How to Extract the Instagram Reels Video ID from a URL in PHP?

How to extract the Instagram Reels video ID from a URL in PHP, you need to parse the URL and extract the unique identifier for the Reels video. Instagram Reels URLs typically follow a specific format, and the video ID is part of the URL.

Here’s how you can do it:

Steps to Extract Instagram Reels Video ID:

1. Understand the URL Structure:

-> Instagram Reels URLs usually look like this:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/{video_id}/

Example:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx7zX4pJQ6A/

Here, `Cx7zX4pJQ6A` is the video ID.

2. Use PHP to Extract the Video ID:

You can use PHP’s `parse_url()` function to break down the URL and then extract the video ID from the path.

PHP Code to Extract the Video ID:

<?php
function getInstagramReelsVideoId($url) {

// Parse the URL to get the path
$parsedUrl = parse_url($url);

// Check if the path exists and matches the Reels format
if (isset($parsedUrl['path']) && strpos($parsedUrl['path'], '/reel/') === 0) {

// Extract the video ID from the path
$pathParts = explode('/', trim($parsedUrl['path'], '/'));

if (isset($pathParts[1])) {
return $pathParts[1]; // The video ID
}
}

// Return null if the URL is invalid or doesn't contain a Reels video ID
return null;
}

// Example usage
$url = "https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx7zX4pJQ6A/";
$videoId = getInstagramReelsVideoId($url);

if ($videoId) {
echo "Video ID: " . $videoId;
} else {
echo "Invalid Instagram Reels URL.";
}
?>

Explanation of the Code:

1. `parse_url()`:
-> This function breaks down the URL into its components (e.g., `scheme`, `host`, `path`, etc.).
-> For the URL `https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx7zX4pJQ6A/`, the `path` will be `/reel/Cx7zX4pJQ6A/`.

2. `explode()`:
-> The `path` is split into parts using `/` as the delimiter.
-> For `/reel/Cx7zX4pJQ6A/`, the parts will be `[“reel”, “Cx7zX4pJQ6A”]`.

3. Extract the Video ID:
-> The video ID is the second part of the path (index `1` in the array).

4. Validation:
-> The code checks if the URL contains `/reel/` to ensure it’s a valid Reels URL.

Example Output:

For the URL `https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cx7zX4pJQ6A/`, the output will be:

Video ID: Cx7zX4pJQ6A