Instagram feed without API – PHP, MySQL

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In this tutorial, we are going to teach you how can you show instagram feed in your PHP website without using any API.

Video tutorial:

First, we need to create a table in our database where we will save all the latest posts from our Instagram page or profile.

<?php

    // connect with database
    $conn = new PDO("mysql:host=localhost:8889;dbname=test", "root", "root");

    // create table to store latest instagram feeds
    $sql = "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS instagram (
        id INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
        url TEXT DEFAULT NULL,
        image_path TEXT DEFAULT NULL,
        video_path TEXT DEFAULT NULL,
        caption TEXT DEFAULT NULL,
        likes TEXT DEFAULT NULL,
        comments TEXT DEFAULT NULL
    )";
    $result = $conn->prepare($sql);
    $result->execute();

    [handle form submission]

?>

[form goes here]

This will create a table named “Instagram” in your database named “test”. The table will have the following columns:

  1. id (primary key)
  2. URL shortcode of Instagram post
  3. Path of the image stored in your server
  4. Path of video stored in your server
  5. Caption (if any) of post
  6. Number of likes on a post
  7. Number of comments on a post

Saving Instagram Feed in MySQL using PHP

Now you need to show a form that will show a link that you need to open in your browser. That link will output the JSON string, you need to copy-paste that JSON string into a textbox in the form.

The following code goes in the [form goes here] section:

<form method="POST" action="index.php">
    <p>
        <a href="https://www.instagram.com/{your_page_name}/?__a=1">Goto this link and paste the JSON string in textbox below</a>
    </p>

    <p>
        <label>Paste JSON</label>
        <textarea name="json" rows="10" cols="30" required></textarea>
    </p>

    <input type="submit" name="submit" class="Save" />
</form>

[show instagram feed]

Refresh the page and you will see a link, a textbox, and a submit button. Click on the link and you will see a JSON string, paste that JSON in the textbox and hit submit. Now we need to write the code to save that JSON in our database.

The following code goes in the [handle form submission] section:

// check if form is submitted
if (isset($_POST["submit"]))
{
    // get JSON from textarea
    $json = $_POST["json"];

    // decode JSON into arrays and objects
    $content = json_decode($json);

    // get all the latest posts
    $edges = $content->graphql->user->edge_owner_to_timeline_media->edges;

    mkdir("instagram-media");

    // delete previous posts from our database
    $sql = "DELETE FROM instagram";
    $result = $conn->prepare($sql);
    $result->execute();

    // loop through all posts
    foreach ($edges as $edge)
    {
        // get single post
        $node = $edge->node;

        // get URL shortcode of post
        $url = $node->shortcode;

        // get caption, if any
        $caption = $node->edge_media_to_caption->edges[0]->node->text;

        // get number of likes
        $likes = $node->edge_liked_by->count;

        // get total number of comments
        $comments = $node->edge_media_to_comment->count;

        // save image in our server if uploaded
        $image_path = "";
        if (!is_null($node->display_url))
        {
            $image_path = "instagram-media/" . $url . ".png";
            file_put_contents($image_path, file_get_contents($node->display_url));
        }

        // save video in our server if uploaded
        $video_path = "";
        if (!is_null($node->video_url))
        {
            $video_path = "instagram-media/" . $url . ".mp4";
            file_put_contents($video_path, file_get_contents($node->video_url));
        }

        // insert in database
        $sql = "INSERT INTO instagram(url, image_path, video_path, caption, likes, comments) VALUES (:url, :image_path, :video_path, :caption, :likes, :comments)";
        $result = $conn->prepare($sql);
        $result->execute([
            ":url" => $url,
            ":image_path" => $image_path,
            ":video_path" => $video_path,
            ":caption" => $caption,
            ":likes" => $likes,
            ":comments" => $comments
        ]);
    }

    echo "<p>Done</p>";
}

[fetch all instagram feeds from database]

This will fetch the latest posts from your instagram page or profile. If there is any image or video attached to it, it will be saved in a folder named “instagram-media”. And it’s path will be stored in the database. If all goes well, it will display a message “Done”.

