Instagram Private API React Native Compatibility Layer

This package provides a compatibility layer for using the instagram-private-api library in React Native applications. It includes polyfills and replacements for Node.js-specific modules that are not available in React Native.

Installation

# Install the main instagram-private-api library
npm install instagram-private-api

# Install this compatibility layer
npm install instagram-private-api-rn

# Install required dependencies
npm install buffer react-native-randombytes react-native-fast-crypto react-native-rsa-native @dr.pogodin/react-native-fs @react-native-async-storage/async-storage react-native-url-polyfill

# Install additional dependencies for Metro configuration
npm install stream-browserify path-browserify browserify-zlib stream-http https-browserify querystring-es3 os-browserify constants-browserify vm-browserify assert tty-browserify process

Metro Configuration

You need to configure Metro bundler to handle Node.js modules. Create or update your metro.config.js file:

module.exports = {
  resolver: {
    extraNodeModules: {
      // Provide empty implementations or polyfills for Node.js modules
      net: require.resolve('instagram-private-api-rn/polyfills/net'),
      fs: require.resolve('instagram-private-api-rn/polyfills/fs'),
      crypto: require.resolve('instagram-private-api-rn/polyfills/crypto'),
      url: require.resolve('instagram-private-api-rn/polyfills/url'),
      util: require.resolve('instagram-private-api-rn/polyfills/util'),
      events: require.resolve('instagram-private-api-rn/polyfills/events'),
      tls: require.resolve('instagram-private-api-rn/polyfills/tls'),
      buffer: require.resolve('buffer'),
      stream: require.resolve('stream-browserify'),
      path: require.resolve('path-browserify'),
      zlib: require.resolve('browserify-zlib'),
      http: require.resolve('stream-http'),
      https: require.resolve('https-browserify'),
      querystring: require.resolve('querystring-es3'),
      os: require.resolve('os-browserify/browser'),
      constants: require.resolve('constants-browserify'),
      vm: require.resolve('vm-browserify'),
      assert: require.resolve('assert'),
      tty: require.resolve('tty-browserify'),
      'process/browser': require.resolve('process/browser'),
    },
  },
  transformer: {
    getTransformOptions: async () => ({
      transform: {
        experimentalImportSupport: false,
        inlineRequires: true,
      },
    }),
  },
};

Usage

import { IgApiClient } from 'instagram-private-api';
import { patchAll } from 'instagram-private-api-rn';
import AsyncStorage from '@react-native-async-storage/async-storage';

// Apply all polyfills to make instagram-private-api compatible with React Native
const ig = new IgApiClient();
patchAll({
  IgApiClient,
  storage: AsyncStorage, // Optional: for persistent cookie storage
});

// Now you can use the instagram-private-api library as usual
async function login() {
  ig.state.generateDevice('username');
  await ig.account.login('username', 'password');

  // Do something with the logged in client
  const userFeed = ig.feed.user('some-user-id');
  const posts = await userFeed.items();
  console.log(posts);
}

login().catch(console.error);

Features

This compatibility layer provides polyfills for the following Node.js modules:

• crypto: Implements cryptographic functions using React Native compatible libraries
• http: Replaces request/request-promise with a fetch-based implementation
• buffer: Provides a Buffer implementation for React Native
• fs: Implements file system operations using @dr.pogodin/react-native-fs
• cookies: Replaces tough-cookie with a React Native compatible cookie storage
• util: Provides utility functions like promisify
• net: Implements network utility functions used by tough-cookie
• url: Provides URL parsing and formatting functions
• events: Implements EventEmitter for event handling
• tls: Provides TLS/SSL functionality for secure connections

Advanced Usage

You can also use individual polyfills if you need more control:

import { IgApiClient } from 'instagram-private-api';
import { patchHttp, patchCrypto, patchBuffer, patchNet, patchUrl, patchEvents, patchTls } from 'instagram-private-api-rn';

// Apply only specific polyfills
patchBuffer();
patchCrypto();
patchNet();
patchUrl();
patchEvents();
patchTls();
patchHttp(IgApiClient);

// Now you can use the instagram-private-api library with these polyfills
const ig = new IgApiClient();
// ...

Dependencies

This package depends on the following libraries:

• buffer
• react-native-randombytes
• react-native-fast-crypto
• react-native-rsa-native
• @dr.pogodin/react-native-fs
• @react-native-async-storage/async-storage
• react-native-url-polyfill
• stream-browserify
• path-browserify
• browserify-zlib
• stream-http
• https-browserify
• querystring-es3
• os-browserify
• constants-browserify
• vm-browserify
• assert
• tty-browserify
• process

Make sure to install and properly link these dependencies in your React Native project.

Limitations

• Some advanced cryptographic operations might not work exactly the same as in Node.js
• File operations are limited to what @dr.pogodin/react-native-fs supports
• Performance might differ from the Node.js version

License

This package is licensed under the MIT License.