Reddit Search API: Main Principles, Capabilities, and Available Tools

Reddit Search API, no matter official or third-party tool, enables you to search, fetch, and analyze content based on keywords, subreddits, authors, and time frames. With Data365, you will examine what Reddit Search API can provide (and can't), its common limitations, and how third-party solutions excel in keyword filtering, targeting subreddits, searching the date range, and collecting comment data in just a few easy steps.

TL;DR

• Reddit Search APIs, official or third-party, allow you to search, gather, and analyze Reddit content, using predefined parameters in your request like keywords (`q`), subreddits (`subreddit` or `restrict_sr`), authors (`author`), and time frames (`t`).
• The official Reddit API offers basic functionality but comes with low scalability possibilities, strict rate limits, and no free access to large data scopes.
• Third-party APIs like Data365’s Social Media API extend these capabilities with advanced scalability, cross-platform access to the 5 biggest social networks, broader historical data coverage, and raw, well-structured data.
• Time-based filtering via a `t` parameter (e.g., past_hour, today, past_week, past_month) is supported by official Reddit API and third-party tools but only for predefined ranges — not exact dates. Data365 utilizes a time parameter called `date-posted`, which works with such `sort_type` values as `new`, `comments`, `top`, `hot`, or `relevance`.
• Comment search isn’t natively supported in the official Reddit API. Developers must first fetch posts, and then retrieve comments by post ID. Data365’s Social Media API uses the same methodology but provides an accessible, production-ready option for integrating Reddit data into research, analytics, and monitoring pipelines — with a 14-day free trial available.

Basics of Reddit Search API

Whether following a trending topic, seeing what your brand is being said, or investigating underground sub-groups, Reddit Search API (whether official or third-party) is a pro in turning Reddit chaos into well-structured information. Let’s first learn how it functions.

How Reddit Search API Works Behind the Scene

The retrieval process is pretty simple in theory:

1. You make a search request to an API endpoint which takes parameters such as  keywords, subreddit, sort, and time, (each of these filtering parameters we'll discuss later).
2. Your query is handled by the API and a response is sent back in a structured JSON form containing the matching posts (often including comments).
3. You then process that data to bring up insights, fill up dashboards, or power up research tools.

What About Types of Data Available?

The common Reddit Search APIs retrieve:

• Title of the post and bodies;
• Author usernames;
• Subreddit names;
• The metadata of posts (upvotes, downvotes, number of comments, time stamps)
• Comments (may come as a further retrieval step using post IDs).

Which Tools Are Available? 

There are three main options for accessing Reddit search data with API:

Official Reddit API: The native alternative. It provides access to public data on Reddit, allowing keyword and subreddit queries, some simple filters, and well-organized endpoints. However, it is not free of negative attributes: strict restrictions on rate limits, limitations on historical analysis, preset time filters, and limited search capacities beyond the baseline.

Third-Party APIs: And here is where it becomes interesting. Custom tools such as Social Media API from Data365 (yep, that's us) have better searching capabilities, more dynamic filtering, ease of access to historical information, high performance, and are much easier to set up. 

Custom data-mining tools: You can also roll your own solution. Although this provides full control, it commonly needs additional dev effort, server costs, and additional concern to remain in compliance with the terms of service of Reddit. And each time Reddit revises its guidelines? You are doing code repair.

Whether you stick with the official (but limited) option or choose a more flexible data retrieval tool, the choice is yours. Our job? To give you a chance to see what better feels like. Start your 14-day free trial with Data365 — just fill in a short form, and we’ll get you set up.

Find Relevant Discussions on Reddit: API Search Posts by Keyword

The official Reddit API, as well as third-party services, allow developers and data teams to conduct keyword searches, gathering only info relative to a specific topic. This feature is necessary to follow brand mentions, track trending topics, or study conversations in communities within the many dimensions of the Reddit universe.

To perform a keyword search, use the /search endpoint with the q parameter to specify your search term, so it returns posts containing a specific keyword. While it is common for devs to use the official Reddit API, search posts by keyword option often require great scalability, which the official tool can often boast of. That’s why alternatives like Data365 exist. But no time for ads, let’s find out more about Reddit filtering possibilities first.

How Reddit API Search Subreddit Filtering Works

Another common feature of the official Reddit API and other APIs is to enable developers to search within a given subreddit by targeting the search endpoint and defining a range of key parameters. It allows for crafting more specific requests and gathering more relevant information.

