# HikerAPI

An MCP server that hands your assistant Instagram data through HikerAPI: profiles, posts, reels, stories, comments, hashtags and locations.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 8
- Author: subzeroid
- License: MIT · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/subzeroid/hikerapi-mcp
- Updated: 2026-10-06
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/hikerapi

## What it does

The server runs locally over stdio and builds its MCP tools from the HikerAPI OpenAPI spec at startup. Every HikerAPI endpoint is read-only, and each tool maps to one call: `GET /v2/user/by/username` becomes `get_v2_user_by_username`. The default set holds roughly 45 tools, one per task, each with a description of when to reach for it. Setting `HIKERAPI_TOOLS=all` exposes every non-deprecated endpoint instead, over a hundred of them.

An API key is mandatory and travels in the `x-access-key` header. Without `HIKERAPI_KEY` the server will not start. Point `HIKERAPI_URL` at a host other than `api.hikerapi.com` or `api.instagrapi.com` and you get a startup warning, because your key goes to that host — keep custom addresses for a self-hosted or proxied HikerAPI.

Environment variables cover the rest: `HIKERAPI_TOOLS` (`core` by default or `all`), `HIKERAPI_TAGS` and `HIKERAPI_EXCLUDE_TAGS` for tag filtering, request and spec timeouts, plus response and spec size caps. The `Legacy` and `System` tags stay out in both modes, and deprecated operations are skipped.

## Requirements
- Needs: Node.js (commands run via npx)
- Environment variables: `HIKERAPI_KEY`, `HIKERAPI_TOOLS` — keys and tokens: ask the human for the values, never commit them or put them in shared files.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add --env HIKERAPI_KEY=<HIKERAPI_KEY> --env HIKERAPI_TOOLS=<HIKERAPI_TOOLS> --transport stdio hikerapi -- npx -y hikerapi-mcp
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add hikerapi --env HIKERAPI_KEY=<HIKERAPI_KEY> --env HIKERAPI_TOOLS=<HIKERAPI_TOOLS> -- npx -y hikerapi-mcp
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "hikerapi": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "hikerapi-mcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "HIKERAPI_KEY": "<HIKERAPI_KEY>",
                "HIKERAPI_TOOLS": "<HIKERAPI_TOOLS>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "hikerapi": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "hikerapi-mcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "HIKERAPI_KEY": "<HIKERAPI_KEY>",
                "HIKERAPI_TOOLS": "<HIKERAPI_TOOLS>"
            }
        }
    }
}
```
Replace <…> with your own values

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add -e HIKERAPI_KEY=<HIKERAPI_KEY> -e HIKERAPI_TOOLS=<HIKERAPI_TOOLS> hikerapi npx -y hikerapi-mcp
```
Replace <…> with your own values

## When to use it
- look up an Instagram profile by username
- pull recent posts for a hashtag
- fetch comments on a post
- search for accounts
- read stories for a user id

## Example prompts
- Show me the Instagram profile for @nasa
- Find the five newest posts tagged `#photography`
- List stories for the user with id 25025320

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