Fetching Instagram Feed from MySQL via PHP

Now we can easily fetch all latest instagram feeds from our database. Replace the section [fetch all instagram feeds from database] with the following code:

// get all posts from database
$sql = "SELECT * FROM instagram ORDER BY id ASC";
$result = $conn->query($sql);
$instagram_feed = $result->fetchAll();

Finally, we need to show them in our HTML. Replace the section [show instagram feed] with the following code:

<main>
    <div class="container">
        <div class="gallery">

            <!-- loop through all rows from database -->
            <?php foreach ($instagram_feed as $feed): ?>
                <div class="gallery-item" tabindex="0">
                    <!-- wrap with anchor tag, when clicked will go to instagram detail post page -->
                    <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/<?php echo $feed['url']; ?>" target="_blank" style="color: white;">

                        <!-- thumbnail of post -->
                        <img src="<?php echo $feed['image_path']; ?>" class="gallery-image" />

                        <div class="gallery-item-info">
                            <ul>
                                <!-- show no. of likes -->
                                <li class="gallery-item-likes">
                                    <i class="fa fa-heart"></i>
                                    <?php echo $feed["likes"]; ?>
                                </li>
                                
                                <!-- show no. of comments -->
                                <li class="gallery-item-comments">
                                    <i class="fa fa-comment"></i>
                                    <?php echo $feed["comments"]; ?>
                                </li>
                            </ul>

                            <!-- show caption -->
                            <p><?php echo $feed["caption"]; ?></p>
                        </div>
                    </a>
                </div>
            <?php endforeach; ?>

        </div>
    </div>
</main>

<!-- style CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="instagram.css?v=<?php echo time(); ?>" />

<!-- font awesome -->
<script src="https://use.fontawesome.com/b8680c3f3d.js"></script>

Comments has been added with each line for explanation. Each post will be wrapped in an anchor tag, so when you clicked on it, you will be redirected to the post’s page on instagram.

Styles

Last thing you are going to need is CSS styles. So create a file named “instagram.css” and paste the following code in it:

/*

All grid code is placed in a 'supports' rule (feature query) at the bottom of the CSS (Line 310). 
        
The 'supports' rule will only run if your browser supports CSS grid.

Flexbox and floats are used as a fallback so that browsers which don't support grid will still recieve a similar layout.

*/

/* Base Styles */

*,
*::before,
*::after {
    box-sizing: border-box;
}

body {
    font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;
    min-height: 100vh;
    background-color: #fafafa;
    color: #262626;
    padding-bottom: 3rem;
}

img {
    display: block;
}

.container {
    max-width: 93.5rem;
    margin: 0 auto;
    padding: 0 2rem;
}

.btn {
    display: inline-block;
    font: inherit;
    background: none;
    border: none;
    color: inherit;
    padding: 0;
    cursor: pointer;
}

.btn:focus {
    outline: 0.5rem auto #4d90fe;
}

.visually-hidden {
    position: absolute !important;
    height: 1px;
    width: 1px;
    overflow: hidden;
    clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);
}

/* Profile Section */

.profile {
    padding: 5rem 0;
}

.profile::after {
    content: "";
    display: block;
    clear: both;
}

.profile-image {
    float: left;
    width: calc(33.333% - 1rem);
    display: flex;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
    margin-right: 3rem;
}

.profile-image img {
    border-radius: 50%;
}

.profile-user-settings,
.profile-stats,
.profile-bio {
    float: left;
    width: calc(66.666% - 2rem);
}

.profile-user-settings {
    margin-top: 1.1rem;
}

.profile-user-name {
    display: inline-block;
    font-size: 3.2rem;
    font-weight: 300;
}

.profile-edit-btn {
    font-size: 1.4rem;
    line-height: 1.8;
    border: 0.1rem solid #dbdbdb;
    border-radius: 0.3rem;
    padding: 0 2.4rem;
    margin-left: 2rem;
}

.profile-settings-btn {
    font-size: 2rem;
    margin-left: 1rem;
}

.profile-stats {
    margin-top: 2.3rem;
}

.profile-stats li {
    display: inline-block;
    font-size: 1.6rem;
    line-height: 1.5;
    margin-right: 4rem;
    cursor: pointer;
}

.profile-stats li:last-of-type {
    margin-right: 0;
}

.profile-bio {
    font-size: 1.6rem;
    font-weight: 400;
    line-height: 1.5;
    margin-top: 2.3rem;
}

.profile-real-name,
.profile-stat-count,
.profile-edit-btn {
    font-weight: 600;
}

/* Gallery Section */

.gallery {
    display: flex;
    flex-wrap: wrap;
    margin: -1rem -1rem;
    padding-bottom: 3rem;
}

