jackwener/OpenCLI · error

HTTP ' + r2.status + ' - make sure you are logged in to…

Error message

HTTP ' + r2.status + ' - make sure you are logged in to Instagram

What it means

The feed-by-username endpoint returned a non-OK HTTP status, most commonly 401/403 when the session is missing or Instagram rejects the request. The message deliberately hints the usual cause: not being logged in. Unlike web_profile_info, this endpoint still works for business accounts, so failures are almost always session/rate related.

Solutions

1. Log into Instagram in the browser session the CLI uses, then retry.
2. If 429, back off and slow the request rate.
3. Clear and re-establish cookies after a password change or logout elsewhere.
4. Check the exact status code in the message to pick between auth (401/403) and rate (429) fixes.

const status = await feedStatus(username);
if (status === 401 || status === 403) throw new Error('Login required before listing posts');

try {
  await cli.user(username);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.includes('make sure you are logged in')) {
    console.error('Session invalid — open the browser profile and log into Instagram, then retry.');
  } else if (e.message.includes('HTTP 429')) {
    console.error('Rate limited — wait before retrying.');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: GET /api/v1/feed/user/{username}/username/?count=N returns 401/403/429 — no valid session cookie, expired login, or too-frequent calls.

Common situations: Running the CLI without first logging into Instagram in the driven browser; cookies expired after password change; scraping many profiles quickly and hitting throttling.

Understand the failure class

Background: 'Something went wrong' / 'Request failed (500)' / 'HTTP error! status: 404' — what failed HTTP requests actually mean and how to find the real cause — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• Failed to unsave: HTTP ' + r2.status
• HTTP ' + res.status + ' - make sure you are logged in to…
• Could not fetch lists
• Failed to fetch followers: HTTP ' + r2.status
• Failed to follow: HTTP ' + r2.status

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/336174a254a01851. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at clis/instagram/user.js:28

        { name: 'limit', type: 'int', default: 12, help: 'Number of posts' },
    ],
    columns: ['index', 'caption', 'likes', 'comments', 'type', 'date'],
    pipeline: [
        { navigate: 'https://www.instagram.com' },
        { evaluate: `(async () => {
  const username = \${{ args.username | json }};
  const limit = \${{ args.limit }};
  const headers = { 'X-IG-App-ID': '936619743392459' };
  const opts = { credentials: 'include', headers };

  // Fetch directly by username. web_profile_info is gated for some public
  // accounts even with a valid session, while this feed endpoint still returns
  // the same media item shape this command maps.
  const r2 = await fetch(
    'https://www.instagram.com/api/v1/feed/user/' + encodeURIComponent(username) + '/username/?count=' + limit,
    opts
  );
  if (!r2.ok) throw new Error('HTTP ' + r2.status + ' - make sure you are logged in to Instagram');
  const d2 = await r2.json();
  return (d2?.items || []).slice(0, limit).map((p, i) => ({
    index: i + 1,
    caption: (p.caption?.text || '').replace(/\\n/g, ' ').substring(0, 100),
    likes: p.like_count ?? 0,
    comments: p.comment_count ?? 0,
    type: p.media_type === 1 ? 'photo' : p.media_type === 2 ? 'video' : 'carousel',
    date: p.taken_at ? new Date(p.taken_at * 1000).toLocaleDateString() : '',
  }));
})()
` },
    ],
});

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