How to Download Instagram Stories with yt-dlp
Instagram stories are ephemeral posts that disappear after 24 hours. They can be either videos or images, and they can be viewed by anyone who follows the account or visits the profile. Sometimes, you may want to save an Instagram story for later viewing or offline access. However, Instagram does not provide an official way to download stories from its platform. Fortunately, there is a tool that can help you do that: yt-dlp.
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What is yt-dlp and why use it?
yt-dlp is a youtube-dl fork with additional features and fixes
yt-dlp is a command-line program that allows you to download videos and audio from various websites, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and of course, Instagram. It is based on youtube-dl, a popular tool that has been around for many years. However, yt-dlp has some advantages over youtube-dl, such as:
It is more actively maintained and updated.
It has more features and options, such as downloading subtitles, thumbnails, playlists, live streams, etc.
It has better performance and stability, especially for sites that use encryption or throttling.
It supports more sites and formats than youtube-dl.
You can find more information about yt-dlp on its .
yt-dlp can download Instagram stories of video and image slideshows
One of the features that yt-dlp has over youtube-dl is that it can download Instagram stories of video slideshows. These are stories that consist of multiple video clips that play one after another. yt-dlp can download each video clip separately or merge them into one file. It can also extract the metadata of the story, such as the username, date, caption, etc.
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However, yt-dlp cannot download Instagram stories of image slideshows. These are stories that consist of multiple images that change every few seconds. For these types of stories, you will need another tool called gallery-dl. This is another command-line program that can download images from various websites, including Instagram. You can find more information about gallery-dl on its .
How to install yt-dlp and its dependencies
Install Python 3 and pip
In order to use yt-dlp and gallery-dl, you will need to have Python 3 installed on your computer. Python is a programming language that these tools are written in. You will also need pip, which is a package manager that can install Python modules and packages.
If you are using Windows, you can download Python 3 from . Make sure to check the option \"Add Python 3.x to PATH\" during the installation process. This will allow you to run Python commands from any directory in your system.
If you are using Mac or Linux, you may already have Python 3 installed on your system. You can check by opening a terminal and typing python --version. If you see something like \"Python 3.x.x\", then you are good to go. If not, you will need to install Python 3 from your system's package manager or from .
To install pip, you can follow the instructions from . Pip should be installed automatically with Python 3, but in case it is not, you can use the get-pip.py script to install it manually.
Install yt-dlp with pip
Once you have Python 3 and pip installed, you can install yt-dlp with pip. Open a terminal and type pip install yt-dlp. This will download and install yt-dlp and its dependencies on your system. You can check if yt-dlp is installed correctly by typing yt-dlp --version. You should see something like \"yt-dlp 2021.10.22\".
Install gallery-dl with pip (optional)
If you want to download image stories from Instagram, you will also need to install gallery-dl with pip. Open a terminal and type pip install gallery-dl. This will download and install gallery-dl and its dependencies on your system. You can check if gallery-dl is installed correctly by typing gallery-dl --version. You should see something like \"gallery-dl 1.19.3\".
How to download Instagram stories with yt-dlp
Log in to Instagram with one of the authentication methods
In order to download Instagram stories, you will need to log in to Instagram with one of the authentication methods supported by yt-dlp. There are three ways to do this:
Using cookies: You can export your cookies from your web browser and use them with yt-dlp. This is the recommended method as it is the most reliable and secure. You can find more details on how to export cookies from different browsers . Once you have your cookies file, you can use the --cookies option with yt-dlp, for example: yt-dlp --cookies cookies.txt
Using username and password: You can provide your username and password to yt-dlp with the --username and --password options, for example: yt-dlp --username your_username --password your_password However, this method may not work for some accounts or may trigger a verification challenge from Instagram.
Using access token: You can obtain an access token from the Instagram app on your phone and use it with yt-dlp. This method is more complicated and may not work for some accounts or may expire after a while. You can find more details on how to obtain an access token . Once you have your access token, you can use the --add-header option with yt-dlp, for example: yt-dlp --add-header "Authorization: Bearer your_access_token"
You only need to use one of these methods to log in to Instagram. Choose the one that works best for you.
Find the URL of the Instagram story you want to download
The next step is to find the URL of the Instagram story you want to download. There are two ways to do this:
Using the web browser: You can open your web browser and go to the profile page of the account whose story you want to download. If they have an active story, you will see a colorful ring around their profile picture. Click on it and you will see their story. Copy the URL from the address bar of your browser. It should look something like this:
Using the Instagram app: You can open the Instagram app on your phone and go to the profile page of the account whose story you want to download. If they have an active story, you will see a colorful ring around their profile picture. Tap on it and you will see their story. Tap on the three dots icon at the bottom right corner of the screen and select \"Copy Link\". Paste the link somewhere and copy it to your computer. It should look something like this:
You only need one URL per story. If the story has multiple slides, yt-dlp will download them all.
Use yt-dlp to download video stories
Once you have the URL of the Instagram story you want to download, you can use yt-dlp to download it. Open a terminal and type yt-dlp followed by the URL and any other options you want to use. For example, if you want to download the video story with the highest quality and merge it into one file, you can type: yt-dlp -f bestvideo+bestaudio --merge-output-format mp4
yt-dlp will start downloading the video story and show you the progress and information on the terminal. It will also create a metadata file with the same name as the video file, containing information such as the username, date, caption, etc. You can use the --write-info-json option to customize the metadata file format.
If you want to download multiple video stories at once, you can create a text file with one URL per line and use the -a option with yt-dlp, for example: yt-dlp -a stories.txt -f bestvideo+bestaudio --merge-output-format mp4.
Use gallery-dl to download image stories (optional)
If you want to download image stories from Instagram, you will need to use gallery-dl instead of yt-dlp. The process is similar, but with some differences. Open a terminal and type gallery-dl followed by the URL and any other options you want to use. For example, if you want to download the image story with the highest quality and save it in a folder named after the username, you can type: gallery-dl -d username --original
gallery-dl will start downloading the image story and show you the progress and information on the terminal. It will also create a metadata file with the same name as the image file, containing information such as the username, date, caption, etc. You can use the --write-metadata option to customize the metadata file format.
If you want to download multiple image stories at once, you can create a text file with one URL per line and use the -i option with gallery-dl, for example: gallery-dl -i stories.txt -d username --original.
Conclusion
In this article, we have learned how to download Instagram stories with yt-dlp and gallery-dl. These are powerful tools that can help you save your favorite stories for later viewing or offline access. You can also use them to download other types of media from Instagram, such as posts, reels, IGTV videos, etc. Just make sure to respect the privacy and rights of the original creators and do not use their content for any illegal or unethical purposes.
FAQs
Can I download Instagram stories without logging in?
No, you cannot. Instagram requires authentication to access stories, so you will need to log in with one of the methods described above.
Can I download Instagram stories from private accounts?
Yes, you can, but only if you follow them or have their permission. Otherwise, you will not be able to access their stories.
Can I download Instagram stories after they expire?
No, you cannot. Instagram stories are only available for 24 hours after they are posted. After that, they are deleted from Instagram's servers and cannot be retrieved.
Can I download Instagram stories from other devices or platforms?
Yes, you can. yt-dlp and gallery-dl are cross-platform tools that can run on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, etc. You just need to have Python 3 and pip installed on your device or platform.
Can I download Instagram stories in bulk or automatically?
Yes, you can. You can use scripts or cron jobs to automate the process of downloading Instagram stories from multiple accounts or at regular intervals. You can find some examples of scripts and cron jobs .
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