Instagram Analytics — Backend

This is the Express.js + TypeScript backend for the Instagram Analytics dashboard.
It exposes REST endpoints for:

• Logging in via Instagram credentials
• Fetching followers (/api/followers)
• Fetching following (/api/following)
• Identifying non-followers (/api/non-followers)
• Aggregating top likers (/api/top-likers)

Setup

1. Clone this repo and install dependencies:

   git clone git@github.com:Instagram-Analysis/instagram-analytics-BE.git
   cd instagram-analytics-BE
   npm install

2. Create a .env file in the project root with:

   PORT=4000
   FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:3000
   SESSION_SECRET=your-session-secret
   # For future Graph API use:
   INSTAGRAM_GRAPH_TOKEN=your-long-lived-token

3. Run in development:

   npm run dev

   The server listens on http://localhost:4000.

Available Scripts

• npm run dev — start with ts-node-dev and hot-reload
• npm run build — compile TypeScript to dist/
• npm start — run the compiled code

Instagram API Integration

Historical note: We initially used the unofficial instagram-private-api to log in with raw credentials, but ran into persistent two-factor and checkpoint challenges that were difficult to automate.

Current direction: Migrating to the official Instagram Graph API. In the upcoming version:

1. Users will authenticate via OAuth (no raw passwords or 2FA handling in our code).
2. We’ll exchange the OAuth code for a long‐lived access token.
3. Followers, following, and media metrics will be fetched via:
   • GET https://graph.instagram.com/me/followers?access_token=…
   • GET https://graph.instagram.com/me/following?access_token=…
   • GET https://graph.instagram.com/me/media?fields=id,like_count&access_token=…

Until the migration is complete, the existing private-API login (with 2FA challenge) remains active. Expect an update soon!

License

MIT