PowerShell Scripting to Replicate Instagram Data to MySQL



Write a simple PowerShell script to replicate Instagram data to a MySQL database.

The CData Cmdlets for Instagram offer live access to Instagram data from within PowerShell. Using PowerShell scripts, you can easily automate regular tasks like data replication. This article will walk through using the CData Cmdlets for Instagram and the CData Cmdlets for MySQL in PowerShell to replicate Instagram data to a MySQL database.

After obtaining the needed connection properties, accessing Instagram data in PowerShell and preparing for replication consists of four basic steps.

Instagram uses the OAuth 2 authentication standard. You will need to obtain the OAuthClientId, OAuthClientSecret, and CallbackURL by registering an app with Instagram. See the help documentation for a guide.

Collecting Instagram Data

  1. Install the module:

    Install-Module InstagramCmdlets
  2. Connect to Instagram:

    $instagram = Connect-Instagram -OAuthClientId $OAuthClientId -OAuthClientSecret $OAuthClientSecret -CallbackURL $CallbackURL
  3. Retrieve the data from a specific resource:

    $data = Select-Instagram -Connection $instagram -Table "Media"

    You can also use the Invoke-Instagram cmdlet to execute pure SQL-92 statements:

    $data = Invoke-Instagram -Connection $instagram -Query 'SELECT * FROM Media WHERE TagName = @TagName' -Params @{'@TagName'='goldfish'}
  4. Save a list of the column names from the returned data.

    $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name

Inserting Instagram Data into the MySQL Database

With the data and column names collected, you are ready to replicate the data into a MySQL database.

  1. Install the module:

    Install-Module MySQLCmdlets
  2. Connect to MySQL, using the server address and port of the MySQL server, valid user credentials, and a specific database with the table in which the data will be replicated:

    $mysql = Connect-MySQL -User $User -Password $Password -Database $Database -Server $Server -Port $Port
  3. Loop through the Instagram data, store the values, and use the Add-MySQL cmdlet to insert the data into the MySQL database, one row at a time. In this example, the table will need to have the same name as the Instagram resource (Media) and to exist in the database.

    $data | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "Media" -Columns $columns -Values $values }

You have now replicated your Instagram data to a MySQL database. This gives you freedom to work with Instagram data in the same way that you work with other MySQL tables, whether that is performing analytics, building reports, or other business functions.

Notes

  • Once you have connected to Instagram and MySQL in PowerShell, you can pipe command results to perform the replication in a single line:

    Select-Instagram -Connection $instagram -Table "Media" | % { $row = $_ $values = @() $columns | % { $col = $_ $values += $row.$($col) } Add-MySQL -Connection $mysql -Table "Media" -Columns $columns -Values $values }
  • If you wish to replicate the Instagram data to another database using another PowerShell module, you will want to exclude the Columns, Connection, and Table columns from the data returned by the Select-Instagram cmdlet since those columns are used to help pipe data from one CData cmdlet to another:

    $columns = ($data | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Property Name).Name | ? {$_ -NotIn @('Columns','Connection','Table')}

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Instagram Cmdlets to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

Instagram Icon Instagram Cmdlets

An easy-to-use set of PowerShell Cmdlets offering real-time access to Instagram data. The Cmdlets allow users to easily read, write, update, and delete live data - just like working with SQL server.