Reddit Multi-Mode Scraper for Posts, Comments & Profiles

Extract public Reddit data without an account, cookie, or API key. Choose a subreddit feed, specific post URLs with their comment trees, a user profile and history, or a keyword search. Every record is JSON with a stable recordType (post, comment, profile, or community), the original dataType, and a source tag so mixed datasets stay easy to audit.

What this actor does

• Four modes: subreddit (post listings), post (one or more post URLs plus comments), profile (account metadata, posts and comments), and search (posts, comments, communities, and users).
• Two data sources with provenance: live reads Reddit's public rendered pages, while archive reads the Arctic Shift historical snapshot. auto uses live data first and archive for depth, bulk history, or fallback.
• Full comment trees: the archive path returns nested replies with depth and parent_id; live mode starts with the visible tree and expands top-level pages up to your cap.
• Rich post fields: score, upvote ratio, comment count, flair, domain, media URLs, galleries, video metadata, awards, crossposts, NSFW/spoiler/locked flags, and derived engagement metrics.
• Filters and incremental runs: score, comment count, upvote ratio, date range, post type, text matches, author allow/deny lists, flair, domain, awards, and an optional onlyNew watermark.
• Empty fields are omitted: records never contain null, empty strings, or empty arrays/objects.

Output per post

• recordType: "post", dataType: "post", source, sourceDetail, fetchedAt, snapshotFreshness
• id, post_id, post_name, title, author, author_id, author_meta
• subreddit, subreddit_prefixed, subreddit_id, subreddit_subscribers, subreddit_type
• content / body, content_html, content_url, url, permalink, domain, is_self, post_type, media_type
• score, ups, downs, upvote_ratio, num_comments, commentCount, gilded, total_awards_received, awards[]
• link_flair, flair colors/classes/richtext, thumbnail_url, images[], gallery_images[], gallery_count
• video_url, video_duration_seconds, video_width, video_height, video_has_audio, video_bitrate_kbps
• poll_data, embed metadata, crosspost_parent_id
• created_utc, created_at, createdAt, edited, edited_at
• is_nsfw, nsfw, is_spoiler, is_stickied, is_locked, is_archived, is_original_content, is_crosspost
• derived (ageHours, scorePerHour, commentsPerHour, engagementTotal)
• warning and degraded when the record came from the archive snapshot

Output per comment

• recordType: "comment", dataType: "comment", source, sourceDetail, fetchedAt
• id, comment_id, comment_name, post_id, post_url, post_title, link_id
• parent_id, parentId, parent_kind, depth, body, body_html
• author, author_id, author_meta
• subreddit, subreddit_prefixed, subreddit_id, subreddit_type
• score, ups, downs, controversiality, gilded, total_awards_received, awards[]
• is_op, is_stickied, is_locked, collapsed, removed_by_category
• replies_count, replies, created_utc, created_at, createdAt, edited, edited_at, permalink
• coverage on the parent post when comment coverage is known
• warning and degraded for archive records

Output per profile

• recordType: "profile", dataType: "user_profile", source, fetchedAt
• id, username, user_id, profile_url, icon_img, snoovatar_img
• karma (total, post, comment), plus the flat post_karma, comment_karma, total_karma
• post_count, comment_count, created_utc, created_at, createdAt
• description, is_gold, is_mod, is_employee, has_verified_email, verified
• Profile history records are emitted as separate post and comment records.

Output per community

Community records appear when includeSubredditInfo, searchCommunities, or the MCP get_subreddit_info tool is used.

