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Download your Instagram data

The viewer works best with the official Instagram export in JSON format.

What to request from Instagram​

When you request your archive from Instagram:

  • choose JSON
  • include messages
  • keep the archive complete instead of trimming it if you want full search coverage later

Why JSON matters​

The app and scripts are built around Instagram's exported JSON structure:

  • inbox folders
  • messages.json files
  • per-thread media references
  • participant metadata and timestamps

HTML exports are much harder to normalize and are not the preferred path for this project.

Expected folder shape​

After extracting the archive, the part that matters most usually looks similar to this:

your_instagram_activity/
  messages/
    inbox/
      examplethread_123456789/
        messages.json
        photos/
        videos/
        audio/

The viewer build scripts read the inbox folders, summarize each conversation into inbox_index.json, and then write a SQLite database for fast loading and search.

Where to place the archive locally​

For the current local workflow, the app expects the archive data under:

instagram-archive-viewer/public/data/your_instagram_activity/messages/inbox

If you are using the project scripts, they will read from that path and create:

  • public/data/your_instagram_activity/messages/inbox_index.json
  • public/data/your_instagram_activity/messages/archive.sqlite
  1. Download the archive from Instagram.
  2. Extract it somewhere outside the app first so you can verify the folder structure.
  3. Copy only the your_instagram_activity directory into the app's public/data area.
  4. Keep the original untouched archive as your backup.

Common mistakes​

Using the wrong export format​

If the export is HTML instead of JSON, the current pipeline will not give you the same clean results.

Copying the wrong folder depth​

Do not nest the archive one level too deep. The app should see:

public/data/your_instagram_activity/messages/inbox

not:

public/data/some-random-folder/your_instagram_activity/messages/inbox

Missing media​

If photos, videos, or audio files are missing from the archive folder, the viewer can still show the message records, but media previews will be incomplete.

What happens next​

Once the archive is in place, move on to running the project locally.