Release of version 4.0

This improves speed, as get_saved_posts() returns Posts that do not have
owner_profile info. So, printing the owner_username often required an
additional request.

docs/as-module.rst

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
       Documentation of Instaloader module, a powerful and intuitive
       Python library to download Instagram media and metadata.
 
+.. _python-module-instaloader:
+
 Python Module :mod:`instaloader`
 --------------------------------
 
@@ -72,7 +74,10 @@ metadata of a Profile. :class:`Profile` instances can be created with:
      profile = Profile.from_username(L.context, USERNAME)
 
 - :meth:`Profile_from_userid`
-   given its User ID (currently requires to be logged in).
+   given its User ID. This allows to easily lookup a Profile's username given
+   its ID::
+
+      Profile.from_id(L.context, USERID).username
 
 - :meth:`Profile.get_followees`
    Profiles that are followed by given user.

docs/basic-usage.rst

@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
       and private profiles, hashtags, stories, feeds, saved media, and
       their metadata, comments and captions.
 
+.. _download-pictures-from-instagram:
+
 Download Pictures from Instagram
 ---------------------------------
 
@@ -35,7 +37,9 @@ To later **update your local copy** of that profiles, you may run
     instaloader --fast-update profile [profile ...]
 
 If :option:`--fast-update` is given, Instaloader stops when arriving at the
-first already-downloaded picture. When updating profiles, Instaloader
+first already-downloaded picture.
+
+When updating profiles, Instaloader
 automatically **detects profile name changes** and renames the target directory
 accordingly.
 
@@ -90,6 +94,9 @@ downloads the pictures and videos and their captions. You can specify
    **download geotags** of each post and save them as
    Google Maps link,
 
+For a reference of all supported command line options, see
+:ref:`command-line-options`.
+
 .. _filename-specification:
 
 Filename Specification
@@ -237,3 +244,32 @@ files. Say, you now also want to export the number of comments the Posts had
 when they were downloaded::
 
    instaloader --post-metadata-txt="{likes} likes, {comments} comments." <target>/*.json.xz
+
+.. _instaloader-as-cronjob:
+
+Instaloader as Cronjob
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Instaloader is suitable for running as a cronjob to periodically update your
+personal Instagram archive. The :option:`--quiet` option disables user
+interactions and logging of non-error messages. To non-interactively use
+Instaloader logged-in, create a session file, e.g. in your home directory::
+
+   instaloader --login=your_username --sessionfile=~/.instaloader-session
+
+Then use the same parameters in your cronjob to load the session and download
+the given targets::
+
+   instaloader --login=your_username --sessionfile=~/.instaloader-session --quiet <target> [...]
+
+Without :option:`--sessionfile` option, Instaloader saves the session file in
+a path within your temporary directory.
+
+Programming Instaloader
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+If your task cannot be done with the command line interface of Instaloader,
+consider taking a look at the :ref:`python-module-instaloader`.
+Instaloader exposes its internally used methods and structures, making it a
+powerful and intuitive Python API for Instagram, allowing to further customize
+obtaining media and metadata.

docs/cli-options.rst

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+.. _command-line-options:
+
 Command Line Options
 ====================
 
@@ -12,7 +14,9 @@ posts marked as saved).
 
 Here we explain the additional options that can be given to Instaloader to
 customize its behavior.  To get a list of all flags, their abbreviations and
-their descriptions, you may also run ``instaloader --help``.
+their descriptions, you may also run ``instaloader --help``.  For an
+introduction on how to use Instaloader, see
+:ref:`download-pictures-from-instagram`.
 
 What to Download
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
@@ -142,6 +146,10 @@ Instaloader to login.
    Password for your Instagram account.  Without this option, you'll be prompted
    for your password interactively if there is not yet a valid session file.
 
+   .. warning:: Using :option:`--password` option is discouraged for security
+      reasons.  Enter your password interactively when asked, or use the
+      sessionfile feature (:option:`--sessionfile` to customize path).
+
 How to Download
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
@@ -177,5 +185,5 @@ Miscellaneous Options
 .. option:: --quiet, -q
 
    Disable user interaction, i.e. do not print messages (except errors) and fail
-   if login credentials are needed but not given. This makes Instaloader
-   **suitable as a cron job**.
+   if login credentials are needed but not given.
+   This is handy for running :ref:`instaloader-as-cronjob`.

docs/index.rst

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ With `Python <https://www.python.org/>`__ installed, do::
 
     $ instaloader profile [profile ...]
 
