Setup & First Run¶
Run the setup wizard¶
This page assumes Instagram Monitor is already installed (see Installation). It walks through the interactive setup wizard then your first monitoring run. If you opened this page first, choose PyPI, the manual Python script, the Docker image or Docker Compose, finish that method's steps then return here.
Then use the interactive setup wizard. It asks which Instagram accounts to monitor, whether to use a saved login, how often to poll, which interface to start and which alerts to enable. Leave the targets question empty if you want to start with only the Web Dashboard then add accounts in your browser. Terminal Dashboard and plain-text setups ask for at least one target before saving. The polling interval accepts seconds directly, decimal units such as 1.5h or compound durations such as 1h 30m. Supported units are s, m, h and d. You can review and change your answers before saving. Regular settings go in instagram_monitor.conf. Private values such as passwords and webhook URLs go in .env.
For a local install, the wizard can check the setup and start monitoring immediately. In a container, it prints the next Docker or Docker Compose commands to run.
Use the tab that matches how you installed the tool. Copy and run only the commands in that tab.
Run setup from the directory used during installation. You do not need to download docker-compose.yml again.
On a native Linux container engine, run these shell commands in the same terminal immediately before setup unless the variables are already set there or you saved the numeric values in the Compose .env file during installation. For permanent project values, use the numeric .env form under Install with Docker Compose. Docker-compatible runtimes on macOS and Windows should skip this export block.
Then run setup by itself:
Run interactive setup commands by themselves instead of including them in a multi-command paste.
In Windows Command Prompt replace ${PWD} with %cd%. Windows hosts must use Linux containers. The :z suffix is for hosts that use SELinux. If your Docker-compatible runtime reports that it is invalid, remove only :z.
In this documentation, a target is an Instagram account you want to monitor. The session account is the Instagram account that Instagram Monitor uses to sign in. They can be different accounts.
The wizard recommends importing a saved Firefox login. On macOS and Linux it can also import from Chrome, Brave or Chromium. Those three browsers require the optional pycookiecheat package. If it is missing, the wizard can install it in a local Python installation.
The wizard detects PyPI, a downloaded script, Docker or Docker Compose and prints matching commands. It also formats file paths for the current operating system.
Container setup destinations must stay inside /data. That directory is the current host directory mounted into the temporary setup container, so files written there survive --rm. The wizard rejects paths such as /tmp/instagram_monitor.conf instead of printing a command for a different file.
For Docker or Docker Compose, choose Import from Firefox after setup. The wizard asks whether Docker runs on macOS, standard Linux, Linux with Snap, Linux with Flatpak, Windows PowerShell or Windows Command Prompt. It then prints the matching command to mount the signed-in host profile read-only once and save the imported login in the persistent instagram_monitor_session volume. Windows commands use the Firefox profile under %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox.
Firefox import works in every local installation without an extra package. Chrome, Brave and Chromium import works on macOS and Linux with the optional browser dependency. Container setup uses Firefox because Chromium cookie decryption needs a password service from the host that is not available inside the container. See Session Login Using Browser Cookies.
If no targets or Web Dashboard setting have been saved, running the tool with no arguments opens the wizard in an interactive terminal. Leave its targets question empty then select Web dashboard to save an empty browser control panel. If TARGET_USERNAMES contains saved targets, the same command starts monitoring them. If only the Web Dashboard is enabled, it starts an empty browser control panel where you can add targets.
Not sure which command you need?¶
The table uses the PyPI command. If you chose another installation, use its command prefix instead of instagram_monitor.
| I want to... | Run this |
|---|---|
| Set up Instagram Monitor for the first time | Use the setup command for your installation above |
| Try public monitoring without a login | instagram_monitor <target_insta_user> |
Start targets saved in TARGET_USERNAMES |
instagram_monitor --config-file instagram_monitor.conf or docker compose up --no-log-prefix |
| Start a browser control panel without targets | instagram_monitor --web-dashboard |
| Monitor several accounts | instagram_monitor target_1 target_2 or instagram_monitor --targets target_1,target_2 |
| Check the selected login, connectivity and targets | instagram_monitor --doctor |
| See stories, reels and follower details | Import a browser session then run instagram_monitor -u <your_insta_user> <target_insta_user> |
Run Individual Commands¶
The examples below use PyPI. For a manual script, replace instagram_monitor with python3 instagram_monitor.py on macOS or Linux. Use python instagram_monitor.py on Windows. Docker users should copy the matching prefix under Command Format by Installation Method.
Track a public account in No-Login Mode:
For stories, reels and detailed follower changes, use Logged-In Mode. Log in to Instagram in a supported browser then import the session. Firefox is the recommended local path:
instagram_monitor --import-browser-session --browser firefox
instagram_monitor -u <your_insta_user> <target_insta_user>
The import converts the browser login into a saved Instaloader session. The value passed to -u must be the username of that logged-in account. Container users must use the same instagram_monitor_session Docker volume for the import and later monitoring runs. The complete import command is under Container Operation.
Launch the Web Dashboard with a target or as an empty control panel:
A one-off Compose command needs --service-ports so the browser can reach the dashboard. A direct Docker command needs a port mapping. Both complete commands are under Monitoring Mode.
View every command-line option plus examples adapted to the detected installation:
Next Step¶
With a login chosen and a first run working, continue to Configuration for settings precedence, saved targets, session login, SMTP and secrets. See View Modes for the text, terminal and web dashboards then Usage for command formats, monitoring, container operation, notifications and output.