# Reddit Posts Search Scraper (`outspoken_strategy/reddit-posts-search-scraper`) Actor

Search Reddit posts by keyword. Multiple keywords, sort by relevance/hot/top/new/comments, time and date filters, optional subreddit restriction, auto-pagination. Returns title, text, author, subreddit, score, comments and media.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/outspoken\_strategy/reddit-posts-search-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [code craker](https://apify.com/outspoken_strategy) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Social media, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use 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 Posts Search Scraper

Apify actor that searches Reddit posts by keyword and exports them as structured data.
It scrapes the classic old.reddit.com search pages over plain HTTP — no browser, no
login, no cookies — which keeps runs fast and cheap (256 MB of memory is enough).
(Reddit hard-blocks its public `.json` listing endpoints for unauthenticated clients,
but the old.reddit HTML search is served normally and its markup has been stable for
a decade.)

### Features

- One keyword (`query`) or many (`queries`) — each searched separately, results
  combined and de-duplicated by post.
- Sort by `new` (chronological), `relevance`, `hot`, `top` or `comments`.
- Reddit's own time window (`timeFilter`: hour/day/week/month/year/all) plus exact
  `timeSince` / `timeUntil` date bounds enforced actor-side.
- Optional restriction to a single subreddit.
- Cursor-based auto-pagination up to Reddit's ~1000-results-per-listing cap.
- Results are pushed page by page, so an abort or timeout keeps everything
  collected so far.
- Automatic block recovery: on HTTP 403/429 the actor retries with a fresh proxy IP.
- When a run ends with 0 results, the last page fetched is saved as `DEBUG_HTML`
  in the run's key-value store.

### Input

```json
{
    "queries": ["econet", "delta corporation"],
    "sort": "new",
    "numberOfPosts": 100,
    "timeSince": "2026-01-01",
    "subreddit": "zimbabwe",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
    }
}
````

`numberOfPosts` applies **per keyword**. Reddit search operators
(`subreddit:`, `author:`, `self:yes`, `OR`, quoted phrases, ...) typed into a
query are passed through as-is.

Reddit blocks most datacenter IPs on its public JSON API, so keep the
RESIDENTIAL proxy default.

### Output

One dataset item per post:

```json
{
    "id": "1abcd2",
    "name": "t3_1abcd2",
    "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/zimbabwe/comments/1abcd2/econet_results/",
    "title": "Econet posts strong half-year results",
    "text": "Rendered selftext of the post (empty for link posts)...",
    "author": "some_user",
    "authorProfileUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/user/some_user",
    "subreddit": "zimbabwe",
    "subredditUrl": "https://www.reddit.com/r/zimbabwe",
    "score": 42,
    "numComments": 17,
    "linkFlairText": "Business",
    "isSelf": true,
    "over18": false,
    "externalUrl": null,
    "domain": "self.zimbabwe",
    "thumbnail": null,
    "created_at": "2026-07-01T09:30:12.000Z",
    "createdUtc": 1782898212,
    "searchQuery": "econet",
    "sort": "new",
    "timeFilter": "all"
}
```

`score` is `null` while Reddit still hides the vote count of a very fresh post
(typically the first hour or two).

### Integration (scraping-tool)

Call it like the other `outspoken_strategy/*` search actors:

```js
const res = await this.scrapingService.scrape({
    url: `https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=${encodeURIComponent(keyword)}`,
    resultsLimit: requestCount,
    actor: 'outspoken_strategy/reddit-posts-search-scraper',
    timeout,
    additionalInput: {
        query: keyword,
        numberOfPosts: requestCount,
        sort: 'new',
        proxyConfiguration: { useApifyProxy: true, apifyProxyGroups: ['RESIDENTIAL'], apifyProxyCountry: 'US' }
    },
    scrapeType: 'reddit-keyword-search'
});
```

Normalization hints: `url` and `id` are ready to use; `text` holds the selftext
only, so index `title + text` for relevance matching; `likesCount` → `score`,
`commentsCount` → `numComments`, `createdTime` → `created_at`.

### Local development

```bash
npm install
echo '{ "query": "artificial intelligence", "numberOfPosts": 25, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }' > storage/key_value_stores/default/INPUT.json
npm start
```

Deploy with `apify push`.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

One keyword/phrase to search for. Wrap in double quotes for an exact phrase match, e.g. "econet revenue". Reddit search operators (subreddit:, author:, self:, OR, AND, ...) are passed through as-is. You can also paste several keywords, one per line, to search them all. For a clean list use the "queries" field below instead. Leave empty if you use "queries".

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

Multiple keywords/phrases to search — each is searched separately and results are combined and de-duplicated by post. Takes precedence over/adds to "query". numberOfPosts applies PER keyword.

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

How Reddit orders the search results: "new" (chronological), "relevance", "hot", "top" or "comments" (most commented).

## `numberOfPosts` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of posts to fetch per keyword. Reddit caps any single search listing at roughly 1000 results, older posts beyond that are unreachable.

## `timeFilter` (type: `string`):

Reddit's own time window for the search (the "past hour/day/week/..." dropdown). Applies to the "relevance", "top" and "comments" sorts; "new" and "hot" ignore it.