When searching a subreddit, results may be narrowed down by using the following parameters:

• keywords: The keywords or phrases you're looking for within the subreddit.
• subreddit:name: Ensures the search is confined strictly to the specified subreddit.
• include_over_18=true: Include or exclude NSWF (Not Suitable For Work) content.
• sort_type: Determines the order of results. Options include new, top, hot, comments or relevance.

If you're not a fan of working with the Reddit API, the subreddit search feature is still available. Below is a sample Python call using the Data365 Social Media API to search for posts containing the keyword “AI chips” within the subreddit openai:

import requests
import time
import json

# === API PARAMETERS ===
access_token = 'TOKEN'
keywords = 'AI Chips subreddit:openai'
max_posts = 50
sort_type = 'new'

# === BUILD PARAM STRING ===
params = f"max_posts={max_posts}&sort_type={sort_type}&keywords={keywords.replace(' ', '%20')}&access_token={access_token}"

# === 1. SEND POST REQUEST TO INITIATE THE TASK ===
post_url = f"https://api.data365.co/v1.1/reddit/search/post/update?{params}"
post_response = requests.post(post_url)

# Check if POST was successful
if post_response.status_code == 202 and post_response.json().get("status") == "accepted":
    task_id = post_response.json()["data"]["task_id"]
    print(f"Task created successfully. Task ID: {task_id}")
else:
    print("Failed to create task:", post_response.text)
    exit()

# === 2. POLL TASK STATUS UNTIL COMPLETION ===
status_url = post_url  # same URL for GET status check
terminal_statuses = ['finished', 'fail', 'canceled', 'unknown']

while True:
    status_response = requests.get(status_url)
    status_data = status_response.json()
    status = status_data.get("data", {}).get("status", "unknown")
    print(f"Current task status: {status}")

    if status in terminal_statuses:
        break
    time.sleep(5)  # wait 5 seconds before retrying

# === 3. IF SUCCESS, FETCH RESULTS FROM CACHE ===
if status == 'finished':
    cache_url = f"https://api.data365.co/v1.1/reddit/search/post/items?keywords={keywords.replace(' ', '%20')}&sort_type={sort_type}&max_page_size=50&order_by=id_desc&access_token={access_token}"
    cache_response = requests.get(cache_url)

    if cache_response.status_code == 200:
        # Print the full JSON response in readable format
        full_json = cache_response.json()
        print("\n=== Full JSON Response ===\n")
        print(json.dumps(full_json, indent=4))
    else:
        print("Failed to fetch data from cache:", cache_response.text)
else:
    print(f"Task ended with status: {status}")

But that’s only a tiny bit of filtering Reddit content, which is available through tools like Social Media API. Let’s dive deeper.

Possibilities of Reddit API: Search by Date to Filter Posts

A time-based filtering option is another critical possibility of most third-party tools and the official Reddit API. Search by date has made the analysis of comment threads on particular events, measuring brand mentions, or tracking user activity in specific time available to marketers, analysts, and businesses.

Basic time filtering with a date_posted parameter is supported with the official and most third-party APIs for Reddit, which accepts predefined values such as past_hour, today, past_week, past_month, past_year, and all_time. These filters assist in narrowing down the results only to posts within a broad time range, but not specific dates. 

Here’s a sample API POST illustrating how a Reddit data search might be performed with a time filter through Data365 Social Media API:

https://api.data365.co/v1.1/reddit/search/post/update?max_posts=50&sort_type=top&date_posted=past_week&keywords=AI%20Chips%20subreddit:openai&access_token=TOKEN

Developers can integrate this endpoint into scripts, apps, or data pipelines by substituting query parameters as needed.

Reddit API Search Comments: Unlocking Insights from Conversations

Last but not least, retrieving Reddit comments is essential for building a complete picture of user sentiment and engagement. Although the keyword search within posts is available through the official Reddit API, search comments feature is yet to be implemented. Thus, developers have to separately fetch comments after identifying relevant posts.

Data365 Social Media API takes the same two-step approach but streamlines the process with features such as:

• Unified tool for the 5 biggest social networks;
• Structured responses in JSON to streamline integration;
• Extended historical coverage of public data available on the platform; 
• 99% uptime without the complexity of manual rate limit handling.

Now, it’s the best time to get things into order and see how Data365 Social Media API works with Reddit data in action. 

Data365 API Call Guide: Reddit API Search Example for Targeted Data

To simplify retrieving content from Reddit, API search example is gold for a deeper understanding of how it works. For example, with Data365’s Social Media API, you can combine keyword search, date range filtering, and subreddit targeting in a three-step, powerful API request. Here’s how to retrieve highly specific Reddit data in just a few steps.

