Skip to main content

Get Highlights

Retrieves story highlights from an Instagram profile. Highlights are curated collections of expired stories that profile owners choose to keep permanently on their profile. Returns highlight albums with cover images, titles, and all stories within each highlight.

Common Properties​

  • Name - The custom name of the node.
  • Color - The custom color of the node.
  • Delay Before (sec) - Waits in seconds before executing the node.
  • Delay After (sec) - Waits in seconds after executing node.
  • Continue On Error - Automation will continue regardless of any error. The default value is false.
info

If the ContinueOnError property is true, no error is caught when the project is executed, even if a Catch node is used.

Inputs​

  • Session ID - The session identifier from the Login node.
  • Username - Instagram username to retrieve highlights from (without the @ symbol).

Output​

  • Highlights - Array of highlight albums, each containing:

    • highlight_id - Unique highlight identifier
    • title - Highlight album name
    • cover_url - Cover image URL
    • cover_cropped_url - Cropped cover image URL
    • item_count - Number of stories in the highlight
    • created_at - When the highlight was created (if available)
    • stories - Array of story items within the highlight, each with:
      • story_id - Unique story identifier
      • is_video - Boolean indicating if story is a video
      • url - Media URL (video URL for videos, image URL for photos)
      • thumbnail_url - Thumbnail URL (for videos only)
      • caption - Story caption text
      • date - When the story was originally posted

  • Highlight Count - Number of highlight albums retrieved.

How It Works​

The Get Highlights node retrieves saved story highlights from a profile. When executed, it:

  1. Validates the Session ID and Username
  2. Retrieves the profile information
  3. Fetches all highlight albums for the profile
  4. For each highlight album:
    • Extracts album metadata (title, cover, item count)
    • Retrieves all story items within the highlight
    • Extracts media URLs and metadata for each story
  5. Returns all highlights with their contained stories

Requirements​

  • An active Instagram session (from Login node)
  • A valid Instagram username
  • Permission to view the profile (public accounts or followed private accounts)
  • The profile must have created highlights (not all profiles have highlights)

Error Handling​

The node will return specific errors in the following cases:

  • ErrInvalidArg - Username is missing or empty
  • ErrNotFound - Profile does not exist
  • ErrPermission - Profile is private and you don't follow them
  • ErrRuntime - General failure to retrieve highlights

Common Errors​

Profile Not Found:

Profile 'username' does not exist

Solution: Verify the username is correct.

Private Profile:

Profile 'username' is private and you don't follow them

Solution: You must follow the account to view their highlights.

No Highlights: If a profile has no highlights, the node returns an empty array (not an error).

Usage Notes​

  • Unlike stories, highlights are permanent until the owner deletes them
  • Each highlight is a themed collection of stories (e.g., "Travel", "Products", "Events")
  • Highlights can contain stories from different time periods
  • The cover image is chosen by the profile owner
  • item_count tells you how many stories are in each highlight before fetching them
  • Story metadata within highlights may be limited compared to active stories
  • Highlights are ordered as displayed on the profile

Example: Brand Content Analysis​

Inputs:

  • Session ID: (from Login node)
  • Username: "fashion_brand"

Output Sample:

{
  "highlights": [
    {
      "highlight_id": "highlight:17901234567890123",
      "title": "Spring Collection",
      "cover_url": "https://instagram.com/.../highlight_cover.jpg",
      "cover_cropped_url": "https://instagram.com/.../cover_cropped.jpg",
      "item_count": 12,
      "created_at": "2024-03-01T10:00:00+00:00",
      "stories": [
        {
          "story_id": "2987654321098765432",
          "is_video": false,
          "url": "https://instagram.com/.../story1.jpg",
          "thumbnail_url": null,
          "caption": "New spring arrivals!",
          "date": "2024-03-05T14:30:00+00:00"
        },
        {
          "story_id": "2987654321098765433",
          "is_video": true,
          "url": "https://instagram.com/.../story2.mp4",
          "thumbnail_url": "https://instagram.com/.../thumb2.jpg",
          "caption": "Behind the scenes",
          "date": "2024-03-06T09:15:00+00:00"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "highlight_id": "highlight:17901234567890124",
      "title": "Customer Reviews",
      "cover_url": "https://instagram.com/.../highlight_cover2.jpg",
      "cover_cropped_url": "https://instagram.com/.../cover_cropped2.jpg",
      "item_count": 8,
      "created_at": "2024-02-15T12:00:00+00:00",
      "stories": [...]
    }
  ],
  "highlights_count": 2
}

Example: Competitor Content Archive​

Workflow:

Login
  ↓
Get Highlights (competitor_username)
  ↓
For each highlight:
  Log highlight title and item_count
  For each story in highlight.stories:
    Download media using URL
    Save metadata to database
  ↓
Generate competitor content report
  ↓
Logout

Use Case: Archive and analyze competitor's curated content strategy.

Example: Product Showcase Analysis​

Workflow:

Get Highlights (brand_account)
  ↓
Filter highlights with title containing "Product" or "Collection"
  ↓
Count total stories across product highlights
  ↓
Analyze video vs image ratio
  ↓
Generate product content insights

Example: Historical Content Research​

Workflow:

For each influencer in list:
  Get Highlights
  ↓
  Extract all stories from all highlights
  ↓
  Analyze posting patterns over time
  ↓
  Identify content themes from highlight titles

Best Practices​

  • Check item_count to estimate processing time before fetching stories
  • Use highlight titles to categorize and filter content
  • Download media URLs if you need permanent access to the content
  • Store highlight data as it provides historical context
  • Monitor highlights periodically as owners can add/remove them
  • Use cover images for visual representation in reports
  • Handle cases where highlights_count is 0 gracefully
  • Consider the time investment for profiles with many highlights

Tips for Effective Use​

  • Content Themes: Highlight titles reveal content strategy and priorities
  • Completeness: Unlike temporary stories, highlights are permanent and curated
  • Quality Indicator: Profiles with well-organized highlights show professionalism
  • Historical Data: Highlights provide access to older content not in the main feed
  • Cover Images: Use cover_cropped_url for thumbnails in your UI
  • Batch Processing: Process highlights in batches if there are many
  • Story Count: item_count helps prioritize which highlights to analyze
  • Categorization: Group highlights by title keywords (e.g., "Product", "Event", "Tutorial")

Common Use Cases​

  1. Competitor Analysis - Study how competitors organize and present their content
  2. Content Strategy Research - Understand effective highlight categorization
  3. Product Research - Analyze product showcases and launches
  4. Brand Archival - Create backups of important brand content
  5. Influencer Vetting - Assess influencer content quality and organization
  6. Trend Analysis - Identify popular content themes through highlight titles
  7. UGC Discovery - Find user testimonials and reviews in highlight collections
  8. Media Collection - Extract all images/videos from highlights for campaigns

Performance Considerations​

  • Highlights with many stories take longer to process
  • Each highlight requires a separate API call to fetch its stories
  • Processing time increases with the number of highlights and stories
  • Consider limiting processing to specific highlights based on title keywords
  • Add delays when processing multiple profiles
  • Cache highlight data to avoid repeated requests

Important Notes​

  • Permanence: Highlights don't expire like regular stories (until deleted by owner)
  • Curation: Highlights represent the owner's most important content
  • Organization: Highlight titles provide content categorization
  • Access: Same privacy rules as stories (must follow private accounts)
  • Updates: Owners can add/remove stories from highlights at any time
  • Ordering: Highlights appear in the order set by the profile owner
  • Empty Profiles: Many profiles don't use highlights; this is normal