> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lobstr.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Add Tasks

> Add Instagram profile URLs or usernames to scrape using the lobstr.io API

Add Instagram profiles as tasks to your squid. You can provide either a full profile URL or just the username.

## Headers

<ParamField header="Authorization" type="string" required>
  Your API authentication token. Value: `Token YOUR_API_KEY`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="Content-Type" type="string" required>
  Request body format. Value: `application/json`
</ParamField>

## Supported Input Formats

**Profile URL:**

`https://www.instagram.com/username/`

`https://instagram.com/username`

**Username only:**

`leomessi`

`cristiano`

## Request Body

| Field   | Type   | Required | Description                                                          |
| ------- | ------ | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **url** | string | Yes      | Instagram Profile URL or Username to scrape profile information from |

<Tip>
  You can use just the username without the full URL - the scraper will resolve it automatically.
</Tip>

<Note>
  Private profiles will return limited data. Only public profile information is accessible.
</Note>

## Code Examples

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://api.lobstr.io/api/v2/squid/YOUR_SQUID_ID/task" \
    -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/leomessi/"
    }'
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  API_TOKEN = "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
  SQUID_ID = "YOUR_SQUID_ID"

  url = f"https://api.lobstr.io/api/v2/squid/{SQUID_ID}/task"
  headers = {
      "Authorization": f"Token {API_TOKEN}",
      "Content-Type": "application/json"
  }
  data = {
      "url": "https://www.instagram.com/leomessi/"
  }

  response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=data)
  print(response.json())
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Response

```json 200 theme={null}
{
  "id": "task_abc123def456",
  "status": "pending",
  "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "url": "https://www.instagram.com/leomessi/"
}
```