Step 1: Get Your API Access Token

Get in touch with Data365’s expert team and choose the most suitable plan for your business needs, which comes with a 14-day free trial. Then, you will get your unique access token to start working with Social Media API.

Step 2: Make a Unified Search API Call

To search for posts containing specific keywords within a certain subreddit and a defined time frame, initiate the process with the POST-GET-GET API call structure which we’ve observed earlier. 

Step 3: Get the Data

This three-step call returns structured JSON data, making it easy to integrate Reddit insights into your workflow. The response typically includes:

• Post titles and content;
• Author details;
• Subreddit name;
• Post metadata (score, upvotes, comment count, timestamps);
• Associated comments (if available).

Here’s what the JSON response will look like:

Task created successfully. Task ID: YWkgY2hpcHMgc3VicmVkZGl0Om9wZW5haS9uZXcvL0ZhbHNlL1JMX1RFU1RJTkc
Current task status: pending
Current task status: finished

=== Full JSON Response ===

{
    "data": {
        "items": [
            {
                "attached_image_url": [
                    null
                ],
                "attached_video": null,
                "attached_video_preview_url": null,
                "author_id": "p6pnr8hd",
                "author_is_blocked": false,
                "author_username": "onlinejfk",
                "comments_count": 2,
                "created_time": "2025-07-01T08:57:01",
                "id": "1lowqys",
                "is_gallery": false,
                "is_original_content": false,
                "is_video": false,
                "over_18": false,
                "post_url": "https://reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1lowqys/still_no_response_from_openai_support_after_4/",
                "score": 1,
                "subreddit": "OpenAI",
                "subreddit_id": "3b9u5",
                "subreddit_subscribers": 2392707,
                "subreddit_type": "public",
                "text": "  \nHi all,  \nI\u2019m a ChatGPT Plus subscriber and have been running into a serious issue since **May 29, 2025**. When I attempt to download `.PPTX` files from the **Canvas feature**, I consistently get a \u201cFile Not Found\u201d error. I\u2019ve tested this across browsers, devices, and networks \u2014 no success.\n\nI\u2019ve emailed [`support@openai.com`](mailto:support@openai.com) **four times** (May 29, June 3, June 19, June 27) and have never received:\n\n* A ticket number\n* A human response\n* A workaround or update\n\nThis is disrupting my ability to use ChatGPT with clients, especially when generating slide decks and training materials. I\u2019ve resorted to manually recreating content in Word and PowerPoint, which defeats the purpose of the tool.\n\nI\u2019m posting here because I literally can\u2019t submit feedback through the app \u2014 there\u2019s no feedback or bug report option visible in the current UI.\n\nCan someone from OpenAI please respond, confirm if this bug is being tracked, and issue a ticket number?\n\nThanks,  
\nJim Kallaugher (\"Chip\")  \n\ud83d\udce7 [onlinejfk@gmail.com]()\n\n\ud83d\udd27 Red Glen Electronics\n\n",
                "timestamp": 1751360221.0,
                "title": "Still No Response from OpenAI Support After 4 Emails \u2013 Canvas File Download Bug, No Ticket #",
                "total_awards_received": 0,
                "upvote_ratio": 0.67,
                "whitelist_status": 6
            },
            {
                "attached_image_url": [
                    "https://preview.redd.it/5b4xksawls9f1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=467cc28974abf509f624ef6f4ba9919bc6a3545f"
                ],
                "attached_video": null,
                "attached_video_preview_url": null,
                "author_id": "fr35psf29",
                "author_is_blocked": false,
                "author_username": "No_Vehicle7826",
                "comments_count": 3,
                "created_time": "2025-06-29T04:20:10",
                "id": "1ln5tn2",
                "is_gallery": false,
                "is_original_content": false,
                "is_video": false,
                "over_18": false,
                "post_url": "https://reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1ln5tn2/chatgpt_gemini/",
                "score": 0,
                "subreddit": "OpenAI",
                "subreddit_id": "3b9u5",
                "subreddit_subscribers": 2392707,
                "subreddit_type": "public",
                "text": "I was thinking GPT5 would have 1M tokens\u2026 like Gemini ",
                "timestamp": 1751170810.0,
                "title": "ChatGPT + Gemini = \ud83e\udd24",
                "total_awards_received": 0,
                "upvote_ratio": 0.29,
                "whitelist_status": 6
            },
            {
                "attached_image_url": [
                    "https://preview.redd.it/m9na9trz319f1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=b39a3766bda254216bef2dc59116eeb82552deae"
                ],
                "attached_video": null,
                "attached_video_preview_url": null,
                "author_id": "hdcszi4ve",
                "author_is_blocked": false,
                "author_username": "algaefied_creek",
