jackwener/OpenCLI · error · ArgumentError

Invalid Instagram shortcode: ${shortcode}

Error message

Invalid Instagram shortcode: ${shortcode}

What it means

Thrown by parseInstagramMediaTarget when the extracted shortcode cannot be converted to a media id by shortcodeToMediaId (it returned a falsy value). This means the shortcode is structurally invalid — not a real Instagram base64 shortcode.

Source

Thrown at clis/instagram/download.js:77

    if (host !== INSTAGRAM_HOST_SUFFIX && !host.endsWith(`.${INSTAGRAM_HOST_SUFFIX}`)) {
        throw new ArgumentError(`Unsupported host: ${host}`, 'Only instagram.com URLs are supported');
    }
    const segments = url.pathname.split('/').filter(Boolean);
    let kind;
    let shortcode;
    if (segments.length >= 2 && SUPPORTED_KINDS.has(segments[0])) {
        kind = segments[0];
        shortcode = segments[1];
    }
    else if (segments.length >= 3 && SUPPORTED_KINDS.has(segments[1])) {
        kind = segments[1];
        shortcode = segments[2];
    }
    if (!kind || !shortcode) {
        throw new ArgumentError(`Unsupported Instagram media URL: ${raw}`, 'Only /p/<shortcode>/, /reel/<shortcode>/, and /tv/<shortcode>/ links are supported');
    }
    if (!shortcodeToMediaId(shortcode)) {
        throw new ArgumentError(`Invalid Instagram shortcode: ${shortcode}`, 'Copy the link straight from the post, without escaping it');
    }
    return {
        kind: kind,
        shortcode,
        canonicalUrl: `https://www.instagram.com/${kind}/${shortcode}/`,
    };
}
export function buildInstagramDownloadItems(shortcode, items) {
    if (!Array.isArray(items)) {
        throw new CommandExecutionError('Instagram media metadata returned a malformed media list');
    }
    return items.map((item, index) => {
        if (!item || typeof item !== 'object' || !['image', 'video'].includes(item.type)) {
            throw new CommandExecutionError(`Instagram media metadata returned malformed media item #${index + 1}`);
        }
        let downloadUrl;
        try {
            downloadUrl = new URL(String(item.url || ''));

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Copy the link directly from the post's Share > Copy Link and paste unmodified
2. Remove any shell escaping/backslashes from the shortcode
3. Verify the shortcode only contains expected base64 URL characters (letters, digits, - and _)

Example fix

// before
igdl 'https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxyz\\123/'
// after
igdl 'https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxyz123/'

const m = raw.match(/\/(?:p|reel|tv)\/([^/?#]+)/);
const shortcode = m && m[1];
if (!shortcode || !/^[A-Za-z0-9_-]+$/.test(shortcode)) throw new Error('Invalid shortcode; copy the link unmodified from the post');

function hasValidShortcode(v) {
  const m = String(v).match(/\/(?:p|reel|tv)\/([^/?#]+)/);
  return !!m && /^[A-Za-z0-9_-]+$/.test(m[1]);
}

try {
  await igDownload(raw);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.name === 'ArgumentError' && /Invalid Instagram shortcode/.test(e.message)) {
    console.error('Re-copy the link via Share > Copy Link; remove shell escapes.');
  } else throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: The /p/<code>/ path contains an empty, truncated, or corrupted shortcode (e.g. shell-escaped characters, %XX sequences left in, a typo'd code).

Common situations: Escaping the URL in shell so % or backslashes remain in the shortcode; manually typing the shortcode with mistakes; truncated copies from logs.

Related errors

• <train-no> "${trainNo}" does not look like a 12306 internal
• --from station must not be empty
• --to station must not be empty
• --seat-types must contain only 12306 seat letters/digits (A-
• --from and --to must differ; both resolved to ${fromStation.

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2c7b61d5b45d95c1. Report an issue: GitHub.