update-profile

name	update-profile
description	Update the Instagram profile GraphQL constants in backend/graphql.go when Instagram changes their profile-page API (profile doc_id, friendly name, app ID). Use when the viewer's own DM reactions show up without an avatar or username, or when the user pastes profile-page network request data from the browser.

Update Profile Skill

This skill handles updating the app when Instagram changes the GraphQL API behind its profile page (the query that resolves a user's identity). The user will paste raw request headers and/or POST body payloads from Instagram's network tab. Your job is to diff them against the current constants, identify what changed, request any missing info, and update the code.

Context

This app intercepts Instagram GraphQL responses via Chrome DevTools Protocol. The profile query is used for exactly one thing:

1. Resolve self (active replay): When DM mode starts, resolveSelf() reads the logged-in user's ds_user_id cookie, then replays PolarisProfilePageContentQuery with that id using the captured token template. It pulls username and profile_pic_url out of the response and stores it as dm.self, so the viewer's own reactions materialize with an avatar and name just like anyone else's.

If Instagram changes profileDocID or profileFriendlyName, resolveSelf() sends a stale request and silently returns — dm.self is never set, and the viewer's own reactions render without avatar/username.

Why this matters — account safety

This is critical: if we send a malformed or outdated request to Instagram's API, Instagram will ban the account. resolveSelf() fires our own request built from a captured template — if our constants are stale, we send a request that no longer matches what the real Instagram frontend sends. Keep the constants current and matching a genuine, recently-captured request — never guess a doc_id.

⚠️ No drift detection (unlike comments)

Note a key difference from the comments flow: comments run through validateCommentsRequest(), which compares an intercepted live request's doc_id against initialCommentsDocID and silently disables pagination on a mismatch — so drift is caught before we send anything. The profile query has no such check: resolveSelf() fires the request blind, using profileDocID directly with no comparison against a live request. Nothing in the code tracks whether the profile doc_id still matches Instagram's frontend. The only signal that it drifted is the feature silently failing (own reactions render without a pfp). So when a user reports this, don't look for an error or a log — assume the constants may be stale and re-capture as below.

What can change

All hardcoded Instagram API identifiers live in backend/graphql.go as constants:

const (
    profileDocID        = "..."  // doc_id for the profile-page query
    profileFriendlyName = "..."  // fb_api_req_friendly_name for the profile query
    expectedAppID       = "..."  // x-ig-app-id header value (shared across all queries)
)

These are used in:

• resolveSelf() (backend/dm.go): builds the query via newGraphQLRequest(..., profileDocID, profileFriendlyName, mutateEndpoint, vars).

Note the profile query uses the mutate endpoint (https://www.instagram.com/api/graphql), selected by mutateEndpoint in newGraphQLRequest(). This is a quirk: the profile query is a read, but the real Instagram frontend sends it to /api/graphql, so we match that. If a captured request shows a different endpoint, update the Endpoint argument at the call site, not just the constants.

Where to obtain the new values

Have the user do this in a logged-in Instagram web session with DevTools open:

1. Open the browser Network tab and filter for graphql (or api/graphql).
2. Navigate to any profile page — e.g. their own, instagram.com/<username>/.
3. Find the POST request to /api/graphql whose fb_api_req_friendly_name contains ProfilePageContent (currently PolarisProfilePageContentQuery).
4. From that request's payload (POST body), copy doc_id and fb_api_req_friendly_name.
5. From that request's headers, copy x-ig-app-id.

Field	Source	Constant
doc_id	POST body	profileDocID
fb_api_req_friendly_name	POST body	profileFriendlyName
x-ig-app-id	Request header	expectedAppID

Step-by-step process

1. Read current constants

Read the constants block in backend/graphql.go (the profileDocID / profileFriendlyName / expectedAppID lines).

2. Parse what the user provided

The user will paste raw request data from the network tab (key-value pairs, raw URL-encoded body, HAR export, or screenshots). Extract:

• doc_id
• fb_api_req_friendly_name
• x-ig-app-id (from headers, if provided)

3. Diff against current constants

Constant	Current	New	Changed?
profileDocID	...	...	YES/no
profileFriendlyName	...	...	YES/no
expectedAppID	...	...	YES/no

4. Request missing info

If the user pasted a different query (friendly name doesn't contain ProfilePageContent), ask them to capture the profile-page request specifically. If headers weren't provided, ask for the x-ig-app-id header value.

5. Apply changes

Update only the constants that changed in backend/graphql.go. Use the Edit tool on individual lines — do not rewrite the file.

6. Check for structural changes

Beyond the constants, Instagram could also change:

• Request variables: resolveSelf() builds a variables map with id (the ds_user_id cookie value), enable_integrity_filters, and several __relay_internal__pv__* provider flags. The provider flags rotate often. If the request is accepted but returns no user, compare these field names against a real captured profile request.
• Response shape: resolveSelf() parses an inline struct expecting data.user.username and data.user.profile_pic_url. If those field paths change, username comes back empty and the function bails.

If the user reports the request succeeds but self still isn't resolved, ask them to share the full captured profile POST body and response, and compare the variables and response paths.

Symptom → likely cause

Symptom	Likely cause
Viewer's own reactions show without avatar/username	profileDocID or profileFriendlyName changed (resolveSelf() replay fails)
Profile request errors / rejected	profileDocID stale, or wrong endpoint (must be mutateEndpoint)
Request accepted but self not resolved	resolveSelf() variables field names changed
Self resolves with empty username/pfp	Response shape changed (data.user.username / profile_pic_url renamed)
Everything fails (all queries)	expectedAppID changed