column header and choose Overwrite all N rows in the Run column dialog. Read the line under each option first.

What does it cost?

Instagram runs on your own account. Nothing is charged from your wallet. See Your wallet and keeping spend under control.

Good to know

  • Personal Profile Scraper is the only Instagram action in Loopster. It is in the Enrich tab.

  • It is not marked as eligible for a waterfall step.

  • It does not create rows in your table.

  • It does not write outside Loopster.

  • Other providers show some of the same names (Person profile). The panel's ACTION line reads Provider › Action, so check the provider name before you add one.

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