ergosteurandClaude Opus 5
89bd5346db
Every claim in docs/gallery-dl.md was measured against the live site and
the archive rather than taken from documentation, because two of the
assumptions turned out to be wrong.
The safety model is the reason the config looks the way it does.
gallery-dl has two API backends: the graphql one issues a request PER
POST for every video and carousel -- the pattern that got this account
banned via Instaloader -- while the default rest one paginates listings
at 30-50 items and carries carousel_media, video_versions and
product_type inline. A 300-post profile costs ~10 requests.
Findings worth recording:
- JD2 stamped filenames in desktop LOCAL time (US Eastern), not UTC.
Across 212 comparable posts: UTC 19 mismatches, UTC-5 10, UTC-4 zero.
{date:Olocal/%Y-%m-%d} reproduces it; the trailing separator must be
omitted or it lands in the strftime format.
- A profile's reels tab returns collab reels owned by OTHER accounts, so
the directory must be forced with -D. JD2 did the same: chuuo3o and
official_artms filenames sit inside "0ct0ber19 - reels".
- Stories and highlights need per-item {shortcode}; {post_shortcode} is
the reel's id and is shared by every item. {date} is per-item, verified
on a 154-item highlight with distinct times.
- gallery-dl reproduces JD2's caption .txt exactly, including writing
nothing for an empty caption and omitting the trailing newline.
- The json sidecar needs `include`, not `fields`; `fields` silently does
nothing in mode:json and leaks audio_user blobs. It yields `type`
(post/reel) -- Instagram's own flag, which can retire the lone-video
heuristic once the scanner reads it.
Naming differences between the two tools are cosmetic: EXPORT_RE already
makes the index optional and parseInt normalises zero-padding, so a mixed
archive parses identically. Tests pin that down.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
InstaArchive Viewer
A high-performance React PWA for browsing archived Instagram data with a native-feeling interface. Supports both official Instagram exports and Instaloader archives.
Features
- Advanced Carousel: Seamless, zero-latency transitions between slides with intelligent preloading. Navigating between different posts is now near-instant thanks to inter-post background preloading.
- High-Res Performance: Handles 50MP+ images effortlessly using a background Web Worker and a memory-safe serial processing queue.
- Persistent Local Caching: Uses IndexedDB to store parsed archives and generated thumbnails. Local folders now load instantly from cache on return visits without needing to re-upload files.
- Permalinks: State is synchronized with the URL, allowing you to share direct links to archives, tabs, or specific posts. Navigating back to the explorer cleans up URL parameters automatically.
- Glassy Scanning UI: A refined, translucent white terminal experience with flicker-free, double-buffered dynamic blurred backgrounds.
- PWA with Auto-Update: Fully offline-capable and installable. Clients automatically receive updates when a new version is deployed to the server.
- Local Privacy: All processing is done client-side. Even when using the self-hosted version, your media is processed locally in your browser and never uploaded.
- Smart Fallbacks: Automatically detects usernames from folder names and uses the oldest archive image as a profile picture if one is missing.
- Customizable Grid: 1:1 or 3:4 aspect ratios with adjustable "bumps" for aesthetic alignment.
- Story Viewer: Native-like story experience with segmented progress bars, auto-playback, and audio controls.
- Navigation Protection: Intercepts accidental browser "Back" or "Refresh" actions to protect your current session.
Deployment
Docker (Recommended)
The easiest way to run InstaArchive is using Docker.
docker run -d \
-p 3000:3000 \
-v /path/to/your/archives:/archives:ro \
ghcr.io/ergosteur/instaarchive-viewer:latest
Note for Linux/SELinux users: If you see "Permission Denied" in the logs, append
,zto your volume mount:-v /path/to/archives:/archives:ro,z
Docker Compose
Create a compose.yml file:
services:
instaarchive:
image: ghcr.io/ergosteur/instaarchive-viewer:latest
ports:
- "3000:3000"
volumes:
- ./archives:/archives:ro,z # ,z handles SELinux permissions
Troubleshooting Permissions
If the app shows "No Archives Found" and logs EACCES: permission denied:
- Check Directory Permissions: Ensure the archive folder is world-readable:
chmod -R 755 /path/to/archives - SELinux (Fedora/RHEL/CentOS): Use the
:zflag in your volume mount as shown above. - User Mapping: The container runs as the non-root
nodeuser (UID 1000). If your archives are readable only by another account, run as that user instead — the container needs to list the archive directory, so--x(traverse-only) permissions are not enough:In Compose:docker run --user $(stat -c '%u:%g' /path/to/archives) ...services: instaarchive: user: "1234:1234" # a UID that can read your archives
Archive Index
On first start the server walks the archive root once and caches the result,
keyed by directory mtime. This matters on network storage: for a 110k-file
archive root, listing went from ~52s per request to ~0.1s. Mount a volume at
/cache (or set CACHE_DIR) so the index survives restarts, otherwise it is
rebuilt on every start.
Supported Archive Structure
Place your archive folders inside the mounted /archives directory. The directory name will be used as the account username.
Example Structure:
archives/
├── wanderlust_explorer/ # Instaloader format
│ ├── 2024-01-01_12-00-00_UTC.jpg
│ ├── 2024-01-01_12-00-00_UTC.json.xz
│ └── wanderlust_explorer_profile_pic.jpg
└── pixel_architect/ # Instagram Export format
├── 2023-12-25_pixel_architect - post_123.jpg
├── 2023-12-25_pixel_architect - post_123.json
└── pixel_architect.jpg
Local Development
Prerequisites: Node.js (LTS recommended)
- Install dependencies:
npm install - Start dev server:
npm run dev(Frontend on port 3000) - Start local backend:
npm run server(Optional, serves./_sample-archiveson port 3001) - Build production:
npm run build(Generates./distfor frontend and./dist-serverfor the API)