Reddit API
The Reddit API returns subreddit posts, comments, search and user data as clean JSON.
🤖 Using an AI assistant? Copy this link into ChatGPT / Claude / Cursor — it reads every endpoint and parameter instantly and tells you if this API fits your use case.
The primary subreddit_posts endpoint returns posts with title, author, score, comment count, timestamp and URL, and you can pull a post's comments with deep pagination, search across Reddit, fetch a user profile, read subreddit_about and discover trending communities. It is built for social listening, market research and RAG pipelines that need live Reddit data — logged-out, no account pool — without a fragile scraper. One ReefAPI key, one shared credit pool, the standard envelope.
Real request and response JSON
Captured from the indexed primary action, search, on .
{
"method": "POST",
"url": "https://api.reefapi.com/reddit/v1/search",
"headers": {
"x-api-key": "$REEF_KEY",
"content-type": "application/json"
},
"body": {
"subreddit": "python",
"limit": 10
}
}{
"ok": true,
"meta": {
"api": "reddit",
"endpoint": "search",
"mode": "live",
"latency_ms": 3400.5,
"record_count": 10,
"bytes": 33855,
"cache_hit": false,
"completeness_pct": 100,
"requests": 1,
"source_used": "arctic",
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": null,
"has_more": false
}
},
"data": {
"results": [
{
"id": "1v00o59",
"fullname": "t3_1v00o59",
"title": "Bulletproofing User Sync: Handling Clerk and Auth0 Webhook Failures",
"author": "JadeLuxe",
"subreddit": "Python",
"score": 1,
"upvote_ratio": 1,
"num_comments": 0,
"created_utc": 1784392821,
"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1v00o59/bulletproofing_user_sync_handling_clerk_and_auth0/",
"permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1v00o59/bulletproofing_user_sync_handling_clerk_and_auth0/",
"selftext": "[removed]",
"flair": "Discussion",
"over_18": false,
"spoiler": false,
"stickied": false,
"locked": false,
"is_self": true,
"is_video": false,
"domain": "self.Python",
"thumbnail": null,
"num_crossposts": 0,
"total_awards_received": 0,
"edited": false
},
{
"id": "1v0030v",
"fullname": "t3_1v0030v",
"title": "How I built an offline, AI-driven Live Caption Video Player using PySide6, VLC, and Vosk",
"author": "abbaaminu",
"subreddit": "Python",
"score": 1,
"upvote_ratio": 1,
"num_comments": 1,
"created_utc": 1784391428,
"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1v0030v/how_i_built_an_offline_aidriven_live_caption/",
"permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1v0030v/how_i_built_an_offline_aidriven_live_caption/",
"selftext": "",
"flair": "News",
"over_18": false,
"spoiler": false,
"stickied": false,
"locked": false,
"is_self": true,
"is_video": false,
"domain": "self.Python",
"thumbnail": null,
"num_crossposts": 0,
"total_awards_received": 0,
"edited": false
},
{
"id": "1v001ni",
"fullname": "t3_1v001ni",
"title": "How I built an offline, AI-driven Live Caption Video Player using PySide6, VLC, and Vosk",
"author": "abbaaminu",
"subreddit": "Python",
"score": 1,
"upvote_ratio": 0.99,
"num_comments": 2,
"created_utc": 1784391336,
"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1v001ni/how_i_built_an_offline_aidriven_live_caption/",
"permalink": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1v001ni/how_i_built_an_offline_aidriven_live_caption/",
"selftext": "[removed]",
"flair": "Showcase",
"over_18": false,
"spoiler": false,
"stickied": false,
"locked": false,
"is_self": true,
"is_video": false,
"domain": "self.Python",
"thumbnail": null,
"num_crossposts": 0,
"total_awards_received": 0,
"edited": false
}
],
"count": 10,
"type": "post"
}
}What the Reddit API does
| Action | Description | Concrete use case | Key params |
|---|---|---|---|
| subreddit_posts | Posts in a subreddit, ranked by `sort`. Returns title/author/score/comment-count. Supports deep paging (`page`) and `flair` filtering. | Ops teams call subreddit_posts to get posts in a subreddit, ranked by `sort`. | subreddit, sub, sort, time, limit, ... |
| post_comments | Threaded comments for a post. Returns author/body/score per comment. | Developer tools call post_comments to get threaded comments for a post. | post_id, id, url, sort, limit, ... |
| search | Search posts, comments, or users by `q` and/or `subreddit`/`author`. Returns results[]. Cursor pagination + `flair` filter apply on the live source. | Validation workflows call search to search posts, comments, or users by `q` and/or `subreddit`/`author`. | q, query, subreddit, sub, author, ... |
