# Reddit Search Scraper — find where a topic is discussed (`entrogix_works/reddit-search`) Actor

Search Reddit by keyword instead of by subreddit. One row per result with the community it came from, votes, comments, the search snippet and the result position. Pass several terms in one run. Unofficial; not affiliated with Reddit.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/entrogix\_works/reddit-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Entrogix Works](https://apify.com/entrogix_works) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$5.00 / 1,000 post scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Reddit Search Scraper — find where a topic is discussed

Search Reddit **by keyword instead of by subreddit**. You give a term; you get back the posts and, more usefully, **the communities they came from** — which is the answer when you do not already know where a topic lives.

This is the keyword-input companion to *Reddit Subreddit Momentum* and *Reddit Subreddit Benchmark*. Those start from a community name. This one starts from a word.

### What you get per result

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `title` | `Kubernetes is one of the coolest tech stacks I have ever used` |
| `subreddit` | `homelab` |
| `snippet` | the matched excerpt Reddit shows under the title |
| `votes`, `comments` | `291`, `94` |
| `resultPosition` | `0` — where Reddit itself ranked it |
| `postedAt`, `ageInDays` | `2026-08-18T15:08:59.814Z`, `4.9` |
| `nsfw`, `spoiler` | `false`, `false` |
| `author` | `GasimGasimzada` — the handle only |
| `url`, `searchQuery` | direct link, and which term produced the row |

`resultPosition` is kept because Reddit's own ordering is information: the top result for a term tells you what Reddit considers the canonical discussion of it.

The run summary reports `bySubreddit` — a count per community — which for most searches is the thing you actually wanted.

### Honest limits

**Reddit renders about 7 results on the first screen of a search** and loads the rest only when a human scrolls. This Actor reads what the page serves; it does not simulate scrolling. So one term returns roughly seven results, and the way to cover a topic is to pass several terms in one run rather than to expect one term to return fifty.

**There is a search path that returns 25 at a time. This Actor does not use it.** `old.reddit.com/search` is server-rendered and would be cheaper — and Reddit's own `robots.txt` disallows it while allowing the modern search page. When a site closes one door and leaves another open, this Actor uses the open one.

**Vote counts that could not be read are `null`, not `0`.** `countersRead` tells you which is which, and the summary counts the rows it happened to.

### Input

```json
{
  "queries": ["kubernetes", "terraform"],
  "sort": "relevance",
  "time": "all"
}
```

`time` only applies when `sort` is `top`. You are charged **per post returned**.

### Summary (key-value store, `SEARCH_SUMMARY`)

`totalPosts`, `queries`, **`bySubreddit`**, `uniqueSubreddits`, `postsWithoutCounters`, `sort`, `time`.

### Data this Actor does not collect

Only the poster's public **handle** is returned. No profile URL, no avatar, no internal account ID — Reddit's markup carries the internal ID and this Actor drops it. There is no username-search mode.

Unofficial; not affiliated with Reddit.

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

One or more keywords or phrases. Each is searched across all of Reddit. Use several terms in one run to cover a topic from different angles.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Reddit's own ordering of the search results.

## `time` (type: `string`):

Only applies when sorting by Top. Ignored for other sorts.

## `maxItemsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

Reddit renders about 7 results on the first screen of a search and loads more only on scroll, so this caps there in practice. You are charged per post returned.

## `minIntervalMs` (type: `integer`):

Pacing between searches. Reddit rate-limits aggressively; do not lower this.

## `useProxy` (type: `boolean`):

Required in practice. Reddit refuses unproxied datacenter traffic.

## `proxyType` (type: `string`):

Residential is what works on Reddit.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "kubernetes",
    "terraform"
  ],
  "sort": "relevance",
  "time": "all",
  "maxItemsPerQuery": 7,
  "minIntervalMs": 3000,
  "useProxy": true,
  "proxyType": "RESIDENTIAL"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Every result this run produced, as JSON.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Which communities the topic surfaced in and how many results came from each, plus how many rows the vote counters could not be read for.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": [
        "kubernetes",
        "terraform"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("entrogix_works/reddit-search").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "queries": [
        "kubernetes",
        "terraform",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("entrogix_works/reddit-search").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "queries": [
    "kubernetes",
    "terraform"
  ]
}' |
apify call entrogix_works/reddit-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,entrogix_works/reddit-search"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QrjOJMCgobspplSsH/builds/gSEIV0M9N67BMUCZg/openapi.json