+See :ref:`install` for more options on how to install Instaloader.
+
 **Instaloader**
 
 - downloads **public and private profiles, hashtags, user stories,
@@ -44,6 +46,8 @@ With `Python <https://www.python.org/>`__ installed, do::
                 profile | "#hashtag" |
                 :stories | :feed | :saved
 
+See :ref:`download-pictures-from-instagram` for a detailed introduction on how
+to use Instaloader to download pictures from Instagram.
 
 Instaloader Documentation
 -------------------------

docs/installation.rst

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Install Instaloader
 - On **Windows 10**, you may download the standalone executable from the
   `current release page <https://github.com/instaloader/instaloader/releases/latest>`__.
 
-To get the most current version of Instaloader from our
-`Git repository <https://github.com/instaloader/instaloader>`__::
+- To get the most current version of Instaloader from our
+  `Git repository <https://github.com/instaloader/instaloader>`__::
 
-    pip3 install --upgrade git+https://github.com/instaloader/instaloader
+     pip3 install --upgrade git+https://github.com/instaloader/instaloader

instaloader/__init__.py

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 """Download pictures (or videos) along with their captions and other metadata from Instagram."""
 
 
-__version__ = '4.0rc1'
+__version__ = '4.0'
 
 
 try:

instaloader/__main__.py

@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ def _main(instaloader: Instaloader, targetlist: List[str],
                 else:
                     profiles.add(target)
         if len(profiles) > 1:
-            instaloader.context.log("Downloading {} profiles: {}".format(len(profiles), ','.join(profiles)))
+            instaloader.context.log("Downloading {} profiles: {}".format(len(profiles), ' '.join(profiles)))
         # Iterate through profiles list and download them
         for target in profiles:
             with instaloader.context.error_catcher(target):

instaloader/instaloader.py

@@ -529,11 +529,10 @@ class Instaloader:
         for post in Profile.from_username(self.context, self.context.username).get_saved_posts():
             if max_count is not None and count > max_count:
                 break
-            name = post.owner_username
             if post_filter is not None and not post_filter(post):
-                self.context.log("<pic by {} skipped".format(name), flush=True)
+                self.context.log("<{} skipped>".format(post), flush=True)
                 continue
-            self.context.log("[{:>3}] {} ".format(count, name), end=str(), flush=True)
+            self.context.log("[{:>3}] ".format(count), end=str(), flush=True)
             count += 1
             with self.context.error_catcher('Download saved posts'):
                 downloaded = self.download_post(post, target=':saved')
@@ -629,10 +628,6 @@ class Instaloader:
                 else:
                     self.context.log("Trying to find profile {0} using its unique ID {1}.".format(profile_name,
                                                                                                   profile_id))
-                if not self.context.is_logged_in:
-                    self.context.error("Profile {} changed its name. "
-                                       "If you use --login=USERNAME, I can find out the new name.")
-                    raise LoginRequiredException("--login=USERNAME required to obtain profile name from its ID number")
                 profile_from_id = Profile.from_id(self.context, profile_id)
                 newname = profile_from_id.username
                 self.context.log("Profile {0} has changed its name to {1}.".format(profile_name, newname))
@@ -647,7 +642,7 @@ class Instaloader:
                               '{0}/{1}_id'.format(self.dirname_pattern.format(), newname.lower()))
                 return profile_from_id
             return profile
-        except FileNotFoundError:
+        except (FileNotFoundError, ValueError):
             pass
         if profile_exists:
             os.makedirs(self.dirname_pattern.format(profile=profile_name.lower(),

instaloader/instaloadercontext.py

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ class InstaloaderContext:
         self.quiet = quiet
         self.max_connection_attempts = max_connection_attempts
         self._graphql_page_length = 50
+        self._root_rhx_gis = None
 
