[UNMAINTAINED] insta_reddit_bot

This repository is no longer maintained and the codebase might not work properly. You can request help by creating an issue, however it's highly likely I won't be able to help, as I no longer use this script myself and thus am no longer updating its code.

A bot for Instagram which pulls images from Reddit. It was the source code for @me_irl_bot (later @me.irl.bot) and @ik_ihe_bot, before they all got deleted by Instagram (for violating the TOS on certain posts, AFAIK). The first run had over 200,000 followers.

Requirements

The following software needs to be installed on your system in order for this bot to work:

• NodeJS
• npm (often included with NodeJS)
• youtube-dl and ffmpeg for video support

Now keep in mind that I run the bot on Linux (Raspbian), so this guide is also focused on Linux. You should be able to run this bot on other operating systems as well, but for video support it might require some modifying of the code in the video-mediahandler. Automation-wise, I also have no idea how to do that on other systems, so you would have to figure that out yourself. Don't have a Linux system? Luckily, a Raspberry Pi can fix that for you - it's a small little system that is perfect for situations like these. I run my bot on one too. You can get them for prices as low as $35-40.

Installation

Disclaimer: by using this bot, you will not have control over what your account will be posting - the bot will post whatever the subreddit(s) you choose to mirror from upvotes. In essence, this means that sometimes the bot might post pictures that do not follow Instagram's Terms of Service, which could result in Instagram taking action against your account, such as permanently deleting it. By using this bot, you agree with the fact that I am not responsible for any damages to your account(s) or other possessions in any means, whatever the cause.

Download or clone this repository into an empty folder. Copy the file settings.template.json, name it settings.json and replace the fields that start with ENTER_ for your desired result:

• ENTER_INSTAGRAM_USERNAME_HERE: your Instagram username
• ENTER_INSTAGRAM_PASSWORD_HERE: your Instagram password
• ENTER_RANDOM_WORD_HERE: a random word, like spaghetti or meatballs or whatever
• ENTER_A_SUBREDDIT_HERE: a subreddit to mirror posts from

Please note that two-factor authentication is not supported, so disable that for any account you plan on using. Also, I shouldn't have to mention this, but be careful showing/sharing any of the contents from this file - it does contain your password.

After creating this file, open a CLI, change directory to the project's folder (cd /PATH/TO/PROJECT), then run npm install and wait for the installation to complete.

Mirroring from multiple subreddits

Ever since version 0.2.0 of this bot, mirroring from multiple subreddits is supported. To set this up, modify the subreddits in settings.json like the example below:

"subreddits": {
  "/r/me_irl": 30,
  "/r/meirl": 40,
  "/r/hmmm": 25
  "/r/ik_ihe": 5
}

The number behind the subreddit's name is the chance of the subreddit being chosen by the bot during runtime. All the chances combined together must equal 100 (30+40+25+5=100), otherwise the bot will purposefully run into an error (a total of >100 might cause performance issues, eventually).

This means you can mirror from a maximum of 100 subreddits from a single bot instance (when every subreddit's chance equals 1).

Automating the bot: scheduling

Previously, you had to automate the bot by using cron on Linux. Ever since version 0.3.0, the bot acts like a service on your computer, instead of a script. This means the automation tool is now built-in. To modify the times at which the bot posts, please take a look at the hourly_timings field in settings.json. Every row listed there, equals one hour. Every number in between the square brackets, is a minute at which the bot will post. An example:

"hourly_timings": [
  [12, 32, 52],
  [12, 32],
  [12, 45],
  [4],
  [],
  [50],
  [10],
  [30, 34, 38],
  ...

In this example, the bot would post at 0:12, 0:32, 0:52, 1:12, 1:32, 2:12, 2:45, 3:04, 5:50, 6:10, 7:30, 7:34 and 7:38. There's 24 rows in hourly_timings, so as you might have guessed, this schedule is in a 24-hour format. The bot expects 24 rows to be present at all times. In order to not post at specific hours, just remove all the numbers from in between the square brackets (so that it becomes an empty array, like in the example at 4 'o clock).