• recordType: "community", dataType: "community", source, fetchedAt
• id, subreddit, subreddit_prefixed, subreddit_id, url, title
• subscribers, active_user_count, created_utc, created_at, createdAt
• description, public_description, subreddit_type, over18, quarantine
• rules[] when rules are requested

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	subreddit	subreddit, post, profile, or search. Legacy comments maps to post; posts, profiles, and subreddits are accepted aliases.
source	string	auto	auto, live, or archive. auto prefers live data and uses the archive for depth, history, or fallback.
subreddits	array	["programming"]	Subreddits for mode=subreddit; names, r/ names, and URLs are accepted.
postUrls	array	-	Post URLs, comment URLs, share links, or bare post IDs for mode=post.
usernames	array	-	Reddit usernames for mode=profile; u/ names and profile URLs are accepted.
searchQuery	string	-	Keyword or phrase for mode=search. Reddit search operators are supported by the live path.
maxItems	int	50	Hard cap on all records emitted by the run (1-10,000).
maxPosts	int	25	Posts per subreddit, keyword, or profile section (1-5,000).
maxComments	int	100	Comments per post, keyword, or profile comment section; 0 disables comment records.
maxDepth	int	6	Deepest reply level to emit (0-20).
includeComments	bool	true	Emit comment records in mode=post.
includePost	bool	true	Emit the parent post record before its comments in mode=post.
sort	string	hot	hot, new, top, rising, controversial, best, or search values relevance and comments.
timeFilter	string	day	hour, day, week, month, year, or all.
commentSort	string	confidence	confidence, top, new, controversial, old, or qa.
includeNSFW	bool	false	Include over-18 posts and communities.
includeSubredditInfo	bool	false	Emit one community record per subreddit.
includeSubredditRules	bool	false	Attach rules to community records.
includeProfileInfo	bool	true	Emit the profile record in mode=profile.
sections	array	["overview"]	Profile history sections: overview, posts, comments.
searchPosts / searchComments / searchCommunities / searchUsers	bool	posts on	Select which result types mode=search returns.
withinCommunity	string	-	Restrict search to one subreddit; required for archive keyword search.
maxCommunities / maxUsers	int	10 / 25	Caps for community and user search results.
onlyNew	bool	false	Emit only records newer than the watermark stored under stateKey.
stateKey	string	reddit-mcp-state	Key-value store key prefix for onlyNew watermarks.
failOnEmpty	bool	true	Fail the run with a clear message when no records are found.
proxyMode	string	none	none, datacenter, or residential. Residential is an explicit fallback and is capped by maxProxyBytesMb.
maxProxyBytesMb	int	50	Stop the run before paid proxy traffic exceeds this many megabytes.
minScore / maxScore	int	-	Score range for posts and comments.
minPostComments / maxPostComments	int	-	Comment-count range for posts.
minUpvoteRatio	number	-	Minimum post upvote ratio (0-1).
postType	string	-	self, link, image, video, gallery, or poll.
titleContains / contentContains / flairContains / authorFlairContains	string	-	Case-insensitive text matches.
domain	string	-	Link domain contains this text.
authors / excludeAuthors	array	-	Author allow/deny lists.
excludeKeywords	array	-	Drop posts whose title, body, or flair contains any term.
excludeStickied / excludeRemoved / excludeCrossposts / excludeSpoilers / excludeLocked / excludeDeletedAuthor / excludeArchived	bool	false	Exclusion toggles.
onlyWithFlair / onlyOriginalContent	bool	false	Flair and OC filters.
minAwards	int	-	Minimum total awards.
minContentLength / maxContentLength	int	-	Body length range.
postedAfter / postedBefore	string	-	UTC date bounds (YYYY-MM-DD); postedBefore is inclusive.
restrictSubreddits	array	-	Keep profile history only from these subreddits.
keyword	string	-	Keep profile posts/comments containing this phrase.
minCommunitySubscribers / maxCommunitySubscribers	int	-	Community search size filters.
minUserKarma / maxUserKarma	int	-	User search karma filters.
distinguished	string	-	moderator, admin, special, or none.