         # error log, filled with error() and printed at the end of Instaloader.main()
         self.error_log = []
@@ -376,3 +377,14 @@ class InstaloaderContext:
             except KeyboardInterrupt:
                 self.error("[skipped by user]", repeat_at_end=False)
                 raise ConnectionException(error_string) from err
+
+    @property
+    def root_rhx_gis(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        """rhx_gis string returned in the / query."""
+        if self.is_logged_in:
+            # At the moment, rhx_gis seems to be required for anonymous requests only. By returning None when logged
+            # in, we can save the root_rhx_gis lookup query.
+            return None
+        if not self._root_rhx_gis:
+            self._root_rhx_gis = self.get_json('', {})['rhx_gis']
+        return self._root_rhx_gis

instaloader/structures.py

@@ -139,20 +139,17 @@ class Post:
 
     @property
     def owner_profile(self) -> 'Profile':
+        """:class:`Profile` instance of the Post's owner."""
         if not self._owner_profile:
             if 'username' in self._node['owner']:
                 owner_struct = self._node['owner']
             else:
                 # Sometimes, the 'owner' structure does not contain the username, only the user's ID.  In that case,
                 # this call triggers downloading of the complete Post metadata struct, where the owner username
-                # is contained. This is better than to get the username by user ID, since it is possible anonymously
-                # and gives us other information that is more likely to be usable.
+                # is contained.
+                # Note that we cannot use Profile.from_id() here since that would lead us into a recursion.
                 owner_struct = self._full_metadata['owner']
-            if 'username' in owner_struct:
-                self._owner_profile = Profile(self._context, owner_struct)
-            else:
-                # Fallback, if we still did not get the owner username
-                self._owner_profile = Profile.from_id(self._context, owner_struct['id'])
+            self._owner_profile = Profile(self._context, owner_struct)
         return self._owner_profile
 
     @property
@@ -379,17 +376,16 @@ class Profile:
 
     @classmethod
     def from_id(cls, context: InstaloaderContext, profile_id: int):
-        """If logged in, create a Profile instance from a given userid. If possible, use :meth:`Profile.from_username`
-        or constructor directly rather than this method, since does many requests.
+        """Create a Profile instance from a given userid. If possible, use :meth:`Profile.from_username`
+        or constructor directly rather than this method, since it does many requests.
 
         :param context: :attr:`Instaloader.context`
         :param profile_id: userid
-        :raises: :class:`ProfileNotExistsException`, :class:`LoginRequiredException`, :class:`ProfileHasNoPicsException`
+        :raises: :class:`ProfileNotExistsException`, :class:`ProfileHasNoPicsException`
         """
-        if not context.is_logged_in:
-            raise LoginRequiredException("--login=USERNAME required to obtain profile metadata from its ID number.")
         data = context.graphql_query("472f257a40c653c64c666ce877d59d2b",
-                                     {'id': str(profile_id), 'first': 1})['data']['user']
+                                     {'id': str(profile_id), 'first': 1},
+                                     rhx_gis=context.root_rhx_gis)['data']['user']
         if data:
             data = data["edge_owner_to_timeline_media"]
         else:
@@ -400,8 +396,7 @@ class Profile:
                 raise ProfileHasNoPicsException("Profile with ID {0}: no pics found.".format(str(profile_id)))
             else:
                 raise LoginRequiredException("Login required to determine username (ID: " + str(profile_id) + ").")
-        username = Post.from_mediaid(context, int(data['edges'][0]["node"]["id"])).owner_username
-        return cls(context, {'username': username.lower(), 'id': profile_id})
+        return Post(context, data['edges'][0]['node']).owner_profile
 
     def _asdict(self):
         json_node = self._node.copy()

test/instaloader_unittests.py

@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ class TestInstaloaderAnonymously(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(PUBLIC_PROFILE_ID,
                          instaloader.Profile.from_username(self.L.context, PUBLIC_PROFILE).userid)
 
+    def test_get_username_by_id(self):
+        self.assertEqual(PUBLIC_PROFILE.lower(),
+                         instaloader.Profile.from_id(self.L.context, PUBLIC_PROFILE_ID).username)
+
     def test_post_from_mediaid(self):
         for post in instaloader.Profile.from_username(self.L.context, PUBLIC_PROFILE).get_posts():
             post2 = instaloader.Post.from_mediaid(self.L.context, post.mediaid)