| user | User profile or content. kind=about returns karma/profile; submitted/comments list items (with deep paging). | Data-quality teams call user to get user profile or content. | username, user, name, kind, limit, ... |
| subreddit_about | Subreddit metadata: subscribers, description, created date, etc. | Ops teams call subreddit_about to get subreddit metadata. | subreddit, sub, source |
| communities | Search subreddits by name/keyword — find communities matching a term, with each one's subscribers, title, description and over-18 flag. | Developer tools call communities to search subreddits by name/keyword. | q, limit |
| trending | Site-wide discovery — hot/popular posts from r/popular or r/all (what's trending across Reddit right now), or the most-popular communities. No subreddit needed. | Validation workflows call trending to get site-wide discovery. | scope, kind, sort, time, limit, ... |
| user_search | Find Reddit users by name/keyword — people search. Returns matching profiles with karma. (Same as search with type=user.) | Data-quality teams call user_search to find Reddit users by name/keyword. | q, query, username, limit, after, ... |
| load_more_comments | Expand the collapsed 'more comments' nodes from a post_comments call — pass that response's more_ids to reveal the rest of the thread (build the FULL comment tree). | Ops teams call load_more_comments to get expand the collapsed 'more comments' nodes from a post_comments call. | post_id, link_id, id, url, more_ids, ... |
| subreddit_extras | Public subreddit extras: the community's rules and its wiki page index/content. (Moderator list is mod-only on Reddit and is not available logged-out.) | Developer tools call subreddit_extras to get public subreddit extras. | subreddit, sub, include, wiki_page, source |
Call search from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.reefapi.com/reddit/v1/search \
-H "x-api-key: $REEF_KEY" \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"subreddit":"python","limit":10}'import requests
r = requests.post(
"https://api.reefapi.com/reddit/v1/search",
headers={"x-api-key": REEF_KEY},
json={
"subreddit": "python",
"limit": 10
},
)
print(r.json()["data"])const res = await fetch("https://api.reefapi.com/reddit/v1/search", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"x-api-key": process.env.REEF_KEY,
"content-type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"subreddit": "python",
"limit": 10
}),
});
const { ok, data, meta, error } = await res.json();Ask your MCP-connected assistant: call reefapi.reddit.search with {"subreddit":"python","limit":10}.Who uses this API and why
- Market researchers call subreddit_posts and search to track what communities say about a product.
- RAG pipelines pull post_comments to ground an AI assistant in real Reddit discussion.
- Social-listening tools use trending and user to monitor rising topics and influential accounts.
Questions developers ask before integrating
What is the Reddit API?
Reddit API is a ReefAPI endpoint group for posts, comments, subreddits and search. It returns live JSON through POST requests under /reddit/v1.
Is the Reddit API free to try?
Yes. ReefAPI starts with 1,000 free credits, no card required. Reddit calls use the same shared credit balance as every other ReefAPI engine.
Do I need a Reddit login or account?
No login to Reddit is needed for the API response. You call ReefAPI with your x-api-key header, and the playground can run live examples before you create a production key.
How fresh is the Reddit data?
The page example is captured from a live subreddit_posts call, and production requests fetch live data through ReefAPI rather than a static sample.
How many credits does the Reddit API use?
Reddit actions currently cost 1-3 credits per successful call. Failed or blocked calls are free, and all APIs draw from one credit pool.
Can I call Reddit from an AI assistant or MCP client?
Yes. Connect ReefAPI once through MCP and your assistant can call reddit actions with the same key, credit pool and JSON envelope used by normal REST requests.
Is the Reddit API a Reddit scraper?
It is the managed alternative to a DIY Reddit scraper. Instead of building and maintaining your own scraper — proxies, headless browsers, captcha and constant breakage — you call one ReefAPI endpoint and get the same posts, comments, subreddits and search back as clean JSON.
Why does my Reddit scraper keep getting blocked?
Most Reddit scrapers break on anti-bot defenses, rate limits and IP bans that need rotating residential proxies and browser fingerprinting to clear. ReefAPI handles all of that for you — no proxies, no captchas, no maintenance — and returns live JSON. Blocked or failed calls are free.