Reddit API Scraper

Reddit Scraper is an Apify actor that extracts data from Reddit by keyword search. It uses Reddit’s public search API and returns posts in a structured format. No login is required. You can use it as a Reddit scraper or alternative to the Reddit API for keyword-based search.

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Why Choose Us?

• No proxy by default – Sends requests directly to Reddit; uses proxy only when blocked.
• Automatic proxy fallback – If Reddit blocks the request, the actor falls back to datacenter proxy, then to residential proxy (with retries), and sticks with residential for the rest of the run.
• Bulk keywords – Search multiple keywords in one run.
• Same output shape – Output is a single JSON object: keys = keywords, values = arrays of posts (same structure as the reference output.json).

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Key Features

Feature	Description
Search by keyword	One or more search terms (bulk input).
Multiple strategies	Uses several sort strategies (new, relevance, hot, top, etc.) to maximize results.
Rate limiting	Delays and semaphores to reduce blocking.
Retries	Up to 3 retries with exponential backoff; special handling for 403.
Proxy fallback	No proxy → datacenter → residential, with clear logging.
Structured output	Each post includes metaData.keyword, id, subreddit, title, author, permalink, url, selftext, and other Reddit fields.

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Input

Configure the actor with these inputs (Form or JSON in Apify Console).

Field	Type	Required	Description
Search keywords	array (stringList)	Yes	Keywords to search on Reddit (e.g. webscraping, python). Supports bulk edit.
Subreddit names	array (stringList)	No	Optional subreddits to limit search.
Results limit per keyword and subreddit	integer	No	Max posts per keyword (default: 5, max: 1000).
Sorting	string	No	Sort order: new, hot, top, relevance (default: new).
Proxy Configuration	object (proxy)	No	By default no proxy. Enable Apify Proxy if you want to force proxy from the start. Fallback (datacenter → residential) runs when Reddit blocks.

Example input (JSON)

{
  "searchKeywords": ["webscraping", "python"],
  "subredditNames": [],
  "resultsLimitPerKeyword": 5,
  "sorting": "new",
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}

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Output

The dataset contains one item: a JSON object where each key is a keyword and each value is an array of post objects. Same structure as the reference output.json.

Example output structure

{
  "webscraping": [
    {
      "metaData": { "keyword": "webscraping" },
      "id": "abc123",
      "subreddit": "Python",
      "selftext": "...",
      "author_fullname": "t2_xxx",
      "title": "Post title",
      "subreddit_name_prefixed": "r/Python",
      "name": "t3_abc123",
      "link_flair_text_color": "dark",
      "subreddit_type": "public",
      "thumbnail": "self",
      "link_flair_type": "text",
      "author_flair_type": "text",
      "domain": "self.Python",
      "selftext_html": "...",
      "subreddit_id": "t5_xxx",
      "author": "username",
      "permalink": "/r/Python/comments/...",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/..."
    }
  ],
  "python": [ ... ]
}

Field	Description
metaData.keyword	Search keyword for this post.
id	Reddit post ID.
subreddit	Subreddit name.
title	Post title.
author	Author username.
permalink	Relative link to the post.
url	Full URL.
selftext	Post body text.

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How to Use the Actor (via Apify Console)

1. Log in at https://console.apify.com and go to Actors.
2. Find Reddit API Scraper (or reddit-api-scraper) and open it.
3. Open the Input tab (Form or JSON).
4. Enter Search keywords (e.g. webscraping; add more with + Add or Bulk edit).
5. Optionally set Results limit per keyword, Sorting, and Proxy Configuration.
6. Click Start.
7. Watch Log for progress and proxy fallback messages.
8. Open the Output tab to see the dataset (one item = object of keywords → posts).
9. Export to JSON or use via API.

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Best Use Cases

• Monitoring Reddit for keywords (brand, product, topic).
• Research or sentiment on public discussions.
• Building datasets of Reddit posts by topic.
• Alternative to Reddit API for simple search-based scraping.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a Reddit API key?
No. The actor uses Reddit’s public search endpoint; no authentication is required.

Why did it switch to proxy?
If you see “Falling back to datacenter/residential proxy” in the log, Reddit returned 403 (block). The actor then uses Apify proxies and continues; once it switches to residential, it stays on residential for the rest of the run.

Can I scrape private subreddits?
No. Only publicly available content is accessible.

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Support and Feedback

Use the Apify actor’s Issues or Reviews for bugs and feature requests.

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Cautions

• Data is collected only from publicly available Reddit content.
• No private accounts or password-protected content are accessed.
• You are responsible for compliance with applicable laws (e.g. privacy, data protection, spam).