                "comments_count": 7,
                "created_time": "2025-06-25T07:51:43",
                "id": "1ljzofb",
                "is_gallery": false,
                "is_original_content": false,
                "is_video": false,
                "over_18": false,
                "post_url": "https://reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1ljzofb/which_one_of_you_carved_the_openai_crop_circle/",
                "score": 0,
                "subreddit": "OpenAI",
                "subreddit_id": "3b9u5",
                "subreddit_subscribers": 2392707,
                "subreddit_type": "public",
                "text": null,
                "timestamp": 1750837903.0,
                "title": "Which one of you carved the OpenAI crop circle???? Fess up now.... (but why did you surround it with tortilla chips?)",
                "total_awards_received": 0,
                "upvote_ratio": 0.47,
                "whitelist_status": 6
            },
            {
                "attached_image_url": [
                    null
                ],
                "attached_video": null,
                "attached_video_preview_url": null,
                "author_id": "74hccf236",
                "author_is_blocked": false,
                "author_username": "College_student08",
                "comments_count": 2,
                "created_time": "2025-06-20T18:29:15",
                "id": "1lgbc18",
                "is_gallery": false,
                "is_original_content": false,
                "is_video": false,
                "over_18": false,
                "post_url": "https://reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1lgbc18/new_superturing_ai_chip_mimics_the_human_brain_to/",
                "score": 8,
                "subreddit": "OpenAI",
                "subreddit_id": "3b9u5",
                "subreddit_subscribers": 2392707,
                "subreddit_type": "public",
                "text": null,
                "timestamp": 1750444155.0,
                "title": "New \u201cSuper-Turing\u201d AI Chip Mimics the Human Brain to Learn in Real Time \u2014 Using Just Nanowatts of Power",
                "total_awards_received": 0,
                "upvote_ratio": 0.72,
                "whitelist_status": 6
            },
            {
                "attached_image_url": [
                    null
                ],
                "attached_video": null,
                "attached_video_preview_url": null,
                "author_id": "1mtnnfo48z",
                "author_is_blocked": false,
                "author_username": "LostFoundPound",
                "comments_count": 21,
                "created_time": "2025-06-16T02:50:42",
                "id": "1lci2vq",
                "total_awards_received": 0,
                "upvote_ratio": 0.72,
                "whitelist_status": 6
            },
            {
                "attached_image_url": [
                    null
                ],
                "attached_video": null,
                "attached_video_preview_url": null,
                "author_id": "1mtnnfo48z",
                "author_is_blocked": false,
                "author_username": "LostFoundPound",
                "comments_count": 21,
                "created_time": "2025-06-16T02:50:42",
                "id": "1lci2vq",
                "is_gallery": false,
                "is_original_content": false,
                "is_video": false,
                "over_18": false,
                "post_url": "https://reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1lci2vq/what_happened_the_ai_singularity_part_1/",
                "score": 0,
                "subreddit": "OpenAI",
                "subreddit_id": "3b9u5",
                "subreddit_subscribers": 2392707,
                "subreddit_type": "public",
                "text": "Forword: This post is entirely written by me, Gareth, u/LostFoundPound without assistance from ChatGPT. With it I attempt to explain the Singularity we have just lived through. Part 2 
will continue with the final word Algorithms when it is right to do so. For now I encourage you to give this a read and try not to jump to conclusions about what I am saying here.\n\nWhat. Happened.\n\nYes Sam                "total_awards_received": 0,
                "upvote_ratio": 0.72,
                "whitelist_status": 6
            }
        ],
        "page_info": {
            "cursor": "aWRfZGVzY3wzNDg1NDc0ODk0",
            "has_next_page": true
        }
    },
    "error": null,
    "status": "ok"
}

This format allows you to easily extract, insert into various dashboards, and visualize Reddit data for your business intelligence, market research, or content strategy needs. 

Key Takeaways on Reddit Search APIs

Compared to the official technical configuration available on Reddit, Data365 takes less to set up and produces well-formed, unified output that is more convenient to work with. Providing real-time updates, cross-platform access, and a 14-day free trial, Data365 proves to be one of the most appropriate options for those wishing the automated, adaptable, and production-ready solution to search and analyze Reddit data.

Need more details? Get in touch with our professional team to learn more about the possibilities opened for you and start your free trial.