How do I mock the Instagram Graph API locally?

Install stunt, add a one-service block to stunt.yaml (adapter: embedded:instagram-style), and run stunt up. You get a local, stateful stand-in for Instagram Graph API v21.0 — 10 routes over rest — with no remote account, no network, and no bills.

Is the Instagram Graph API mock data synthetic?

Yes — entirely. The adapter returns generated data only; stunt's adapter lint rejects real-looking secrets and PII at build time. It simulates the shape and behavior of Instagram Graph API (routes, status codes, pagination, webhooks), never real records.

← all adapters

instagram-style

simulates Instagram Graph API v21.0

restadapter v0.1.010 routes

verification

VMVM tier — no SDK suite yet· surface 10 · not implemented 4 · differs 5

use it

# add to stunt.yaml
services:
  instagram:
    adapter: embedded:instagram-style

# then
$ stunt up

The embedded: source extracts this adapter from the binary — no git clone, fully offline.

how to mock the Instagram Graph API locally

Install stunt, paste the service block above into stunt.yaml, run stunt up — then point your client at localhost instead of Instagram Graph API. It works offline, keeps state across requests and restarts, and every response is synthetic: the route shapes, status codes, pagination, and webhook delivery follow the real Instagram Graph API v21.0 surface — the data is fake, the behavior is real.

backing stores

tokenscodescontainersmedia

api surface (10)

generated from the adapter manifest — exactly what boots, nothing more

10 routes

GET/oauth/authorize

POST/oauth/access_token

GET/v21.0/me

GET/v21.0/refresh_access_token

GET/v21.0/{container_id}

GET/v21.0/{media_id}/comments

GET/v21.0/{media_id}/insights

POST/v21.0/{ig_user_id}/media_publish

POST/v21.0/{ig_user_id}/media

GET/v21.0/{ig_user_id}/media

VM-verified behaviors (44)

✓authorize without redirect_uri, state or client_id is invalid_request
✓authorize redirects back with a fresh code and the state echoed
✓a redirect_uri that already carries a query is joined with &
✓the exchange demands grant_type=authorization_code
✓an unknown code is 400 invalid_grant
✓a good exchange mints a token bound to a fresh IG user
✓the code is single-use: a replay is invalid_grant
✓client mismatches are 400 invalid_client
✓a mismatched attempt must not burn the code
✓a second flow mints a distinct user
✓a missing bearer is 401 in the Graph error envelope
✓wrong schemes and unknown bearers answer the same 190
✓every API route enforces the same gate
✓a bearer dies at its clock-derived 60-day expiry
✓me returns the OAuth-bound profile
✓media_count starts at 0 and tracks published media
✓a second user's profile counts only its own media
✓a container without image_url or video_url is a code-100 400
✓create assigns a c_* container id
✓a fresh container polls IN_PROGRESS and publish is gated
✓the status derives FINISHED after the ~3s window
✓publishing a FINISHED container assigns an m_* media id
✓simulate_fail ends in ERROR and never publishes
✓unknown container ids answer the catch-all 404
✓a video container publishes VIDEO media carrying the video url
✓the media edge lists newest first (reverse chronological)
✓?fields= projects each row and drops unknown fields
✓limit pages through after cursors with a next that keeps the query
✓a malformed after cursor is a code-100 400
✓the list is scoped to the path user
✓all four manifest metrics return in canonical order
✓values are deterministic across reads
✓?metric= filters to the requested names
✓an unknown metric name empties the data set (deviation, as-is)
✓insights for an unknown media id are the catch-all 404
✓comments authorize via the access_token query param
✓the bearer header authorizes the identical read
✓a bad query token is the 190 envelope
✓since hides comments at-or-before the cutoff
✓comments on an unknown media id are a code-100 OAuthException 404
✓refresh demands a token (query param or bearer)
✓an unknown token is rejected with 190
✓refresh mints a fresh 60-day token; the old one keeps working
✓the refreshed token outlives the original's expiry

Not implemented (4)

No account-level insights (GET /{ig_user_id}/insights), per-media only
No stories publishing (media_type=STORIES) or story insights
No hashtag search (ig_hashtag_search, top_media, recent_media)
No comment replies, delete, hide, or moderation endpoints

Differs from the real API (5)

Container processing fixed at ~3s IN_PROGRESS before FINISHED or ERROR
simulate_fail=true create flag forces container ERROR; real API has no such switch
Cursors are forward-only plain offsets; no before cursor or paging.previous
An unknown insights metric returns 200 with empty data; real Graph answers error code 100
media_publish does not check container ownership across users

full scorecard →

want more of the Instagram Graph API surface? adapters are YAML + Starlark — the authoring guide covers adding routes, fixtures, and state machines. Open an issue for anything big first, or just file a PR — merged routes ship in the next release.