Example: subreddit listing

{
  "mode": "subreddit",
  "subreddits": ["programming", "r/Python"],
  "sort": "top",
  "timeFilter": "week",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "maxPosts": 50,
  "includeNSFW": false
}

Example: post URLs with comments

{
  "mode": "post",
  "postUrls": [
    "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1xbl8y1/",
    "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/s/example"
  ],
  "maxComments": 250,
  "maxDepth": 6,
  "includePost": true,
  "source": "auto"
}

Example: profile and history

{
  "mode": "profile",
  "usernames": ["spez"],
  "sections": ["overview"],
  "maxPosts": 25,
  "maxComments": 50,
  "postedAfter": "2026-01-01"
}

Example: keyword search

{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQuery": "asyncio",
  "withinCommunity": "python",
  "searchPosts": true,
  "searchComments": true,
  "sort": "relevance",
  "timeFilter": "month",
  "maxItems": 50
}

MCP server (Standby)

The actor runs a native Streamable HTTP MCP server at /mcp when started in Standby mode. It exposes five typed tools that reuse the same scrapers as the batch modes:

Tool	What it returns
search_reddit	Posts, comments, communities, or users matching a query, with optional subreddit scope, sort, time window, and NSFW toggle.
get_subreddit_posts	A subreddit's posts with sort, time window, NSFW toggle, and item cap.
get_post_comments	One post plus its flat, depth-tagged comments, with max_comments, max_depth, comment sort, and an optional parent-post record.
get_user_profile	Profile metadata plus recent posts/comments for one user.
get_subreddit_info	Community metadata, optional rules, subscriber count, and description.

MCP responses include items, count, source, and degraded; archive-backed responses also include a freshness warning. Use the Actor's Standby URL followed by /mcp:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "reddit": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://<your-actor-standby-host>/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-apify-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use cases

• Community monitoring: follow new and top posts in a set of subreddits on a schedule with onlyNew.
• Thread research: export a full comment tree for sentiment, topic, or quote analysis.
• Creator and moderator analysis: profile karma, posting history, and subreddit participation.
• Trend discovery: keyword search across Reddit posts and comments, optionally scoped to one community.
• AI and RAG pipelines: consume flat JSON records or call the MCP tools from an agent.
• Moderation and compliance review: filter by flair, domain, score, date, NSFW, and author.

Data source, freshness, and cost

Live records come from Reddit's public rendered pages. The archive path uses the Arctic Shift historical snapshot, which typically lags live Reddit by several hours and can have fewer comments or older scores. Archive records are marked source: "archive", degraded: true, and include a warning; the snapshotFreshness field distinguishes them from live data.

The actor defaults to 1 GB of memory; Apify bills the run by allocated memory and any proxy traffic. Browser requests block images, fonts, and media to keep traffic and cost down. No proxy is used by default; datacenter is available when Reddit blocks a run, and residential is an explicit last resort. maxProxyBytesMb stops the run when the configured proxy traffic ceiling is reached.

FAQ

Do I need a Reddit account or API key?

No. The actor reads public pages and a public archive, and no cookies, login, or API key are required.

Why do live and archive records disagree on score or comment count?

The archive is a historical crawl. Live pages reflect the current score, upvote ratio, and comment count; archive records can be several hours stale and are marked degraded.

Why are some comments missing from a very large thread?

Live mode starts with the comments Reddit renders and expands top-level pages up to maxComments; replies can be limited by Reddit's pagination. Use source: "auto" or "archive" for deeper trees, and check the parent post's coverage fields.

Why did my search return fewer results than expected?

Reddit limits search result pages and caps many queries. The actor follows the available result pages up to maxItems; use a narrower withinCommunity, a different sort, or a broader time window.

What does onlyNew do?

It stores a watermark in the key-value store under stateKey and emits only records newer than the previous run. Archive watermarks keep a small overlap so a late-indexed comment is not skipped.

Does the actor work for private or quarantined communities?

No. Only public, cookieless content is supported. NSFW posts can be included with includeNSFW, but login-gated or quarantined communities are out of scope.

How do I get community rules?

Set includeSubredditInfo and includeSubredditRules in mode=subreddit, or call the get_subreddit_info MCP tool with include_rules: true.

How do I keep runs cheap?

Use source: "archive" when you only need historical posts or deep trees, keep maxItems and maxComments small, and leave proxyMode at none. The actor defaults to 1 GB of memory and does not download images, fonts, or media. If you choose a proxy, maxProxyBytesMb stops the run when its traffic ceiling is reached.

Is this affiliated with Reddit?

No. This is a third-party tool that reads public Reddit pages and a public archive. Respect Reddit's terms and applicable law when using the data.