Prism Comment Lookup API
Returns the current state of comments you already know about, one result per item, each marked found, not found, errored, or deferred.
POST /v1/prism/comment-lookupLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the Prism Comment Lookup API
Use it for recurring tracking of specific comments, since one request re-checks your whole list instead of a separate lookup per comment.
From the API reference
Batch version of the single-comment lookup, built for recurring brand-comment tracking. Pass up to 25 items, each either { comment_url } or { platform, post_url, comment_id } (plus optional parent_comment_id, position_hint, deep_scan). Every item resolves independently (one bad item never fails the batch) and returns a status of found, not_found, unsupported (the platform could not be worked out; 0 credits), error, or deferred; an item may carry a custom_id (up to 128 characters), echoed on its row. Billing is per item (TikTok 2 credits, Instagram 5 credits; deep_scan raises it); only found items are charged, everything else is refunded, and the whole batch holds at most 100 credits. Store each returned lookup.position_hint and pass it back on the next run: the comment is found faster and with fewer source calls. The price does not change: 2 credits per found TikTok item (6 with deep_scan), 5 per found Instagram item (15 with deep_scan). Returns sync JSON, or a typed SSE stream (Accept: text/event-stream) that emits each item as it settles. Items not started within the 45-second budget come back deferred (refunded): just re-request them.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Comment Lookup API?
The Comment Lookup endpoint gives you structured Prism data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# POST /v1/prism/comment-lookup: Metered: holds 2 credits per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 60: the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 60 --retry 3 -o response.json -X POST \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"items":[{"comment_url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7654638524729216287?comment_id=7654640784985211670"},{"platform":"instagram","post_url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CnpPou9hWqq/","comment_id":"18007013966365752"}]}' \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/prism/comment-lookup" && cat response.json# POST /v1/prism/comment-lookup: Metered: holds 2 credits per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 60 # the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/prism/comment-lookup"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(payload):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.post(
URL,
json=payload,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
payload = {
"items": [{"comment_url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7654638524729216287?comment_id=7654640784985211670"}, {"platform": "instagram", "post_url": "https://www.instagram.com/p/CnpPou9hWqq/", "comment_id": "18007013966365752"}],
}
body = socialcrawl(payload)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// POST /v1/prism/comment-lookup: Metered: holds 2 credits per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000; // the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: string, payload: Record<string, unknown>) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
body: JSON.stringify(payload),
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const body = await socialcrawl("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/prism/comment-lookup", {
items: [{ comment_url: "https://www.tiktok.com/@mrbeast/video/7654638524729216287?comment_id=7654640784985211670" }, { platform: "instagram", post_url: "https://www.instagram.com/p/CnpPou9hWqq/", comment_id: "18007013966365752" }],
});
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| items | Yes | JSON array of 1-25 lookup items. Each item is `{ "comment_url": "…" }` or `{ "platform": "tiktok"|"instagram", "post_url": "…", "comment_id": "…" }`, optionally with `parent_comment_id`, `position_hint`, and `deep_scan`. |
What does the Prism Comment Lookup API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "instagram",
"endpoint": "/v1/instagram/engagement",
"data": {
"engagement_rate_percentages": 38.33,
"recent_posts": 12,
"followers": 87608035,
"comments": 528912,
"likes": 33049046,
"recent_posts_explanation": "Statistics based on the last 12 posts",
"id_user": "2278169415",
"username": "mrbeast",
"is_private": false,
"posts_details": [
{
"likes": 5636982,
"comments": 69484,
"taken_at": 1781457954,
"datetime": "2026-06-14 20:25:54",
"hours_since_post": 461,
"time_ago": "19 days ago",
"likes_per_hour": 12228,
"comments_per_hour": 151
},
{
"likes": 20000768,
"comments": 223510,
"taken_at": 1732824650,
"datetime": "2024-11-28 23:10:50",
"hours_since_post": 13971,
"time_ago": "2 years ago",
"likes_per_hour": 1432,
"comments_per_hour": 16
},
{
"likes": 929226,
"comments": 30633,
"taken_at": 1782232475,
"datetime": "2026-06-23 19:34:35",
"hours_since_post": 246,
"time_ago": "10 days ago",
"likes_per_hour": 3777,
"comments_per_hour": 125
},
{
"likes": 487761,
"comments": 22482,
"taken_at": 1781799425,
"datetime": "2026-06-18 19:17:05",
"hours_since_post": 366,
"time_ago": "15 days ago",
"likes_per_hour": 1333,
"comments_per_hour": 61
},
{
"likes": 712265,
"comments": 15716,
"taken_at": 1781366405,
"datetime": "2026-06-13 19:00:05",
"hours_since_post": 487,
"time_ago": "20 days ago",
"likes_per_hour": 1463,
"comments_per_hour": 32
},
{
"likes": 1475116,
"comments": 35386,
"taken_at": 1781277094,
"datetime": "2026-06-12 18:11:34",
"hours_since_post": 512,
"time_ago": "21 days ago",
"likes_per_hour": 2881,
"comments_per_hour": 69
},
{
"likes": 1108220,
"comments": 26632,
"taken_at": 1780160249,
"datetime": "2026-05-30 19:57:29",
"hours_since_post": 822,
"time_ago": "1 months ago",
"likes_per_hour": 1348,
"comments_per_hour": 32
},
{
"likes": 542948,
"comments": 28476,
"taken_at": 1779375582,
"datetime": "2026-05-21 17:59:42",
"hours_since_post": 1040,
"time_ago": "1 months ago",
"likes_per_hour": 522,
"comments_per_hour": 27
},
{
"likes": 698514,
"comments": 24401,
"taken_at": 1779120014,
"datetime": "2026-05-18 19:00:14",
"hours_since_post": 1111,
"time_ago": "2 months ago",
"likes_per_hour": 629,
"comments_per_hour": 22
},
{
"likes": 468000,
"comments": 13548,
"taken_at": 1778947209,
"datetime": "2026-05-16 19:00:09",
"hours_since_post": 1159,
"time_ago": "2 months ago",
"likes_per_hour": 404,
"comments_per_hour": 12
},
{
"likes": 526594,
"comments": 24411,
"taken_at": 1777737719,
"datetime": "2026-05-02 19:01:59",
"hours_since_post": 1495,
"time_ago": "2 months ago",
"likes_per_hour": 352,
"comments_per_hour": 16
},
{
"likes": 462652,
"comments": 14233,
"taken_at": 1777580305,
"datetime": "2026-04-30 23:18:25",
"hours_since_post": 1538,
"time_ago": "2 months ago",
"likes_per_hour": 301,
"comments_per_hour": 9
}
]
},
"credits_used": 5,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"request_id": "req-8Kq2ZmR4vT9xLb3P",
"cached": false,
"redacted": true
}Example captured from the Instagram API. Every SocialCrawl endpoint returns this same unified schema, so your Prism Comment Lookup response has the same fields.
How does the Prism Comment Lookup API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
POST
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usWhat does the Prism Comment Lookup API return?
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