Discord integration

For moderation purposes, this bot includes a Discord integration, which you can enable in settings.json. To make it work, create a new application in the Discord Developer Portal, add a bot and set the token accordingly in settings.json. In your Discord server, create two text channels: one for sending commands to the bot, and one for system messages (from the bot itself). Right-click these channels, and copy the ID. Enter those in settings.json. Then add the bot to your server (use the OAuth2 section in the Discord Developer Portal to easily do this).

Commands

• !blacklist <redditPostUrl/redditPostId>: add a post from Reddit to the blacklist. This post will not get uploaded to Instagram.
• !ping: check if the bot is up and running.

To view more commands, use !help.

Running the bot

To run the bot, simply run the command node bot.js in the project's folder. To keep the bot running in the background, please check this Stack Overflow page.

Please do not use this library for spamming purposes

I did not create this library to spam Instagram. Please respect this, and do not use it to flood Instagram with posts. Posting a maximum of 3 times an hour should be more than enough.

Explanation of all settings in settings.json

Instagram

• username: Instagram username
• password: Instagram password, in plaintext
• seed: a random seed which is used to generate a fake device to sign in from
• credits_in_caption: whether or not the credits are included in the caption. If the value here is false, the credits will be posted as comment. There's no way to disable credits.
• credits_format: the format string for the credits posted in the caption or comments. %subreddit% will get replaced by the subreddit's name, %user% by the username of the user who posted the mirrored post, and %url% with a shortlink to this post. Other than that, you can do with this string as you want! Make it your language, add other stuff, whatever you need.
• restart_every: a number which states how many hours need to pass before relogging in to Instagram (due to a session timeout). Currently not used.

Reddit

• subreddits: the subreddits to mirror from. See mirroring from multiple subreddits for a more in-depth explanation.

Discord

• enabled: if true, Discord integration will be enabled
• token: a Discord bot token, generated in the Discord Developer Portal (under the bot section)
• prefix: the prefix used by the bot for commands. Defaults to !.
• channels > commands: a channel ID in a Discord server, used for sending commands to the bot
• channels > system: a channel ID in a Discord server, used for sending system messages to the Discord server

Schedule

• human_error: currently not used
• hourly_timings: the schedule which the bot will follow for posts. See automating the bot for a more in-depth explanation.

F.A.Q.

How do I start the bot automatically at boot?

Use cron. Here's a guide: https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-execute-cron-job-after-system-reboot/

I'm getting the IgActionSpamError or IgSentryBlockError error. How can I fix this?

Replace the seed value in settings.json (under instagram). Then remove handlers/cookies.json and restart the bot. If If this does not fix your issue, it might be your IP-address that has been blocked from using Instagram's services. There's no way to circumvent this, except from using a VPN or proxy for your bot.

How do I add hashtags or modify the credits line?

Modify handlers/instagram.js. If you wish to modify the caption's text, modify line 177, else if you wish to change the comment's text, modify line 21.

My Instagram account has been banned, what do I do?

If it's the account that has been banned, there's nothing more you can do other than contacting Instagram and appealing the ban, or creating a new account. Use this bot at your own risk, and try not to spam using it.

Need more help?

If you've encountered an issue with the bot that's probably linked to the code, check the Issues if the issue has been solved before, and if not, create a new one. If you need any more help setting up your bot, feel free to send me a message on Instagram! You can find me at @freekbes.

Contributing

If you wish to contribute to this repository, feel free to go ahead. To debug a post, you can use node bot.js -debug <redditPostId>. The post will get downloaded and converted for Instagram, but it won't get uploaded. To actually upload to Instagram while debugging a post, add the -forceig flag. You can find the post ID of a Reddit post in the URL of the comment section, it's the piece of text after /comments/ up until the next /-character.

If something's up with the Instagram side of things, run npm script debug. This will cause the bot to run with some arguments that specify the Instagram part to log more, for debugging purposes.