## `timeSince` (type: `string`):

Only return posts published on or after this date (format: yyyy-mm-dd). Enforced on our side after fetching — combine with sort "new" for the most complete coverage of a date range.

## `timeUntil` (type: `string`):

Only return posts published before this date (format: yyyy-mm-dd). Enforced on our side after fetching.

## `subreddit` (type: `string`):

Only search within this subreddit (e.g. "zimbabwe" or "r/zimbabwe"). Leave empty to search all of Reddit.

## `includeNsfw` (type: `boolean`):

Include posts marked as adult content in the results.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy to route traffic through. Reddit blocks most datacenter IPs on its public JSON API, so residential proxies are strongly recommended.

## `headless` (type: `boolean`):

The actor fetches over plain HTTP and only falls back to a Chrome browser when Reddit blocks it. Uncheck to run that fallback browser headed (useful only for local debugging).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "artificial intelligence",
  "queries": [],
  "sort": "new",
  "numberOfPosts": 100,
  "timeFilter": "all",
  "includeNsfw": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  },
  "headless": true
}
```

# 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 = {
    "query": "artificial intelligence",
    "queries": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("outspoken_strategy/reddit-posts-search-scraper").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 = {
    "query": "artificial intelligence",
    "queries": [],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "US",
    },
}

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

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "query": "artificial intelligence",
  "queries": [],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  }
}' |
apify call outspoken_strategy/reddit-posts-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=outspoken_strategy/reddit-posts-search-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Reddit Posts Search Scraper",
        "description": "Search Reddit posts by keyword. Multiple keywords, sort by relevance/hot/top/new/comments, time and date filters, optional subreddit restriction, auto-pagination. Returns title, text, author, subreddit, score, comments and media.",
        "version": "0.0",
        "x-build-id": "kJeDzzptgAwbysmQF"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/outspoken_strategy~reddit-posts-search-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-outspoken_strategy-reddit-posts-search-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/outspoken_strategy~reddit-posts-search-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-outspoken_strategy-reddit-posts-search-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/outspoken_strategy~reddit-posts-search-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-outspoken_strategy-reddit-posts-search-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "query": {
                        "title": "Search Query (single keyword)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "One keyword/phrase to search for. Wrap in double quotes for an exact phrase match, e.g. \"econet revenue\". Reddit search operators (subreddit:, author:, self:, OR, AND, ...) are passed through as-is. You can also paste several keywords, one per line, to search them all. For a clean list use the \"queries\" field below instead. Leave empty if you use \"queries\"."
                    },
                    "queries": {
                        "title": "Search Queries (multiple keywords)",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Multiple keywords/phrases to search — each is searched separately and results are combined and de-duplicated by post. Takes precedence over/adds to \"query\". numberOfPosts applies PER keyword.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "sort": {
                        "title": "Sort by",
                        "enum": [
                            "new",
                            "relevance",
                            "hot",
                            "top",
                            "comments"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "How Reddit orders the search results: \"new\" (chronological), \"relevance\", \"hot\", \"top\" or \"comments\" (most commented).",
                        "default": "new"
                    },
                    "numberOfPosts": {
                        "title": "Number of posts",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 1000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum number of posts to fetch per keyword. Reddit caps any single search listing at roughly 1000 results, older posts beyond that are unreachable.",
                        "default": 100
                    },
                    "timeFilter": {
                        "title": "Time filter",
                        "enum": [
                            "all",
                            "hour",
                            "day",
                            "week",
                            "month",
                            "year"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Reddit's own time window for the search (the \"past hour/day/week/...\" dropdown). Applies to the \"relevance\", \"top\" and \"comments\" sorts; \"new\" and \"hot\" ignore it.",
                        "default": "all"
                    },
                    "timeSince": {
                        "title": "Since date",
                        "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Only return posts published on or after this date (format: yyyy-mm-dd). Enforced on our side after fetching — combine with sort \"new\" for the most complete coverage of a date range."
                    },
                    "timeUntil": {
                        "title": "Until date",
                        "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Only return posts published before this date (format: yyyy-mm-dd). Enforced on our side after fetching."
                    },
                    "subreddit": {
                        "title": "Restrict to subreddit",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Only search within this subreddit (e.g. \"zimbabwe\" or \"r/zimbabwe\"). Leave empty to search all of Reddit."
                    },
                    "includeNsfw": {
                        "title": "Include NSFW posts",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "Include posts marked as adult content in the results.",
                        "default": false
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "Proxy configuration",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "Proxy to route traffic through. Reddit blocks most datacenter IPs on its public JSON API, so residential proxies are strongly recommended.",
                        "default": {
                            "useApifyProxy": true,
                            "apifyProxyGroups": [
                                "RESIDENTIAL"
                            ],
                            "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
                        }
                    },
                    "headless": {
                        "title": "Run browser headless",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "The actor fetches over plain HTTP and only falls back to a Chrome browser when Reddit blocks it. Uncheck to run that fallback browser headed (useful only for local debugging).",
                        "default": true
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```