.gallery-item {
    position: relative;
    flex: 1 0 22rem;
    margin: 1rem;
    color: #fff;
    cursor: pointer;
}

.gallery-item:hover .gallery-item-info,
.gallery-item:focus .gallery-item-info {
    display: inline-block;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
}
.gallery-item-info ul {
    text-align: center;
    position: relative;
    top: 50%;
    transform: translateY(-50%);
    padding-left: 0px;
    margin-top: 0px;
    margin-bottom: 0px;
}
.gallery-item-info p {
    position: relative;
    top: 50%;
    text-align: center;
    margin-top: 0px;
    padding-left: 10px;
    padding-right: 10px;
}

.gallery-item-info {
    display: none;
}

.gallery-item-info li {
    display: inline-block;
    font-size: 1.7rem;
    font-weight: 600;
}

.gallery-item-likes {
    margin-right: 2.2rem;
}

.gallery-item-type {
    position: absolute;
    top: 1rem;
    right: 1rem;
    font-size: 2.5rem;
    text-shadow: 0.2rem 0.2rem 0.2rem rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

.fa-clone,
.fa-comment {
    transform: rotateY(180deg);
}

.gallery-image {
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    object-fit: cover;
}

/* Media Query */

@media screen and (max-width: 40rem) {
    .profile {
        display: flex;
        flex-wrap: wrap;
        padding: 4rem 0;
    }

    .profile::after {
        display: none;
    }

    .profile-image,
    .profile-user-settings,
    .profile-bio,
    .profile-stats {
        float: none;
        width: auto;
    }

    .profile-image img {
        width: 7.7rem;
    }

    .profile-user-settings {
        flex-basis: calc(100% - 10.7rem);
        display: flex;
        flex-wrap: wrap;
        margin-top: 1rem;
    }

    .profile-user-name {
        font-size: 2.2rem;
    }

    .profile-edit-btn {
        order: 1;
        padding: 0;
        text-align: center;
        margin-top: 1rem;
    }

    .profile-edit-btn {
        margin-left: 0;
    }

    .profile-bio {
        font-size: 1.4rem;
        margin-top: 1.5rem;
    }

    .profile-edit-btn,
    .profile-bio,
    .profile-stats {
        flex-basis: 100%;
    }

    .profile-stats {
        order: 1;
        margin-top: 1.5rem;
    }

    .profile-stats ul {
        display: flex;
        text-align: center;
        padding: 1.2rem 0;
        border-top: 0.1rem solid #dadada;
        border-bottom: 0.1rem solid #dadada;
    }

    .profile-stats li {
        font-size: 1.4rem;
        flex: 1;
        margin: 0;
    }

    .profile-stat-count {
        display: block;
    }
}

/*

The following code will only run if your browser supports CSS grid.

Remove or comment-out the code block below to see how the browser will fall-back to flexbox & floated styling. 

*/

@supports (display: grid) {
    .profile {
        display: grid;
        grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr;
        grid-template-rows: repeat(3, auto);
        grid-column-gap: 3rem;
        align-items: center;
    }

    .profile-image {
        grid-row: 1 / -1;
    }

    .gallery {
        display: grid;
        grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(22rem, 1fr));
        grid-gap: 2rem;
    }

    .profile-image,
    .profile-user-settings,
    .profile-stats,
    .profile-bio,
    .gallery-item,
    .gallery {
        width: auto;
        margin: 0;
    }

    @media (max-width: 40rem) {
        .profile {
            grid-template-columns: auto 1fr;
            grid-row-gap: 1.5rem;
        }

        .profile-image {
            grid-row: 1 / 2;
        }

        .profile-user-settings {
            display: grid;
            grid-template-columns: auto 1fr;
            grid-gap: 1rem;
        }

        .profile-edit-btn,
        .profile-stats,
        .profile-bio {
            grid-column: 1 / -1;
        }

        .profile-user-settings,
        .profile-edit-btn,
        .profile-settings-btn,
        .profile-bio,
        .profile-stats {
            margin: 0;
        }
    }
}

If you refresh the page now, you will be able to view all the posts from your database in a grid format. There will be 3 posts in each row. Now you have all the code with the style, you can customize it as per your needs.

So that’s how you can show your Instagram feed without API using simple PHP and MySQL.

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Published by adnanafzal565